1976: The owner of a Hoboken, NJ dinner theater, the Clam Broth House, cancels an upcoming production of The Boys in the Band after learning that the play is about homosexuality. “The Clam Broth House is a family restaurant,” says manager Arthur Pelaez, “and I do not feel that this kind of play is the type … Read More
1970: The Advocate estimates there are approximately 6,817,000 gay men and lesbians living in the United States. 1971: The French leftist newspaper, Tout, edited by Jean-Paul Sartre, calls for complete sexual liberation in France, including the right of individuals to be freely and openly homosexual. French police begin massive seizures of the publication on the grounds that it is … Read More
1979: “In The Navy” begins a thirteen-week run in the nation’s Top 40. The U.S. Navy briefly considers using the song as a recruitment theme . . . until the full implications of the lyrics are explained. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw] 1981: In an article in The Globe, First Lady Nancy Reagan says, “Women’s liberation and gay … Read More
1985: In a letter to ultra-conservative American Coalition for Family Values, former Los Angeles Police Chief and state assembly member Ed Davis responds against anti-gay politicians and pressure from the group that he take a public pledge refusing donation or endorsements from gay political groups. “I close this letter,” he says, “by asking you to … Read More
1976: By a vote of 6 to 3, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Virginia’s sodomy laws. 1985: The Los Angeles Times comes out in favor of gay rights and urges the U.S. Supreme Court to take a stand on more gay-related issues. 1988: Georgetown University, the nation’s oldest Roman Catholic university, loses … Read More
1969: Society for Individual Rights president Leo Laurence and his lover are featured in a photo-illustrated article in the Berkeley Barb. Calling for “the Homosexual Revolution of 1969,” Laurence exhorts gay men and lesbians to Join the Black Panthers and other left-wing groups and to “come out” en masse. 1990: With the opening of the Robert … Read More
1977: On Face the Nation, White House press secretary Jody Powell defends charges that the Carter Administration panders to gay activists by saying, “For an organized group who feel they have a grievance that they are not treated fairly, for them to have a right to put that grievance before high officials and say ‘We … Read More
1973: Gay playwright, Noel Coward, dies in Jamaica at the age of 73. 1975: After the local district attorney’s office rules that there are no county laws preventing two people of the same-sex from getting married, Boulder, Colorado county clerk Clela Rorex issues a marriage license to two gay men. It is the first same-sex marriage … Read More
1985: The Times of Harvey Milk wins the Oscar for Best Feature Length Documentary. Accepting the award, producer Richard Schmeichen thanks his male lover. 1988: Robert Joffrey, founder and artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet, dies in New York City at the age of fifty-seven, of what is reported to have been “liver, renal, and respiratory … Read More
1971: In defiance of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, a federal judge grants U.S. citizenship to a 24-year old gay man from Cuba, ruling that an applicant’s homosexuality cannot, in itself, bar a person from becoming a citizen. 1986: William Hurt wins the Best Actor Oscar for his role as an imprisoned homosexual window … Read More