Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rep. John Killacky, a Democrat who represents South Burlington in the Vermont House of Representatives.
[O]utright Vermont has been supporting queer-identified youth in our state since 1989. On Friday a group of six LGBTQ state legislators meet with this group as part of “Queer Youth Leadership Day at the State House.” What an emotional experience it was for me to meet these fabulous youth – and what a large contingent there was, 105 youth and 20 adults from 18 Vermont towns and cities. I marveled at how far society has come in just three generations of activism.
This June marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a watershed moment when disenfranchised drag queens fought police harassment at New York’s Stonewall Inn, shining light on police intimidation and corruption. Their struggle catalyzed the LGBTQ movement for civil rights.
A few years prior to Stonewall, I was an Irish Catholic teenager on the South Side of Chicago. Realizing I was gay, there were no one to speak with in my family, school, or friends. There were no positive role models, no networks of support. I was alone. Media images showed us as malevolent, broken beings.
In 1973, I moved to New York. That summer I was cast in a gay history play, “Coming Out.” More than one friend asked me if it was political or artful, as if gay content couldn’t be both. The following year, I was touring with a dance company in Winnipeg and was asked not to discuss my sexuality with the press as it reflected badly on the company. After one season, I returned to New York.
Even after Stonewall, the reality was that queer people had no legal protections, only stigmatizing witch hunts. We could not be out as teachers, could be evicted, were often physically attacked late at night with no police protection. Same-sex sexual activity was only legalized in 1980 in New York.
A second wave of political action erupted during the AIDS pandemic of the ‘80s and ‘90s; people fought for their lives, raging against pharmaceutical companies and government indifference. Since then, legal protections, adoption, and marriage equality dominated agendas in this century. Vermont led the nation here, granting civil unions in 2000 and full marriage rights 10 years ago in 2009. As a gay teenager, I never imagined that so much positive change could transpire.
As the community organized over these five decades, LGBTQ political leaders began to emerge across the country. Harvey Milk was elected to the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1977; tragically he was assassinated one year later. Karen Clark, elected in 1981, was the first openly lesbian member to serve in the Minnesota Legislature.
Ron Squires was Vermont’s first openly gay legislator, elected to the House in 1990, but died from an AIDS-related illness in 1993. “Openly” is the operative word here, as others may have served, but they were not out broadly and publicly I am told. Currently, Bill Lippert from Hinesburg is Vermont’s longest serving out legislator, serving in the House since 1994.
Now there are hundreds and hundreds of out legislators elected to city, state and federal offices. The Victory Institute, which supports queer candidates, lists 682 LGBTQ elected officials nationwide. Role models abound. Our very own Christine Hallquist ran for governor. Tuesday is lesbian-lotto day with Lori Lightfoot running for mayor in Chicago, Jolie Justus in Kansas City, and Satya Rhodes-Conway in Madison. Mayor Pete Buttigieg from South Bend is campaigning for president, and Colorado’s governor Jared Pollis talked about his husband and kids at his State of the State address, saying “We dream. We dare. We do.”
While there has been much progress politically, little has changed to guarantee basic human and civil rights for queer people internationally, and whatever legal advances we gained nationally are at risk with the current administration in Washington. Protections are being rolled back for queer and transgender kids, military personnel, and LGBTQ seniors are increasingly isolated as the Baby boomers age. There is much left to do.
I was inspired by the meeting with queer youth visiting the Statehouse with Outright Vermont. As they catalyze their activist agendas, I am eager to support their work. Fifty years from now, I want them to look back and celebrate all they have accomplished.
