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State hears LGBTQ concerns in Saranac Lake

SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance held a town hall to address issues within the LGBTQ community Wednesday at the Saranac Lake Free Library.

Assistant Director of the state Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Ron Zacchi was there to hear people’s concerns.

The town hall wasn’t really about finding solutions to any problems just yet, but rather airing questions and absorbing information. Twelve people showed up to the meeting. Some were from Saranac Lake, others from Keene Valley, and two students from Malone showed up, too.

The group agreed there were many problems LGBTQ people face every day, but one resounding theme was acceptance of youth, both in the home and at school.

Two 16-year-old Franklin Academy students, Matt Gregory and Hayley Neuroth, said they feel welcome at school, but not entirely accepted.

“Sometimes people use the wrong pronouns with me or tell me that I’m technically a girl,” Gregory said, “and I have to tell them, ‘No. I’m a guy. That’s who I am.'”

Hayley added, “I’m lesbian, so I obviously will have some issues with people not accepting me. When I tell people who I am and what I identify as, people will say, ‘That’s weird.'”

In most schools, students who feel out of place usually have school counselors with whom to talk. Gregory and Neuroth said they are helpful sometimes. Gregory said all the counselors encourage a safe space, but he would prefer a person who is specifically geared toward LGBTQ issues.

Gregory also brought up school bathrooms.

“Those are a big issue because the trans youth or non-binary (not associating with any gender) kids are scared to use their preferred bathrooms,” he said. “They’re scared other kids will hurt them or beat them up, so I think there should be more of a safer option, like a gender-neutral bathroom.”

Neuroth added that schools and community should have more public groups and clubs for LGTBQ people. Gregory said he’d be interested in starting something like that at Franklin Academy in Malone.

The two said they felt the town hall went well and that their voices were heard by the state.

“It was a really great opportunity to come here and tell how I feel,” Neuroth said, “Everything was equally listened to, and no matter what the concern was, they’re going to try and do something for us.”

Saranac Lake Central School District Superintendent Diane Fox said she was surprised to have some LGBTQ students who felt more comfortable at school than at home with their families. She figured if love and understanding were going to come from anywhere initially, it would be from parents and siblings. Fox said recently, one couple was upset with the district for accepting their child’s alternative lifestyle.

“It’s not our job to say who you should be,” Fox said. “We encourage students to be themselves.”

Another main concern the town hall addressed was the state regulations that protect LGBTQ people. Regulations aren’t as concrete as laws, meaning they can be updated, removed and reenacted with more flexibility. Many of the folks in attendance wondered if there was concise booklet or binder that contains those LGBTQ regulations. Zacchi said there wasn’t one, but Gender Alliance Executive Director Kelly Metzgar said one of her top goals is to make that information readily available.

Metzgar said unless someone knows where to look and what to look for, things such as the Dignity for All Students Act, the state Department of Education’s transgender guidelines from 2015 and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive action for the transgender community can be difficult to find.

“There are all these search parameters that you have to put in,” she said. “What I would like to do is have a website, and I would have all of these listed.”

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