 and Charles. I'm Linda Quinlan. I'm Keith Ghostland. Today is Tuesday, the 26th of February. This is All Things LGBTQ. We've already been talking, so we're gonna let you in on the conversation. Shall we start with International Relations? Oh, yes. Yeah, because I know what you got. I have a penguin extravaganza. We have two penguins. Two stories, two clips, finding love among the gay penguins at the London Zoo is my first story. A video captures the lavish wedding ceremony for inseparable gay penguins. That's my first segment. My other headlines are, this is sort of a sad segment. Transgender woman who sought asylum in the US was deported and killed in El Salvador. A Mexican LGBT activist, Oscar Casarola is found dead. Opposition for LGBTQ rights group in Tunisia. Venezuelan police raid HIV AIDS organizations' offices. And then I have some more upbeat headlines. Gay lovers go viral in Greece. This Valentine's Day ads sparked debate. Japan launches the first LGBTIA safe house. New public school for trans people opens its doors in Pakistan. Serbian Prime Minister's gay partner gives birth to a baby boy. And we've seen these Anna Brinabek. We've seen her before. She's the Prime Minister of Serbia. And her partner who gave birth is Melissa Jurjic. She said that very carefully. I doubt that it's accurate. Those are my headlines. Good. Looking forward to seeing the penguins. Yes. Well, we have Jesse Smollett and he was dropped from an LGBTQ charity project following his arrest after investigators accused him of hiring two men to attack him. And a lot of people are wondering if this case is going to hurt hate crime survivors. So. Richard Grant dedicates Indie Spirit Award to AIDS victims. The actor portrayed an HIV positive man, Jack Hawk, in the movie Can You Ever Forgive Me? Which I really liked. Colorado takes action against conversion therapy. South Dakota law tries to ban discussion on trans identity and issues in school is dead for this session. Evangelicals are furious over Trump's plan to decriminalize homosexuality abroad. Director Rob Cohen is accused of sexually assaulting his trans daughter. North Carolina election win by anti-gay minister will have a do over. Because of voter fraud. There will be a new election in the Charlotte area. Absentee votes. I mean, that was so reprehensible and glaring. And then he was crying in court, weren't you? Anyway, The Lesbian's Jury, Marguerite was nominated for best short film. It didn't win however we saw that. We saw that it didn't win. Yeah. This film brings love to light and was the only film with any LGBTQ elements in this category. Mary Ann Farley, the director of the short movie was the only female nominated. So keep an eye out for Netflix or one of the other movie channels to see if you can pick up the movie, the short movie, Migrate. Popes call critics of Catholic church friends of the devil. That's nice. I know. Everybody needs friends. Hahaha. Athlete, Alicats ties, cuts ties with Martina Navarato Lová. A progressive black lesbian could be Chicago's next mayor. And I have a picture of her. There's about 15 people running for mayor of Chicago. But she does stand a chance. So if you're in Chicago watching us, please vote for her. Mike Pence's daughter gets engaged at the LGBTQ Resort of Provincetown. Dawn Sheetal supports trans kids with a powerful message on Saturday Night Live. Sharon Bonham dies at 48. Brandy Carlile told Ellen G. Generous on her show that she came home because of her. And Molly Gray, the Mormon Disney star, quietly comes out. Lady Gaga made by history with an Oscar win for the best song, Shallow, from a Star is Born. Top three awards go to films with gay themes. Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favorite, and Green Country. You mean the Oscar awards, right? The Oscar awards, yeah. Oh, we're talking about the Oscars now. Yeah. So they were Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favorite, and The Green Book. So there you go. The Green Book wasn't that out, but okay. But he did have that scene with a... Surely, I guess it was gay. There was that one gay scene, but go ahead. I want to say Oscar's not so gay. Nobody think they're partners. Nobody, you know, the word gay is used once. But I digress. I'm gonna thank Governor Phil Scott for showing up at LGBTQIA Visibility Day at the State House where they were, at my last count, 18 of us who wandered in and out throughout the day. The governor came out, engaged in conversation with us, answered the question. We should have had a picture up. There may be several pictures of it that Zach's showing as we speak. Okay. I'm the one in the head. If you can see me, Zach, let us down on the job. I'm wearing a black hat. No one could recognize me in the picture. I went home early. We are so full of digressions. Go ahead. Continue kicks. Welcome to the cat rodeo. There's some upcoming events that I want to go over really quickly. If you were seeing this show on Saturday night, then you're not at the Montpellier Contradance, Larks and Ravens at the Capitol Grange, which started at 7.30 for the beginners, 8 to 11 for the advance. But fear not, because they will also be there the third and fifth Saturdays in March, which are the 16th and 30th. And this event actually will have already happened by the time this program airs, but it's the Price Center of Vermont is finally going to do their needs assessment of LGBTQ elders. And it will be on Wednesday, starting at five o'clock. Anybody over six day, we barely count. That's my last word. But what people should be following is that Mike Denzel had told us that this would be an ongoing series and they're all gonna talk about issues of fraud, healthcare, housing, and online dating. There we are. Stonewall 50. If you're interested in organizing, there will be a meeting on Tuesday, March 5th, which is also Town Meeting Day. Six o'clock at the Senior Center and another one on Monday, March 25th. Also six o'clock at the Senior Center. Next segment I'm gonna talk a little bit about some pieces of legislation that are going through Paid Family Leave, Ethnic and Social Studies Curriculum, Minimum Wage. There's also a conversation that's been happening in the Senate Judiciary Committee about bias and hate-motivated crime based upon the incident with Kaia Morris in Bennington. And they're looking at how they can strengthen that statute, but no bill has been drafted as of yet. Encouraging piece of news. The U.S. Department of Justice has decided that Vermont's fair and impartial policing policies fully complies with federal law requirements. So are we getting the money now? Two million dollars. Yes, I heard that. That they have been withholding for 15 months and it will all be going for drug enforcement initiatives. So if I say that's what I've got for right now, then maybe Ann will show us the wedding to which we were not invited. Well, may I add to your headlines? Oh, what? On Monday, March 4th, the Kellogg-Herbert Library will be showing X, X, Y of foreign language drama made in 2000s. And who centered that notice? Yeah. Yeah, I know. Luckily I have it here at hand. The plot involves a 15-year-old struggles as an intersex individual the way the family copes and what ultimately is decided in a society that has specific expectations. The film starts at 6.30 p.m. and will be followed by a discussion for those who wish to stay. All are welcome. This is the latest in the ongoing LGBT book film discussion series co-organized by the Unitarian Church of Montpelier. Thank you for sending me your notice Keith. Thank you for remembering it. It's teamwork. But now let's go to the penguins. Shall we? Yes. I feel like I should go get my tuxedo. Well, dressing up is involved in my second clip. You have a little bow tie. In the second clip. But let's first look at the London Zoo if we could. Same-sex relations are common in the animal kingdom. I hope this show demonstrates that. Particularly among birds such as penguins. The chief curator of the London Zoo probably has more experience of penguins than most. I think there is something we can learn from penguins and other species in the way that they're tolerant of same-sex relations, Brian Zimmerman told Reuters. Ahead of Valentine's Day on last Thursday. Humans could take lessons from other animals as it is about survival at the end of the day and caring. We have a lot to learn from penguins. Humboldt penguin couples, two male and one female, out of a total of 95 penguins, a higher percentage than the 5% of human population estimated to be LGBT plus. London Zoo is currently a home to this group. Examples of same-sex pairs of other zoos around the world are common. Earlier this year, and I reported on this extensively, two male penguins hatched an egg at a zoo in Australia. You may recall this story. Penguins are one example of same-sex relationships but they're common in parrots and doves as well. Penguins first arrived at the London Zoo in 1865, 37 years after it first opened as a Center for Scientific Study. They have been housed since 2011 in Penguin Beach, which encompasses 1,200 square miles. It's a pool and various forms of natural habitat. For Zimmerman, same-sex animal pairs capture the public's imagination because they hold a mirror up to society. There are a lot of species where we haven't observed same-sex relations but we are learning more all the time. The more we study them, particularly in a zoo environment where we can spend more time getting to know the individuals, the more we learn that same-sex pairings are more common than we expected. And now I would like to show you a London Zoo clip featuring Brian Zimmerman telling us about same-sex couples in the animal kingdom. In the animal kingdom, same-sex relationships are actually quite common. Different types of animals may display that a bit more frequently than others. Birds in particular are known to exhibit same-sex relationship pairings on a regular basis. We have three pairs of same-sex penguins. We name all of our penguins. They're nice to tell visitors. So this is Reggie and Ronny and they are a same-sex pair and it's wonderful and they are in love. I think it's not just gay penguins people love. They love penguins full stop and partially because of the way they behave and the way they look, but also they're very sociable animals and I think we actually can relate to that. Humans being social individuals and we live in complex societies. Penguins also have very complex societies and they have all different types of individuals in their societies. Penguins do adopt eggs. So same-sex pairs do adopt eggs as well. So for example, we had a pair here that has abandoned a nest. We then put it under a same-sex pair and they actually raised a chick. There is definitely something that we can learn from penguins and other species in the fact that they're tolerant of same-sex relationships and it's about actually just looking after each other and surviving and I think humans could certainly take a lesson from other animals. I think a lot of people see penguins as the ultimate animal for Valentine's Day and everything that Valentine's Day represents. So penguins do like to be in love and they do like to sort of connect and show off their love to everyone else. Well, it's very informative. I wanted to know if by virtue of the marriage in London it now makes the chicken Australia illegitimate because its parents weren't married. Well, this wasn't a marriage in London. It was a marriage in Cotswold and I'd like to turn to that now. Where is Cotswold? In England. Oh, okay. I didn't know penguins were birds. I thought they were... I'm not going there. I'm not either. First, I'd like to show you a still picture of Ferrari and Pringle. You see them now. They wanted to share their big day. They are the couple who gets married in the clip but first I want to tell you about it. Two devoted, they're showbiz penguins. They've gotten married in style with their lavish big gay wedding day captured in a special video. When Ferrari and Pringle tied the knot in their same sex ceremony, there were makeup artists to ensure they looked their best, a chauffeur driven Bentley and a beautiful Cotswold's venue followed by a wedding breakfast of Sprats which are a forage fish I learned. Did you know what Sprats were? No, no. I was going with the smoked herring better. Penguin food, Sprats. The male humbled penguins are inseparable. Nest together when they cannot reproduce. Their handlers say they sit on a rock each year trying to incubate an egg. The film was romantically shot by the wedding video company from Gateshead and is being released ahead of St. Valentine's Day were a little late but it captures Pringle in a black bow tie being pampered before the ceremony then Ferrari hopping off the red leather seat of the Bentley and trotting down the aisle where his husband to be is waiting. The pair touch beach, I'm telling you this and then you'll be able to watch it just in case you miss anything. The pair touch beaks when they are pronounced married by Andrew Rohan who is the minister and are shown being showered with confetti having a disco, you can see them dancing and happily exploring the grounds of Merriscourt venue in the Chipping Norton. Ferrari is 21, Pringle is six. They've appeared on the Jonathan Ross show, Alan Carr's chatty man, our zoo and at the red carpet premiere of Mr. Popper's Penguins you may not know these shows. When not appearing at show business events the pair who have met Sir David Attenborough also attend care homes for therapeutic visits. James Pullen who is the caretaker at the Hathrop Zoological Gardens in Oxfordshire where they live. So these two penguins have worked together for years now and it became apparent from the beginning that they could not spend a day without each other. They were so in love. The zookeeper and trainer said they have been ring bearers before and they do proposals but they have never been married before now. Rob Earnshaw from the wedding company video said we've captured the special day for hundreds of happy couples but I can honestly say hand on heart that nothing quite prepares you for a celebrity penguin wedding. It all embraces the celebration of love for Valentine's Day. There wasn't a dry eye in the house and now I'd like to show you the wedding clip of Ferrari and Pringle. Everybody to today's proceedings know in our hearts that these two are perfect for each other. You may now kiss the groom. These two penguins have worked together for years now and it became apparent from the beginning that they couldn't spend a day without each other. They were so in love. I am overwhelmed that they have been able to tie the knot today and I'm sure they're looking forward to a happy married life from now on. Now we'll move to Linda. Where was our invitation? I know it exactly. I'd go to a penguin wedding in a heartbeat. Okay, but after how can you follow that? I know, really. Something salacious. I know, I wish. Okay. Some nice pictures. Colorado takes action against conversion therapy, a bill being in conversion therapy past the Colorado House after four previous attempts. If it's signed into law, HB 1129 would represent one of the nation's toughest conversion therapy beings. HB 1129 also gives power to the state licensing board to take action against any medical profession, any medical provider that offers conversion therapy to minors. So that's a pretty good law. Yes. South Dakota lawmakers efforts to ban discussion of trans identity and issues in school is dead for the season. The committee voted seven to two to defer HB 1108 to the 41st day of the session, which blocks it from consideration this year. I heard there were five bills, anti-trans bills offered in South Dakota and they were all voted down. Well, yeah, they were all voted down, but this is like, this was a tactic they used, like they set it for the 41st day, which was the last day of the session so that it would fail. It would fail, it'd expire, yeah. It would have prevented teachers from engaging with trans students any time, whether they were being bullied or targeted because of their gender identity. So it was a good thing that failed. And evangelicals are furious over Trump's plan to decriminalize homosexuality, even though he didn't really even know what he was doing. There we go, I know. I'm sponsoring what summit, where? I know. Really? So that was kind of- And it was Mike Pence's idea? Yeah. I guess it's being pushed through by, what's his name, Grenville? Grennell. Richard Grennell. And he's the American ambassador to the United Nation. No, he wants to be ambassador to the United Nation, but he's ambassador Germany. He's a German diplomat, so. A diplomat to Germany. He's the US ambassador to Germany. Germany. But this was all a ploy. The background to it was that 45 regime could then use this as a means for citing Iran for human rights violation because of their persecution of LGBTQ. It had nothing to do with truly decriminalizing or- No. And we're not even gonna talk about Saudi Arabia. It's a political toy. And Grennell has denounced Iran in particular among 71 countries. We're homosexualities outlaw, first persecution of gay people. So, and he said he wasn't specifically going to Iran. It was just one of the- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was just one of the 71 countries. I'll believe the legitimacy when Mike Pence is officiating at a same-gender wedding. Well, maybe in Provincetown. Pope calls critics of the church friends of the devil. And a letter from Cardinals blamed the LGBT community and the victims, advocacy group and clergy abuse stated that the church must kick out bishops and Cardinals that cover up the abuse, that their resignation wasn't good enough. I say jail isn't good enough, but- So the Pope said that those people are friends? No, the victims' advocate group and the clergy abuse stated that the church must kick out bishops and Cardinals. So who was said, who was friends of the devil? Oh, the Pope said that anybody who criticized the church were friends of the devil. That's pretty intense. Really? Isn't that, yeah. Because I thought he was kinda being namby-pamby about it. Well, you know, he goes through these phases. I mean, the whole thing is so corrupt. Well, the Vatican treasurer just got convicted. I know, I know. And he goes back and forth about this. You know, I don't, you know, I don't know. It's just incredible, revelation. I mean, we all know, but revelation after revelation. I know. Finally. And they're saying, you know, the Cardinals and everybody want to say, you know, that it's homosexuality. That's the problem, et cetera, et cetera, but. A progressive. It's called pedophilia. Yeah. Yeah. And that doesn't account for all the other things, like, you know, children of priests or raping nuns or what you never mind, but, you know, all of that. A progressive black lesbian could be Chicago's next mayor. Laurie Lightfoot, and I have a picture of her. A community activist wants a livable Chicago that is more than just tourists and downtown denizens. As Chicago appears to elect a new mayor, Ms. Lightfoot is confident she can make the city better for everyone. She's a lawyer and an activist. So. Good. Hope she wins. So I hope she wins. And there is a picture of her. So I think we'll move to you now. Politics. So in the interview that comes at the end of the show, there will be a conversation with Representative Kathleen James about H185, which has to do with transgender and non-identifying youth and athletics access to facilities, et cetera. So I'm not going into it in depth now. What we should be following very closely, though, is H3, which hopefully, by the time this program airs, will have passed the Senate, gone back to the House for them to concur, which we are told will happen. And it may actually be on its way to the governor for signing, which would be good. And again, H3 is the bill that would put together a task force to look at developing curriculum for Vermont schools that deal with ethnic and social groups. We are decidedly included in the social groups. The other piece of legislation going through to be mindful is H107, which is Pay Family Leave. It came out of the House Committee on General Housing and Military Affairs, has gone to ways and means. The language coming out of the House General Committee, positive language in recognizing domestic partnerships, the types of families and relationships that the LGBTQ community creates, they're in there. However, what's happening in House Ways and Means is they've got all the fiscal people coming in and talking to them. And what the bill already includes is Pay Family Leave at 100% of your wages for up to 12 weeks per year for businesses with 10 or more full-time employees, which is a lesser standard than originally proposed. However, and what they were looking at was less than 1% tax. Do other states have 100%? Because I thought people usually got like 80% of their salaries or something, right? She's going right to the four states for which I have with the average standard is 60%. 60%, okay. 60%. However, what the economists were telling Ways and Means is if there is indeed a recession, which everyone thinks is imminent, this will run out of money after two years. So they're looking at how to make this sustainable. The other thing that is happening for which we should be mindful, there are six constitutional amendments working their way through the Senate. Giving the governor a four-year term, making the senators a four-year term, right to personal reproductive liberty, equality of rights, right to privacy. Here's the one that's run into a stumbling block. Eliminating reference to slavery in the Vermont Constitution. I saw that. Well, what's happened is that some constitutional law scholars, particularly Professor Teachout, have gone in and said, no, no, no, you're going too far. We need to look at preserving the historical integrity of the document, even though we are trying to look for racial justice now, that wasn't some of the original language. Well, Vermont Constitution has been amended four times already. So what's the problem? Exactly. And if you have an interest in the archival, Secretary of State's office, I believe, keeps archival records. The amendment as introduced by Deb Ingram acknowledges that all Vermonters are equal, period. And that's the way it should be. Mm-hmm. So. Okay. I have some. You're not going to have anything as fun as the penguins are yet. No, no, I have sad news, in fact. The transgender woman who sought asylum in the U.S. and was rejected, has died in El Salvador. Her name, I have a picture now before you. Her name was Camila Diaz-Cordova. She was 29, died days after she was found injured in a municipality on the outskirts of San Salvador. Both a friend and a trans advocate said that she had either been brutally attacked or struck by a vehicle and was transported to a hospital after she was found injured in the street. She requested asylum from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the summer of 2017 in Tijuana. She said fleeing to the U.S. after gang members had tried to kill her, her friend said. By November 2017, she'd been deported to El Salvador. Her death, of course, comes as a criticism of the Trump's administration's treatment of transgender asylum seekers. We remember Roxanna Hernandez, a trans woman who traveled with the spring migrant. Caravan died in U.S. custody shortly after requesting asylum. The journey to the U.S. is also dangerous for LGBT migrants. The UN High Commissioner on Refugees reported that 88% of LGBT asylum seekers and refugees from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador were interviewed in a study suffered sexual and gender-based violence in their countries of origin. Another report found that two-thirds of LGBT refugees from Central America had suffered sexual and gender-based violence once they entered Mexico. So it's very violent. Mexico, I reported last time that an LGBT activist had been murdered in more news from Mexico. Prominent indigenous LGBT activist Oscar Cazarola, 68 was found dead over the weekend in his home in what appears to be a violent attack in Oaxaca. He, I have a picture before you of him. He received a blow to the heart with a sharp object. He was an advocate for MUXA culture, a non-binary gender identity stemming from indigenous Subotec culture. Okay, there is, Tunisia had been moving forward, some people said, but now the government is cracking down on the main LGBT rights organization there. I have a picture before you now of applicants and patients at Venezuelan HIV AIDS office in Caracas. Now the police in Venezuela have raided this office and HIV medication is being seized by the government and it's in terrible situations. So I have that picture there. I'd like to show you, I'd like to talk about gay ads in Greece, but I may not have time. So I'd like to show you a picture of trans students at the new public school for trans people that opened its door in Pakistan. So there are sitting at the table looking very studious. So is that it for me? That's it for you I think, we're kind of. All right, we're pressed for time, I understand. I have a picture of Billy and Hector, which will be coming up on the screen. Billy Porter is posed star and the Oscars won insane over his wonderful outfit. And he was paying homage with his outfit to the legendary Hector extravaganza. And if we watch polls, we know what you're talking about. I know of the house of extravaganza. Hector passed away two months ago and was a legend in the ball scene. He was also one of the producers of Pose and there are their pictures trans together on the screen. That caused a big stir at the Oscars. It was great, wasn't it? It was really good. The tuxedo gown was designed by Christian Serrano. Yes. Who is openly gay, a very openly gay designer. Very informative, I didn't know that. Oh yeah. I did read that, but since I don't know designers, I'd love to know. I know, that's why we keep on this show. Help us with these things. And I just have one more quick story to tell you about, which is Sarah, Sharon Bottoms died at 58. And we may remember in the 1990s, it was a really big case in which she had her son taken away for her by her mother K Bottoms. And it went through a lot of court trials. But the really interesting thing was the judge made her go through about what was entailed in lesbian sex. And when she talked about oral sex, which was against the law at the time, that sort of did it for her and she lost her son anyway. Very sadly, she died at 48. So in lieu of a trivia question, I have a statement that I found in the premiere issue about in the mountains from February of 1986. And looking at our impending Stonewall 50 recognition for too long lesbian. And I apologize at the beginning that the reference here is lesbians and gay men. It had not been expanded at that point in time. So this is the language as published in 1986. For too long lesbians and gay men have been denied our voice. Our existence has been defined by others. The medical, psychiatric, religious, and legal authorities gained power over us through their ability to name us. The names they called us were neither pretty nor true. Sick, disturbed, immoral, and dangerous. Their names kept us isolated from each other, ashamed of our own selves and frightened of the world around us. Somehow almost miraculously that has changed. In the decade and a half since Stonewall, lesbians and gay men have taken power over our own lives by defining our own existence. We have changed our own and society's perception of who we are. As far as we have come however, there is still far to go. Lesbians and gay men still face the challenge of living in a world that is essentially homophobic and sexist. The reality of life for most lesbians and gay men still involves a significant amount of fear. Fear of being discriminated against, fear of physical violence, fear of being found out. Yet against that background there is the significant amount of joy. The joy of being part of a loving and caring lesbian and gay community. The joy of discovering new ways of living and recognizing each other. Our community is full of creative, talented, dedicated, and wonderful people. Anything that ties us together is a step forward. A way of fighting the myths and lies about us. A way of building a stronger community. A way of giving strength to ourselves. Out in the mountain looks forward to being part of that community building process in Vermont. We recognize the special challenges lesbians and gay men face in a rural state as well as the special opportunities. We make no special claim to speak for all lesbians and gay men. We hope, what we hope to provide is a mechanism for your voices to be heard. The diversity of our experience is incredible. The voice of our community is not the voice of any small group, but rather a rich and varied, sometimes discordant, cacophony of countless men and women. We hope you will join us and add your voice to that beautiful chorus. Words for us to look forward to for the next 50 years. We now have an interview with Representative Kathleen James, one of our newest recently elected 40 legislators. How many are there? There were 40 new legislators. And how many LGBTQ are there now? Do you know? Seven? Eight? Nine. Nine. Okay. And when we come back from the interview. Hello, and we're delighted today to be talking to one of our newest representatives, Representative Kathleen James from the Bennington Ford District. She lives in Manchester Center. Yes. Welcome. Thank you. And we really do want to get to know you because you're... Because I'm so fascinating. And you're nervous already. You're one of our newest out legislators and we made a commitment to talk to those people from within our community who help bring about change, who help move our community forward. And you were decidedly that person now. And I'm gonna eliminate some of the sort of background stuff that we usually talk about because I wanna jump into something we were just talking about before we started taping which is how you came to run for a statewide office at this point in time. You had done, as I'm talking over you already, you had done some involvement on a community basis and then you became involved with Emerge. Correct. Who then gave you this inspiration to run for a statewide office. She was the top vote-getter in her district and she defeated an incumbent, no small task. So tell me about Emerge and how you became involved and what they gave you. Okay. Well, I guess like a lot of first time candidates around the country, I really was inspired to run by the 2016 election. I felt compelled... Rather than moving to Canada. I felt really personally compelled to do something meaningful and not to do something small. And so I started looking around for opportunities to maybe take a leadership class because I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I had always wanted to run for the legislature but over the years of being a mom and raising my daughters that dream had kind of faded into the background. And a woman in my community told me about Emerge and suggested that I run because after the 2016 election I became very involved in grassroots politics. In my community I planned and led a bus trip to the Women's March which was amazing. We filled 110 seats on two buses in four days. And yeah, we were on fire. And we went to the Women's March. I got involved in the local Democrats. I was involved with Move on Manchester, with Earth Matters, which is an environmental group. So... A wide variety of interests there. Yeah, I was doing a lot of stuff. And grassroots organizing is where the real effort needs to be right now. I couldn't agree more. Because we know that on a federal level... Forget it. Our voices aren't going to be heard. We need to support everything that's underneath that. Yeah. And keep that movement forward. I became very energized by the thought of working locally and how could I make an impact at the local level? In the Northshire. In the Northshire. So I was referred to a merge, a group of local women who had been kind of watching me and helping me and who had been part of this big community grassroots effort. Paid for my tuition to attend a merge. And I did their six month training program. You really stepped into this. I did. And a merge for those who don't know, it's a national nonprofit with chapters in maybe 25 states by now. And they train women Democrats to run for office. And we sent them for it. Yeah, they do a fantastic job. The six month curriculum was remarkable. It gave me all the tools I needed to plan and run an effective, real campaign. You know, I felt like I was handed a toolkit. And here you are. Yeah, and plus inspiration. You know, I was in a class with a couple dozen women from around the state, many of whom were running. And several of us had our eye on the state house. So I wouldn't be here if it weren't for a merge, I don't think. Other women that were in your class that also get elected this time? Ruth Hardy in the Senate? Yes. She was a bit of a surprise. She was the Emerge Executive Director. So, but Ruth counts, I think, as among our Emerge class. Emily Kornhizer from Battleboro, myself, Sarah Coffey. We were all in the same, gosh, I hope I'm not forgetting anybody. We were all in the same six month cohort. I didn't ask you for a comprehensive roster. It was just a few people. Those are examples. And then there were other women who were doing the Emerge weekend long boot camps. Sarita Austin, Mary Beth Redman, Kerry Dolan, they're a bunch of us. I am incredibly encouraged hearing this and looking at what you all are gonna be doing going forward. Yeah, hopefully we'll get some good work done. And you already are. Yeah. You're the clerk of the House Education Committee. I am the esteemed clerk of the Education Committee. Which means you have to round up the cats to make them come in and testify when they're supposed to be there. Not really, actually. So, all I really do is record our votes in the binder. So, yeah, Shannon, our full-time professional clerk. Takes on that task because the chair has made the clerk do that in years past on some of the committees. You have already looked at and voted out H3, which is the Ethnic Social and Ethnic Studies Standards Committee, which I'm gonna talk a little bit about within the program itself. And it's coming back to you hopefully soon. I hope soon. To get finalized and signed into law. But you have in front of you a piece of legislation. I do. That you would really like to talk about, which is something that has been assigned to your committee. And I had it on my list of notes of asking you, did you know when you were gonna be hearing testimony on this? I don't know when we're gonna be hearing testimony. So, explain this to H185 to me. Yeah, it's a bill that's come before our committee. And I was really excited to see it. I really hope we're able to make some progress on it. But it's a bill that would allow transgender and gender non-conforming students in Vermont schools to access school programs, activities and facilities that are consistent with their gender identity. So we're talking about sports teams. All of those national debates about wrestling immediately comes to mind. Yeah, so I think it's a really interesting bill. It also has a component, and I brought it along so that I didn't mess up my description of it. But it also has a component that would require teachers and staff to address students by the name and pronoun that they prefer. And in addition, it would beef up record keeping so that you're encouraging teachers, staff and students to on forms identify their sexual orientation and their gender identity. So we start to get some better data. So there's a lot going on on this bill and I think it's a good bill. Last year at the Youth Leadership Summit that's sponsored by outright every year, when the governor came in and spoke with youth, one of the things that youth pointed out was there was no clear consistent policy statewide within school districts about how they were identified. You know, whatever was the name that was on your birth record is the name by which the staff addressed you regardless of what you said would your preferred name. So this will go an incredible long way in achieving what the students were saying. This is what we need. I need to be recognized for the person I am. The other piece about this is, you know, looking at all of the national statistics about those things that help us excel, the ability to participate in these types of activities increases your sense of self-esteem. It also increases your academic achievements in addition to the athletics. The two in tandem is what really helps move you forward. Yeah, so. So you also were one of the sponsors for the paid family leave bill. I am one of the sponsors for the paid family leave. As I read on the list of bills you sponsored, you can sort of look at, oh, I sponsored that? No, I know what bills I've sponsored. So far. It's not that long of a list. I'm trying to be judicious. But, yep, I am one of the sponsors on the paid family leave act. And I think it would be a real game changer for the state of Vermont. And I was really pleased to see that they expanded the language to have include a more, I guess, inclusive definition of family and relationships. That was great work. I didn't initiate that, but I was happy to hear that was happening. They actually included some language that when you looked at it, they went even further than the anticipation. If we were in a relationship where I was providing a parental role to you, and even without all of those legal recognitions, if I can show how I am contributing to your welfare, your well-being, I could qualify for family leave. But they didn't just stop there. They went a little further and said, okay, as we age, if as an older person, I need the care based upon that prior relationship, you now qualify for paid family leave to help take care of me. Which was such a revolutionary process to include in that bill. It was... We'll see what happens. I know it's in ways and means right now, and they're trying to figure out. The money part of it, which is very important. How to make it financially sustainable, but I have high hopes. I think a bill like this will go such a long way to support Vermont workers and Vermont families in the things that matter. And recognize the support of relationships that we create, not just the families into which we were born, but the families that evolve around us. Yeah, it's been very affirming to be elected and get up to Montpelier and have H3 be the first bill that my committee takes a look at, and to be having H185 arrive, and then to have a chance to put my name on the paid family leave bill. It's exciting. I'm not gonna talk about H57 for which you are also a core sponsor, which was, you know, I can talk about it if you want, but. If we take up more time than we have. I, the public hearing was, but is there any other specific piece of legislation that really excites you, that you're really looking at, I really want the chance to debate that? Paid family leave is big for me right now. Yeah, it was one of the first bills I was hoping to have, you know, to see move through, and it's right now I'm just, keeping my eyes on the prize with that one. Okay, and the education committee is the committee that you really wanted to serve on? That's usually one of my first questions. Well, too, you know, we were allowed to rank our committees in order, and I submitted two equally ranked first choices, education and then natural resources. Which is one of your other passions. Yeah, I have less expertise, but a lot of passion around climate action. It was something I talked about a lot during my campaign, and it's an issue that means a lot to me. And so, since I've been up here in Montpelier, I've been attending meetings of the Climate Solutions Caucus, and really they're mostly learning. I mean, you know, these are technical issues around technology and energy and, you know, weatherization and stuff. And this what's impressing me about you is you're coming in, not thinking that you know anything, but I want to learn, teach me. And those are the people you really want to have on the committee doing the real work. And we have a minute left. Okay. So what is it that we haven't talked about, or what is it that people really need to know about Representative Kathleen James of Manchester Center Vermont? Well, not. Proud Representative of the Northshire. Not much. I really am a listener and a learner. So, you know, I'm just here to try to do whatever good work is put in front of me and, you know, hope to stick around long enough to get some stuff accomplished. And you want your constituents to be in touch with you and let you know how the work you're doing in Montpelier is directly impacting their lives. So far, I've been hearing from a lot of people. It's great. All right. Thank you very much for your first visit. And you'll get to come back. All right. Oh, I passed. You passed. Thank you. Thanks. Well, before we, let me commend that interview. It was great. I really enjoyed it. It was wonderful. Yeah. I have real hope. She looks, she's a star. Going forward. Yeah. Definitely a star. She, Becca Ballant. Yeah. All of them. The other consulates. Yeah, all of them. The whole nine of them. So, and as your advice to us always is, remember to resist.