Equality Press

By Raymond Buckley New Hampshire has been a quiet hot bed of GLBT political activity for years. Concerned activists and politicians have worked so hard that New Hampshire is firmly ranked as one of the top ten states for gays and lesbians to live in. In fact, New Hampshire was ranked as fifth in the nation with only Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island ranking slightly better.

Through a coordinated effort and a strategic plan laid out by New Hampshire’s GLBT political leaders, gays and lesbians are at the table at every level of government in the state. From the school board to the State House, openly gay and lesbian officials are working to advance GLBT equality. On the local level several openly gay and lesbian candidates were elected in November. Former state representative Dana Hilliard was elected to the Somersworth City Council, Nashua School Board member Tim Nickerson was elected to the Nashua Board of Alderman, and Marlene Lein was reelected in March as the town moderator of Hooksett. (more…)

By Zythyra Basha

“What, you say, transgendered people in New Hampshire?”
“No, it couldn’t be, I’ve never seen one of them anywhere around here.”

Well, just as many of our readers already know that there are lesbian, gay and bisexual folks in New Hampshire, there is also a small but growing community of transgendered folks living here in the Live Free or Die state. For our first issue of Equality Press, I’d like to help you get to know your transgendered neighbors here in New Hampshire and to perhaps even dispel a few stereotypes regarding trans folks in the process. Just as all lesbians or gay men are not alike, the trans community is a diverse one, with people from all walks of life, of different religions, and with many different expressions of gender. I think of gender as a continuum, not just male or female, but many shades of gender in between. It is in these in-between places that some of us in the T community reside. I don’t pretend to speak for the entire trans community of New Hampshire, we are each unique individuals with our own opinions and viewpoints. I speak as just one transperson living here in New Hampshire. But I do hope that I can help give voice to at least some of us in the community. (more…)

By Karen Loewy, Staff Attorney, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders

A high school principal tries to prevent a lesbian couple from being featured as class sweethearts in a Dover school’s yearbook. Two Fall Mountain siblings face unrelenting harassment for being perceived to be gay.  A group of Manchester high school students are barred from organizing an after-school club designed to provide support for gay, lesbian, bisexual transgender (GLBT) and questioning youth. How do New Hampshire students protect their rights?

The recent election by seniors at Dover High School of a lesbian couple as their class sweethearts for the yearbook was a wonderful example of widespread peer support. The principal of the school, however, advised the yearbook that the honor should go to a male- female couple because the ballots asked students to choose one male and one female. The yearbook staff decided to eliminate the category entirely rather than to award the title to the couple in second-place as the principal had instructed. Other students began collecting signatures for a petition protesting the principal’s decision. In a move affirming of same-sex couples, Superintendent Armand LaSelva stepped in and allowed the original results to stand in light of the clear message sent by the senior class.

GLBT students may not always find such support from peers, teachers or school administration. While New Hampshire does not have a specific law prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in schools, federal law provides GLBT students with several possible ways to secure rights and protections. For example, a law known as Title IX states that public schools that receive federal funds may not discriminate on the basis of sex. One way that this can apply to a GLBT student is that the harassment of a gay student may sometimes constitute sexual harassment, which is also forbidden by Title IX. (more…)