NOTE: To download a PDF version of this report, please click here.
Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition
The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC) received its first-ever grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of $55,000 in the 2020-2021 grants cycle.
The problem with the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition is that it is actively involved in LGBTQ advocacy and that its executive director is an LGBTQ activist.
On May 27, 2022, VAHC posted this announcement regarding its upcoming segment of “In the House Live,” wherein it would be having a “celebration of Pride Month.”
The interview was with Vermont state representative Taylor Small, the “first out transgender person to serve in the Vermont Legislature.” Small is a biological male who pretends to be a female, and throughout the interview, David Martins, the executive director for VAHC, refers to Small as “she” and “her,” calling him a “fierce advocate for LGBTQ issues.” The interview centers on a myriad of LGBTQ matters, a celebration of “LGBTQ Pride,” and even ends with an endorsement of the Vermont ballot initiative to enshrine “abortion rights” in the Vermont state constitution.
At 4:30 into the interview, Small begins talking about “tenant rights,” arguing against the rights of property owners to set moral conditions on the individuals to whom they rent their property. Small claimed that:
“no cause eviction is just a modern day form of discrimination in the housing world. It allows someone to evict someone just because ‘it wasn’t the right fit.’ And how often have we heard that in marginalized communities where ‘we’re not the right fit’ because our identities aren’t showing up right, or because they don’t agree with our lifestyle or how we’re living. I would never want to lose housing over that, especially as a trans-person, I think that comes really clearly.”
At 12 minutes into the interview, Martins congratulates Small on his promotion at the LGBTQ center he works at. At 13 minutes, Martins talks about the passage of same-sex “marriage,” complaining that there is a sense of apathy afterward, as if “We did it, we’re here.” As he continues down that vein, he said, “There a lot more we need to do regarding LGBTQ rights.” At 14:17 in the interview, Martins and Small revisit the concern they share over “no cause eviction” giving the ability to property owners to refuse housing or end leases to homosexual and transgender couples.
At 18:35, Martins starts talking about Pride Month, saying:
“Shift gears a little bit. This is Pride Month, which we know is about more than just the parties [laughing.]. Pride Month, which recognized the Stonewall Riots, and recognizes all the incredible things that have happened since then. We’re talking about the crisis in housing that’s happening right now, but we do have to recognize that we have come a long way since Stonewall, right?
…
Have you seen that docuseries ‘When We Rise?’ I LOVE it! That whole notion that Clive puts forward that this is ‘one struggle-one fight,’ and he has that girl who worked in the Women’s Center and then that sailor part of the BIPOC community, and we see the roots of all of these different movements all being born out of [unknown]’s office, and I think its just a reminder of that reality that it is ‘one struggle, one fight.’ “
At the around the 26:30 minute mark, Small talks about “big ticket items that are on the ballot this year … in the face of Roe v. Wade being overturned on the federal level, we really need to enshrine reproductive liberties in our state constitution and the Reproductive Liberty amendment will also be on the ballot in November.”
To this, Martins iterates the fact that if this passes on the ballot initiative, the governor cannot veto it, and it will be adopted into the state constitution. He follows this up with, “So, it’s up to us! … it’s up to Vermonters, so go online, register … and get out and vote,” giving his approval of the initiative.
As a reminder, this all happened on an official video program of VAHC, hosted by the executive director of VAHC, meaning that VAHC has formally participated in abortion and LGBTQ advocacy.
In July of 2021, VAHC posted a survey being conducted by “The Fair Housing Project,” asking if individuals had been “denied access to housing, etc” due to, among other things, sexual orientation/gender identity.” The implication here is that homeowners shouldn’t have the right to determine whether or not they wish to allow their property to be used by individuals engaging in public, gravely immoral and scandalous activities. This is a direct attack on the rights of property owners to determine how their property is to be used and by whom.
In July of 2020, VAHC published an action alert to “Help Stop HUD’s Proposed Rule to Allow Discrimination Against Transgender People.” The proposed rule was based on religious freedom measures, which would protect institutions like Catholic homeless shelters.
None of this is surprising, considering VAHC’s executive director David Martins is a long-time LGBTQ activist, recognized as such in his bio on the VAHC website. The bio even acknowledges his work with the “Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality,” advocacy he has clearly taken with him into VAHC.
David Martins is a “priest” of the Old Catholic Church, a heretical sect that formally separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1850s over matters pertaining to papal primacy and infallibility. In this video from 2011, Martins bullhorns Providence College with false teaching regarding sodomy in promotion of same-sex “marriage.”
On June 2 of 2022, he posted this image saying, “Happy Pride Month!”
Conclusion
VAHC is being run by a homosexual activist who has used the organization to promote an LGBTQ agenda. In addition to this, he formally used his position in a video interview format to help advance the LGBTQ agenda and give a plug for a ballot initiative to enshrine Roe in the Vermont state constitution. Because of this, VAHC is in clear violation of Catholic moral teaching and should never have received a CCHD grant.
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