The Beginnings of Pride: Standing up, Speaking Out and Organizing

The initial steps of standing up for gay and lesbian rights began with the editorial by Patch Adams and continued with the rapid mobilization of the community in Richmond. There were a number of movements that were the underpinnings of the gay rights movement. The women’s movement and the sexual revolution were picking up steam and the national attention to the Stonewall may have had some effect, but there is no written support for that. The local issues surrounding harassment on “the Block” and the closing of several bars/restaurants because of the Virginia ABC regulations were probably truly the impetus behind the initial organization in Richmond; this account includes a relatively extensive, but by no means comprehensive, and mostly chronological overview of what was happening in Richmond in the decade or so immediately following Stonewall, or at least things that were documented or that have been verbally reported. It would be difficult to be truly comprehensive; entire books could be written about the era even in Richmond, but an attempt has been made to capture the major events and the sense of excitement that existed.

The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) formed in 1970 or early 1971, inspired in part by a group of the same name that formed in New York City following the riots at the Stonewall Inn. The GLF in Richmond was an informal organization, with no by-laws and no regularly scheduled meetings. The informal meetings were held in the home of the unofficial leader of the group and VCU alumni, Kenneth Pederson (1948 – 1991). The group formed based primarily on the San Francisco “Gay Manifesto.” The group sponsored at least 2 dances in 1971 held at the String Factory, a counter-culture hang out on the SE corner of Laurel and Broad, blocks from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). An article in the VCU newspaper was the last mention of the organization, noting their last meeting in the summer of 1971. Pederson, however, remained active on campus and off, passing out positive literature/leaflets on campus, gay bars and along the downtown “block” even after the end of the group.

Bob Swisher talked about Pederson and GLF in an article “Shameless in Public” in Our Own Community Press, May 1988. “The actions of the Gay Liberation Front, however, were no mere college-age antics. The small group of men and women who comprised the local GLF broke the silence here {in Richmond} about gays and lesbian. The Richmond GLF attracted the attention of the media. There was a two page spread in the March 12, 1971 issue of VCU’s The Commonwealth Times; and an article in the May 30 issue (page B-1) of The Richmond Times Dispatch…”

“GLF people handed out literature on in the VCU area, at the downtown cruising block, in gay bars and in straight bar-restaurants in the Fan. The leaflets (aimed at straights, said) “hey, were, here, we exist. There are gay people. If you’re not gay yourself, you probably know someone who’s gay, whether you know it or not.” Pederson, who was a graduate student in rehabilitative counseling, was expelled in 1972 for being a guest lecturer in the school of Social Work, talking about gay issues. (Our Own Community Press, Volume 12, Number 7, pp 6-7.)

The GLF was instrumental in providing a local opportunity for an early national gay rights activist, Dr. Frank Kameny. Dr. Kameny founded the DC chapter of the Mattachine Society in 1961. Kameny was the first gay man to appear on TV without concealing his identity. He spoke out against the closing of Rathskellers and Renee’s Restaurants in a letter to the Richmond Times Dispatch. He then spoke at a GLF event “Homosexuality: What Every Heterosexual Should Know” at a Unitarian Universalist coffee house near VCU.

Although not directly an LGBTQ organization, the Fan Free Clinic was the first free health clinic in Virginia, founded in October 1970. It first operated out of the 1st Unitarian Universalist Church in the Fan, moved to the Hanover Avenue Christian Church in 1971. After several moves, Fan Free Clinic moved to the current location at 1010 North Thompson Street. Fan Free Clinic originally focused on women’s health and the prevention of transmissible diseases, but became a major health care provider for the LGBTQ community during the 1980s AIDS crisis and continues to serve as a major provider of AIDS care and also houses one of the few clinics serving the transgender community.

Gay Awareness in Perspective, GAP, (1974 – 1978) was the first formal gay rights organization in Richmond. It was a natural progression from the less formal GLF and it formed after a speech by Rita Mae Brown in early 1974 at VCU’s Rhoads Hall. Rita Mae Brown was brought to town by 3 VCU students: Frances Stewart, Dottie Cirelli, and Brenda Kriegel. Brown’s talk was “followed by a lively group discussion in which someone brought up a proposal for a gay organization. A paper was passed around for names and phone numbers. ‘There were cheers, spontaneous clapping, the sharing of experiences and hot discussion,’ wrote a reporter from VCU’s Commonwealth Times.” The organization started several weeks later, meeting at Pace Memorial Methodist Church in April of 1974; it should be noted that although VCU students and staff were instrumental in the organization of GAP, GAP was not a VCU organization.

Stephen Lenten, the Assistant Dean of Student Life at VCU at the time and who help set up the meeting and guide the organization, recalled in a 1988 article: “It was jam-packed, with a diverse group of men and women.” GAP made a few attempts at educating the straight public and at political activity, but as early as the spring of 1975 GAP saw itself as “dedicated to improving and solidifying our gay society.” In the same article, Bruce Garnett noted: “It developed mainly into a rap session type organization. We discussed things like coming out problems with the family, problems with religions…” (“Author/Wit Rita Mae Brown Inspired First Organization,” Bob Swisher, Our Own Community Press, June 1988, Volume 12, Number 8, pp 6-7.)

The Gap Rap was the first news and information medium distributed to Richmond’s lesbian and gay community. It was edited by Butch Chilton and was distributed almost monthly from April 1974 – April 1978. Dr. Frank Kameny again spoke to the LGBTQ community this time under the auspices of GAP. When Kameny spoke to GAP in 1974, he wore a button with one of the first well known positive gay affirmations: “Gay is Good.”

GAP was mostly a social group in many ways, becoming a rap session type group, but they were also beginning to be activists. About 50 members of the GAP group attended the NYC Pride parade on June 29, 1975. GAP board member, Stanley Kelsey, was one of the attendees. Kelsey, who was known as Aunt Bee, went as his drag persona wearing her GAP First Lady sash. Most members wore red lettered GAP t-shirts, and the GAP contingent led the Virginia contingent leading with the “GAP Richmond Virginia” banner.

Several other major events occurred in 1974. Richmond’s first Women’s Festival was held in Monroe Park on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on July 13, 1974. This Festival was organized by women’s organizations from Richmond and across Virginia and included speakers Margaret Sloan, Florence Kennedy, founder of the National Black Feminists, and novelist and activist, and Virginia resident, Rita Mae Brown. The Richmond Women’s Festival was not specifically lesbian, but it was the first outdoor public festival with a sense of lesbian or gay pride in the city. In many ways, the gay rights movement in Richmond was greatly nurtured by the women’s liberation/feminist movement. (Marschak and Lorch, p. 42)

In addition to being the location of the first Women’s Festival, one of the first student groups in Virginia started at VCU, with a generous cross section of organizers from the GAP. The Gay Alliance of Students formed at VCU and in the fall of 1974, they requested funds and meeting space at VCU and were denied by the governing board. In October 1974, the GAS president, Walter Foery, and other members filed a lawsuit claiming a violation of their civil rights accorded by the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. The lawsuit was filed against Dr. Alfred Matthews and the VCU Board of Visitors. The local courts found in favor of the school, and the students appealed to the lower federal courts which upheld the decision. Supported by the National Gay Task Force (NGTF), which was later to add lesbian to become the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the ACLU, the student organization appealed to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling by the 4th Circuit Court in “Gay Alliance of Students v. Matthews, et al” came in November of 1976, and the school was ordered that the student group be given the same space and same rights as other university groups. This was a major landmark ruling for the lesbian and gay community since it was at the Circuit Court level and, therefore, affected all student groups in 10 Southern states; it gave gay student groups the same rights to assembly and support as any other student group.

A major figure in the early 1970s, was Stephen Lenten. Lenten was the assistant dean of students at VCU. He moved to Richmond in 1970 and was a key activist until his death of complications related to AIDS in 2001. He was the advisor and helped start GAS in 1974. Lenten risked his job with university by fighting with the students in the court case “Gay Alliance of Students v. Matthews, et al.”

Lenten was also involved in GAP and helped set up the first meeting in April 1974. He also was involved in future organizations the Gay Rights Association (GRA) and Richmond AIDS Ministry (RAM). He left VCU in 1980 and went into private practice as a counselor, served on parish committees of the Catholic Diocese including Sexual Minorities Commission. He was also a member of Mulberry House, a commune which was a family of members allowed to be open with themselves and each other. Mulberry House was one of the best examples of gay and straight people living and interacting socially, lasting for 14 years. Later Stephen Lenten was to say that Mulberry House was just one of the ways he tried to build “intentional family.” (The Richmond Pride, The excitement and push for change and organizing continued for the lesbian and gay community in 1975 as well. The Richmond Lesbian Feminists (RLF) was founded and the sodomy laws in Virginia were challenged. In “Doe v. Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Richmond,” the sodomy laws were upheld. This decision was summarily affirmed by the US Supreme Court. It should be noted that Judge Robert Merhige issued a dissenting opinion in the case which stated that “private consensual sex acts between adults are matters, absent evidence that they are harmful, in which the state has no legitimate interest.” The Virginia law is still on the books never having been repealed by the General Assembly; these laws were declared unconstitutional nationwide by the US Supreme Court decision in “Lawrence and Gardner v. Texas” in 2003. The “Crimes against Nature” law (18.2-361) states: “ If any person carnally knows in any manner any brute animal, or carnally knows any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge, he or she shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony…”

Beth Marschak described the women’s movement in Richmond and the relationship with the lesbian movement in Richmond. The Women’s Liberation movement in Richmond included a number of groups: NOW (starting in 1969 – 1970), the Third District Women’s Political Caucus (started in 1971 and affiliated with the Virginia Women’s Political Caucus and the National Women’s Political Caucus), Richmond Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the Richmond Women’s Center. These groups eventually were supportive and essential to the development of the lesbian community in Richmond, specifically Richmond Lesbian Feminists. In addition, there was a National Black Feminist Organization in Richmond, as well as a women’s group that was part of the Socialist Workers’ Party. All of these groups eventually joined together with Richmond Lesbian Feminists to form the Richmond Women’s Alliance which organized three urban Women’s Festival, the first in Monroe Park and two in Byrd Park.

The Richmond Lesbian Feminists are the longest existing LGBTQ group in Richmond. Richmond Lesbian Feminists evolved from a workshop at a state convention of the Virginia Women’s Political Caucus, a nonpartisan political organization encouraging women to participate in politics at all government levels, at Albert H. Hill Middle School held January 18, 1975. The workshop, “Laws for Lesbian Legal Rights,” was led by Beth Marschak. Beth stated that she hadn’t really intended to start a new organization at the time, but she and the other 20 – 25 women at the workshop were painfully aware that “many feminist groups were either ignoring lesbians or actively trying to discourage their participation.” (Our Own Community Press, )

The Women’s Center, a nonprofit feminist organization providing resources for women’s groups, was important in the development of RLF as well as the Virginia Women’s Political Caucus, a nonpartisan political organization encouraging women to participate in politics at all government levels. Strong women leaders were developed from these organizations and conversely strengthened these organizations; these organizations were just two of the groups that were developing as part of the larger Feminist Movement, and these two groups were really 2 facets of a whole organization. As the women within these groups gained experience in organizing and many of the strong leaders began to acknowledge and affirm that they were lesbians, tension grew. This tension on the national level has been documented in numerous publications.

The Richmond Women’s Center was a nonprofit feminist organization providing resources for women’s groups started by the Virginia Women’s Political Caucus. The Women’s Center was started in 1972 or 1973 and operated out of the local YWCA on Fifth Street. The Women’s Center had a listed phone number and was a way for isolated women, including lesbians, to connect to resources and each other. The Women’s Center was not a lesbian organization, “but a quite a few lesbians were involved,” Marschak recalled. The Women’s Center was eventually asked to leave the YWCA due to being perceived as a “lesbian organization”, illustrating the sometimes contentious nature of the feminist movement with the lesbian movement. Marschak added that at the time there was a perception by the general public that all feminists were lesbians and the feminist organizations were very defensive about that. (“Author/Wit Rita Mae Brown Inspired First Organization,” Bob Swisher, Our Own Community Press, Volume 12, Number 8, p. 6, as originally published in The Richmond Pride.)

RLF has been and is a non hierarchal, loosely organized group and actually started as a statewide group of Lesbian Feminists which eventually split into several local groups (it is of note that RLF is the only remaining group still in operation.) The first Lesbian Feminist meeting was held on 2/22/75 at Pace Memorial United Methodist Church with 35 people from various cities in Virginia. Since their founding, RLF has hosted hundreds of social gathering, partnered with dozens of LGBTQ and human rights organizations and provided information to innumerous women about women’s and LGBTQ events through their newsletter which still is distributed in email form. RLF continues monthly potlucks, social gatherings, an annual New Year’s Eve Dance, and the newsletter, although it is now published exclusively online.

A major challenge of the LGBTQ community has always been reconciling who they are with their faith. One of the first organizations to address faith and the LGBTQ community in Richmond was Dignity/Integrity of Richmond. Five people met to discuss issues surrounding being lesbian and gay and faith in December of 1975. In January 1976, a Dignity chapter was established and the group was renamed Dignity/Integrity when the membership was pretty evenly divided between Catholics and Episcopals. The spiritual advisors for the group included the Episcopal vicar Edward Meeks “Pope” Gregory (1922 – 1995) and Catholic Brother Cosmos Rubencamp. The group continued to meet until late 1996 but disbanded shortly after the Integrity Chapter was decertified.

In addition to Dignity which formed to support gay and lesbian Catholics, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, under the guidance of Bishop Walter Sullivan, formed the Sexual Minorities Commission. The Sexual Minorities Commission was an official outreach group that ministered to the spiritual and pastoral needs of gay and lesbian Catholics and their families. Formed in 1977, this group also functioned in an advisory capacity for Bishop Sullivan. When Bishop Sullivan retired in 2004 the group disbanded.

As the community developed there was an increasing need and desire to be able to know what was happening within the community. The Richmond Lesbian Feminists developed their own newsletter “The Feminist Flyer” and GAP produced the GAP Rap. In addition, a more comprehensive “real” paper also began. “Our Own” Community News began in July 1976, started by the Unitarian Universalist Gay Caucus of the Unitarian Church in Norfolk, Virginia. Starting as a mimeographed sheet, it became a statewide publication within a year, by 1977. Eventually Our Own became independent of the UUGC. Our Own published until August 1998, and was one of the oldest existing LGBTQ newspapers when it stopped publishing. Our Own is a primary source of information about events and activities in the era it was published.

The women in Richmond would have a national impact on organizations and on policy decisions. One major event on the women’s rights front was the International Women’s Year. President Jimmy Carter convened the National Women’s Conference of 1977 with Executive Order No. 11979, consequently, states also held individual conferences. Women of RLF were vital to the process locally and ultimately worked cooperatively with other state groups and national organizations to make sure lesbian issues were part of the process. Beth Marschak worked with Bessida White, an African American lawyer who had worked hand and hand with RLF, to make sure that lesbian rights were included in the Virginia International Women’s Year meeting. Marschak worked very strategically to make sure that lesbians were included in the process and ultimately lesbian resolutions were included as part of the Virginia platform.

Strategically, Marschak had worked with Jean O’Leary of the NGTF, and a member of the Commission for the Observance of the International Women’s Year to craft 3 resolutions: a general anti discrimination resolution, one focusing on child custody and one that called for the repeal of the sodomy statute. The group agreed easily on the first two and eventually agreed with the last, despite the view that the sodomy statute really being a gay men’s issue. Marschak was then elected as a Virginia representative to the International Women’s Year Convention in Dallas, TX. Two other representatives of the Richmond lesbian community also attended; Barbara Weinstock attended as a board member of the NGTF and Janet Kramer was a member of RLF that also attended. The three RLF members who attended were important in making the lesbian voice heard on a national level. (Suzanne Shepherd, Master’s Thesis: “Dignity, Recognition and Equality: Lesbian Feminists in Richmond, VA 1974 – 1979, 2007)

While women all over the United States were joining together to make a positive difference in the lives of women, including lesbians, another woman’s impact was also being felt throughout the United States. In June 1977, Anita Bryant successfully campaigned to repeal the gay rights provision within the anti-discrimination human rights ordinance in Dade County, Florida. Her organization “Save the Children” was based on her beliefs in the sinfulness of homosexuality and the threat of homosexual recruitment of children. The day after the repeal, Bryant sang in Norfolk, and was met by protesters including people from Richmond and Norfolk. Bryant’s campaign was publicized nationally and her visits to Virginia spurned Richmond citizens to action. Following the June protest, several organizations began meeting in Richmond.

On October 8, 1977, Bryant performed at the Robbins Center at the University of Richmond, sponsored by the University of Richmond and the First Baptist Church. Instead of staging a formal protest, most of the Richmond LGBTQ community chose to respond with a positive self affirming action: the city’s first organized Gay Pride Rally was held at Monroe Park on the campus of VCU. The keynote was given by author and activist Karla Jay. The rally participants capped off the event with a reception at the Pace Memorial United Methodist Church and a dance at the Sheraton. In a conversation with Beth Marschak, she emphasized that the coalition of groups that had come together, including RLF, wanted to focus on a positive message to counter Bryant’s message and not focus on Bryant herself.

Although the primary response of the community was the rally, several members of the community did attend the performance and confronted Bryant at the UR concert. Neil Parsons and Bruce Garnett confronted Bryant. Parsons told Bryant how she was hurting gay people and Garnett argued religion and the bible. Their words must have made an impression because Bryant was later to mention the incident in an interview with Playboy. In a conversation with Neal, he noted that his response to the comments made by Bryant was also published in Playboy; he had responded with a letter to the editor because Bryant’s recollections of the event twisted what he and Garnett had said. Weeks after the confrontation, October, 22, 1977, Parsons and Garnett, along with Tony Segura, continued their activism, helping to form the Richmond Gay Rights Association (GRA). The organization formed to “formulate action programs aimed at the repeal enactment and modification of laws and ordinances affecting the gay and lesbian community and to formulate educational and cultural programs to promote the general community welfare.” Specifically, the group protested perceived entrapment of gays by local area police vice squads, spoke in support of adding sexual orientation to the Richmond Human Rights Ordinance. Meetings were held at 1406 Floyd Avenue two times a month.

The City of Richmond passed a solicitation law in 1975. By the 1975 law, “police can arrest anyone for soliciting sex by ‘word, sign or gesture’ or through any lewd, lascivious and indecent act.” The April 1978 edition of Our Own (Vol 2, #9) reported Richmond citizens harassed for solicitation on “The Block,” the gay male cruising area. The law was designed to reign in local massage parlors, but by 1978 was increasingly used by the police to arrest gay men for solicitation, following an increase in vice squad patrols. The GRA wanted to specifically to protest the perceived entrapment of gays by the local police vice squads.

In addition to the GRA another group formed partially in response to Bryant and the atmosphere of fear and hate that Bryant’s campaign engendered, the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights formed in February 1978. The board consisted for 8 men and 8 women from across the state with Richmond’s own Barbara “Bobbi” Weinstock serving as the temporary chair. The group principally served as the state’s LGBTQ information and communications network. The May 1978 edition of Our Own, reported on the formation of the Political Action Committee of the VCLGR and 2 priorities were set: 1) removal of the word “homosexual” from ABC regulations which forbid serving alcohol beverages to or hiring “known homosexuals;” and 2) to repeal the state sodomy law. An education committee was also formed to provide support to campus groups and promote understanding of homosexuality in the “non-gay” community.

Another stated goal of the GRA was to add sexual orientation to the Richmond Human Rights Ordinance and members of the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights also worked to support this goal. In 1978, the Richmond Human Rights Commission began forming the text for a new human rights ordinance to amend the City Code of 1975. At the June 6 meeting a number of people spoke for inclusion of sexual orientation in the language. Some of the speakers for the inclusion were: Beth Marschak of the Third District Women’s Political Caucus, Bruce Garnett of the Richmond Gay Rights Association (GRA), Barbara Weinstock of the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights and Reverend Ed Meeks “Pope” Gregory. Members of RLF chose to step up and speak for the ordinance as members of other groups they were involved with in order to indicate the widespread organizational support for the ordinance. The Richmond Human Rights Commission endorsed the inclusive language.

City Council woman, Willie Dell, introduced the ordinance to city council, and three public hearings were held, where members of the GRA and VCLGR spoke up. On May 29, 1979, Richmond City Council approved the ordinance with “sexual orientation” and “ancestry” removed from the list of protected classes. Over 30 years later, there is still no inclusive human rights ordinance in place in Richmond.

Another Richmond landmark organization began in 1978. MCC Richmond was founded on July 8. MCC Richmond had the mission to provide a church home for LGBTQ Christians. MCC began meeting at the Friends Meeting house at 4500 Kensington Avenue and moved to their current location in 1993. Although the negative impact of religion on the LBGTQ community is often evident today as well as in the 1970s, with Anita Bryant’s campaign being a case in point, the religious community in Richmond also had a very strong positive impact on the community. Pace Memorial Methodist Church and the Friends Meeting House were two of the most frequently used locations for meetings for the community, and the Friends Meeting House was also used for dances. The support that these churches offered was vital in the development of LGBT organizations in Richmond; if there was no place to meet, the groups would never have had a chance.

Another important development for the women’s community in Richmond was the opening of Labrys Books on April 9, 1978 at 8 North Allen Avenue. Founded by Theresa “Terry” Barry and Joan Mayfield, Labrys sold books by and for women and, along with the aforementioned churches, served as a meeting space for feminists and lesbians in Richmond. Labrys closed in 1981 and Womensbooks, a feminist owned cooperative bookstore started at the YWCA on North 5th Street in the Winter of 1981. WomensBooks later moved to the basement of the Fare Share Food Cooperative on Main Street. Selections included many lesbian books and music when they were hard to find in Virginia. WomensBooks operated until 1993, shortly after Phoenix Rising, a bookstore serving the entire LGBTQ community. Phoenix Rising, run by Jim Todd and Rex Harrison, still operates on Belmont Avenue in Richmond, struggling in this age of easy online access and access in “big box” bookstores such as Borders and Barnes and Noble.

A LOT happened in the gay and lesbian community in Richmond in the decade following the Stonewall Inn Riots, and the first Gay Pride event in Richmond was June 23, 1979 commemorating the Tenth Annivesary of the riots. The theme was “Death of Denial… Birth of Pride.” The Pride event consisted of a motorcade of about 15 decorated cars beginning at Azalea Mall and paraded about three miles to Byrd Park, folk singers, banners, a picnic lunch and speeches by local activists. Among the speakers were some already familiar names: Barbara Weinstock, Beth Marschak, and Bruce Garnett. RLF sponsored a dance held that evening at the Sheraton Motel. The next Pride was not held until 1983 and the 1984 pride event was the first with a formal organization.

There were numerous pride celebrations across the United States commemorating Stonewall and there were also several marches in 1979 where Richmond was well represented. RLF members marched in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. In addition, the first National March on Washington for LGBTQ rights was held October 14, 1979, and Richmond was well-represented by members of the local Gay Rights associations: the GRA, the VCLGR and RLF. Again, well-known activists were among the attendees including Neil Parsons, Bruce Garnett, Beth Marschak and Barbara “Bobbi” Weinstock. This First March on Washington for gay and lesbian rights was a lobbying effort to support the House Bill (HR 2074) which would have provided gay rights protections. The November 1979 issue of Our Own reported 100,000 people attended the March.

In addition to rallying in DC, the VCLGR announced a rally at Capital Square in January when the General Assembly was in session, encouraging people to come to the capital for a visible show of strength. A lobbyist was approved and in January 1980, VCLGR hired Beth Marschak as the first registered lobbyist to lobby the Virginia General Assembly on behalf of LGBTQ rights. There were 3 legislative goals: 1) remove the references to “homosexuals” in the ABC laws, 2) repeal of sodomy laws and 3) a human rights statute protecting gays and lesbians. It was years before the first goal was accomplished , the second technically still hasn’t been achieved because the law is still on the books although presumably rendered unconstitutional by “Lawrence and Gardner v. Texas” in 2003 and Virginia still does not have a human rights statute protecting LGBTQ people. The Virginia did consider a bill that would decriminalize heterosexual sodomy and reduce homosexual sodomy from a Class 6 Felony to a Class 1 Misdemeanor. This bill failed and sodomy continued as a Class 6 Felony.

Beth Marschak was the first registered lobbyist to lobby for LGBTQ rights with the Virginia General Assembly. In 1981, the Richmond Gay Rights Association (GRA) sponsored the second; Bruce Garnett was hired as a registered lobbyist at the Virginia General Assembly to speak on behalf of gay and lesbian rights. Garnett was the first openly gay man to lobby the General Assembly. The GRA disbanded later in 1981.

Following the disbanding of the GRA, The RVGA (became lesbian inclusive RVGLA in 1987) was founded in 1982. The general goals of the group were to: (1) To be an effective political voice for Richmond’s gay/lesbian community through voter registration, lobbying, candidate support, and other forms of non-violent activism (2) To seek the repeal of all laws that discriminate against homosexuals solely on the basis of sexual orientation to include: sodomy, privacy, domestic relations, health issues, civil rights, ABC laws, employment, housing, inheritance rights, marriage, and insurance (3) To enhance the well-being of Gay and Lesbian individuals through education, social and political activism, and strengthening coalitions with other human rights organizations and (4) To communicate information on AIDS, other health issues and their effects on society through the following: education, legislative action and cooperation with health organization. (The Virginia Pride, March 1987, back cover)

The decade or so after Stonewall was a heady decade in Richmond as well as in many areas of the United States. Members of the lesbian and gay community were practically flying out of the closet, the “straight” community was forced to acknowledge that a gay and lesbian community existed, and the lesbian and gay community, separately and together, began to form organizations that would stand up and fight for gay and lesbian rights for years to come. The religious establishment also began to face the fact that gay and lesbians existed in all facets of society including within their walls, some churches would embrace lesbians and gays, but many would add to their discrimination; new churches like MCC were established to minister specifically to gays and lesbians. The next decades the fight would continue, in fact it still continues, but no one would have expected the crisis that absorbed much of the energy of the lesbian and gay community for most of the eighties and into the nineties: AIDS.