Tag Archives: LGBT History

Veteran music journalist Barry Walters has penned an excellent take on why our nightclubs have always been a refuge for the LGBT community. From Billboard Magazine: Since Stonewall and well before, gay clubs have been our schools, our places of worship. Nightclubs are where we’ve long learned to unlearn hate, and learn to become and love our real selves. They’re …

Gentle readers, I’m rerunning my annual Pride rant for the twelfth year. I wrote this post in 2005 a couple of days after attending Pride here in NYC. In the following years I’ve reposted it in advance of Pride in the hope of encouraging you to attend your local events. Have a wonderful Pride month. Love each other. Watching The …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Former state Democratic party Chair Bob Poe, a candidate for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, revealed publicly on Thursday that he is HIV positive. Poe, 61, said he was diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS in 1998 and is currently in good health. He revealed the diagnosis in an interview with Watermark magazine as well as …

The White House today issued a lengthy recounting of the many, many advances in LGBT rights seen during the Obama administration. The “fact sheet” – which I’ve posted in its entirety below – serves both as a very well-earned bragging point and as a stark reminder of how tenuous many of these advances remain with the specter of a Republican …

Wow. The Pride LA reports: The United States federal government has recognized as legally valid the April 1975 same-sex marriage of Richard Adams and Anthony Sullivan, approving the “green card” petition that Adams filed in 1975 for his husband, an Australian citizen. After Adams died in December 2012, Sullivan sought to have the Immigration Service recognize their marriage and grant …

In a press release that name-checks pioneering gay activists Frank Kameny and Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, the Department of Defense celebrates LGBT Pride Month. They write: Diversity is one of our nation’s greatest strengths. During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride month, we celebrate our rich diversity and renew our enduring commitment to equity. The dedication and contributions of our …

Via White House press release: On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report on what would later be understood as the first documented cases of AIDS. The past 35 years tell a story that bends from uncertainty, fear, and loss toward resilience, innovation, and hope. We’ve learned that stigma and silence don’t just fuel …

The New York Times reports: Connie Kopelov [seated], whose wedding to Phyllis Siegel in 2011 was the first legal same-sex marriage in New York City, died in Manhattan on Saturday. She was 90. Her death was confirmed by Ms. Siegel, who said Ms. Kopelov had been in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Ms. Kopelov and Ms. Siegel had been …

Amazing. The Age reports: Peter McEwan was just 17 when the police caught him caressing another man behind some bushes on Brighton beach in 1967. It was enough for him to receive a criminal conviction while he was still finishing year 12. He said police had written a confession for him and he agreed to sign it. “I was an …

Lambda Legal’s Jon Davidson put it in context for what’s happening today: To quote late New York Yankee baseball great Yogi Berra, “it’s déjà vu all over again.” Today marks the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Romer v. Evans, Lambda Legal’s successful challenge, in partnership with the ACLU and some of Colorado’s top lawyers, to …

Finally. Via the Associated Press: In another historical moment for the Obama administration, the Senate on Tuesday evening confirmed the long-stalled nomination of Eric Fanning to be Army secretary. Fanning thus becomes the first openly gay leader of any U.S. military service. The voice vote came after Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., dropped his opposition in a dispute over Obama administration …

President Obama today issued a statement marking the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia, which was launched in 2004 on the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s 1990 declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness. Obama’s message declares that “LGBT rights are human rights” and that the United States honors the work of activists and will continue to “support their …

Earlier this week the Obama administration signaled its intention to declare the Stonewall Inn a national monument to LGBT rights. Franklin Graham is ever so pissed: A monument to sin? That’s unbelievable. War heroes deserve a monument, our nation’s founding fathers deserve a monument, people who have helped to make America strong deserve a monument — but a monument to …

From the Washington Post: President Obama is poised to declare the first-ever national monument recognizing the struggle for gay rights, singling out a sliver of green space and part of the surrounding Greenwich Village neighborhood as the birthplace of America’s modern gay liberation movement. While most national monuments have highlighted iconic wild landscapes or historic sites from centuries ago, this …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: In a unanimous vote, the city council voted to rename 900 South as “Harvey Milk Boulevard” after the murdered gay rights leader. The vote came after about an hour of public comment on Tuesday night, with members of the community split over the idea. Some who testified against the measure said they would support …

Politico today published a fascinating look at Donald Trump’s close association with Roy Cohn, who arguably remains the most infamous homocon in American history. An excerpt: It was the fall of 1984, Trump Tower was new, and this was unusual territory for the 38-year-old real estate developer. He was three years away from his first semi-serious dalliance with presidential politics, …

Late last night Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff posted the below gorgeous clip in thanks for the veto of Georgia’s anti-LGBT bill. The video features audio from Harvey Milk’s legendary “you gotta give ’em hope” speech as scenes of gay pride parades, the San Francisco skyline, and a diverse collection of people go by. JMG reader Cuberly tells us that the …

Via press release from New York Sen. Brad Hoylman: “LGBT history is American history. An important part of that history is Julius’ Bar, one of the oldest gay bars in the city. By including Julius’ on the state and national historic registries, we’ll help ensure that future generations can be inspired by the events that occurred at Julius’ Bar and …

The Los Angeles Times today declares that most in the LGBT community appear to have forgiven Hillary Clinton for her Reagan/AIDS gaffe, largely thanks to the quickly issued apologies. They report that the scramble to mitigate the damage from the comments began while she was still at Nancy Reagan’s funeral: The story of how the Clinton camp responded offers insights …

From Finland’s national broadcaster: Preparing a cup of morning joe won’t be the same when the Robert Paulig Roastery launches its line of coffee products enclosed in packaging featuring the risqué figures created by Tom of Finland. The company released a press release in which it described Touko Laaksonen, also known as Tom of Finland, as one of the country’s …