Gay

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Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. 1971-2010

Timeline

1971

Kameny for Congress campaign poster, Feb-March 1971.
  • A group of Kameny for Congress campaign workers forms the Gay Activists Alliance of Washington, DC (GAA/DC), patterned after GAA/New York
  • GAA holds the first of many candidate forums for the DC School Board election and rates the candidates


1972

A picture of GAA's warehouse office and Gay Community Center on 13th and M Streets, NW.
  • GAA holds a torch light demonstration at the Iwo Jima Memorial to protest park police entrapment of gay men and meets with the Park Police
  • GAA rents a warehouse on 13th and M Streets, NW, which functions as a Gay Community Center throughout 1972.
  • The DC School Board passes a resolution prohibiting discrimination within the school system based on sexual orientation, the nation's first such resolution by a school board


1973

  • GAA holds a sit-in at Police Chief Jerry Wilson's office, after a year of unsuccessful attempts to get a meeting. Three GAA members are arrested
  • With DC Council passage of Title 34, DC becomes the first major American city to outlaw discrimination against gays in housing, employment, and public accommodations. GAA involvement ensured that this extensive human rights law included protections for gays and lesbians
  • GAA initiates Project Gaycare, a staff awareness training program in the DC schools


1974

GAA’s 1974 Candidate Questionnaire.
  • GAA publishes and distributes an educational booklet entitled "Twenty Questions about Homosexuality: A Political Primer"
  • GAA sponsors a voter registration drive and holds its firs mayoral and council candidate forums in preparation for the upcoming elections, the first in the District under Home Rule
  • GAA representatives meet with Mayor Walter Washington and express that their first priority is the appointment of a gay person to the DC Human Rights Commission
  • GAA distributes candidate questionnaire for the September 10, 1974 primary election in Washington, DC


1975

  • The DC Council votes to terminate funding of the police department's Prostitution, Perversion & Obscenity squads, effectively ending years of anti-gay harassment and entrapment
  • The DC Council appropriates $50,000 for the Gay Men's Venereal Disease Clinic (which later becomes Whitman-Walker Clinic)
  • Mayor Walter Washington names Frank Kameny to the city's Human Rights Commission, its first openly gay city appointee
  • GAA sponsors a Bicentennial Conference on "Gays and the Federal Government," one of the first national gatherings of the gay political movement


1976

GAA campaigns against police entrapment and harassment in the 1970s.
  • GAA lobbying results in a provision within DC's new marriage and divorce bill prohibiting sexual orientation from being considered in child custody and visitation rights cases.
  • GAA sponsors Freedom of Expression Day, a demonstration at the District Building, to protest recent raids of gay movie houses.


1977

Cinema Follies.
  • DC Council reenacts Human Rights Bill as part of the DC Code. Under pressure from GAA, the statute is adopted verbatim from the previous act, without proposed anti-gay amendments
  • As part of Project Awareness, GAA gets area radio stations to broadcast a public service announcement instructing that discrimination against gay people is illegal in Washington
  • Nine men die in one of the worst fires in DC history at the Cinema Follies. GAA responds by demanding that the fire department inspect gay establishments for possible safety code violations


1978

  • GAA sponsors the largest gay rights rally held in Washington up to that time to protest the appearance of anti-gay organizer Anita Bryant
  • GAA establishes a suburban outreach program to rate candidates for the fall elections in suburban Maryland and Virginia
  • GAA holds a voter registration drive and candidate forum in preparation for the fall elections
  • GAA distributes 20,000 leaflets publicizing its ratings of the candidates
  • With a GAA rating of "10" and the endorsement of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Marion Barry wins an upset victory in a three-way Democratic primary for mayor, ensuring his election
  • Pro-gay council member Arrington Dixon defeats anti-gay candidate Douglas Moore for Council Chairman
  • GAA's Violence Against Gays Project distributes leaflets to increase awareness and reporting of bias-related crime


1979

GAA Metro ad, "Someone In Your Life Is Gay," 1978-1979. The phone number on the ad, (202) 667-5139, is still good.
  • GAA establishes a Mayoral Appointments Project to identify and support qualified gay candidates for openings on DC boards and commissions.
  • During his first term, the Mayor appoints over twenty openly gay people to city related government, more than were appointed in any other jurisdiction in the country.
  • GAA gets a gay activist appointed to the 1st District Police Citizens Advisory Council.
  • In response to Anita Bryant -sponsored anti-gay referenda in other cities, the DC Council bans initiatives and referenda which could restrict the DC Human Rights Law.
  • GAA wins a court battle with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, allowing it to place educational posters in Metro buses with the message "Someone in Your Life is Gay."


1980

Former GAA President, Mel Boozer.
  • GAA establishes the Gay and Lesbian Education Fund as a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization
  • In a Memorial Day observance, GAA, after a bitter fight with the U.S. Army, sponsors the first annual wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery to honor all those who have died in the military service of the United States, including gay men and lesbians
  • As a nominated candidate for Vice President of the United States, GAA president Mel Boozer promotes gay rights in nationally televised speech before the Democratic National Convention[1]
  • The Mayor establishes the Civilian Complaint Review Board to monitor police behavior and mentions GAA in his statement as one of the prime movers behind the legislation.


1981

  • Involved in the search process for a new DC Police Chief, GAA endorses both Maurice Turner and Marty Tapscott, who are later named Chief and Assistant Chief respectively
  • A GAA-prepared slide show on gay issues becomes part of the regular training program at the DC police academy
  • DC Council unanimously passes the Sexual Assault Reform Act, which decriminalizes sodomy and repeals solicitation laws for consenting adults. Exercising its oversight power for only the second time, Congress overturns the Act under pressure from the Moral Majority
  • GAA convinces the DC Council to broaden the Housing Purchase Assistance Program to include single persons and domestic partners


1982

  • After years of refusal from previous police chiefs, Maurice Turner issues a public statement expressing the police department's commitment to fair and equal treatment of gays and lesbians and agrees to begin police force recruitment in the gay community


1983

Representatives of Gay Activists Alliance and International Gay Association present Professor Ruediger Lautmann's manuscript on Nazi persecution of homosexuals to Monroe H. Freedman, Director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, on May 18, 1981. From left: Franklin Kameny, Craig Howell, Professor Freedman, GAA Vice President Andy Hirsch, IGA American liaison Clint Hockenberry. Washington Blade Photo by Leigh H. Mosley.
  • After three years of lobbying by GAA, the US Holocaust Memorial Council agrees to chronicle the Nazi persecution of gays and lesbians in the National Holocaust Memorial Museum being planned for the Mall in Washington, DC
  • GAA initiates an Employment Protection Project to persuade large employers explicitly to include sexual orientation in their Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statements
  • DC Council allocates emergency funds to combat the spread of AIDS
  • GAA sponsors a demonstration and news conference at Bolling Air Force Base to protest a recent anti-gay witch hunt at the base and the military's continuing policy of discriminating against gay men and lesbians


1985

  • In protest over Georgetown University's refusal to recognize a gay student group, a coalition of gay groups lead by GAA gets a provision added to a $200 million bond issue for the University requiring compliance with the District's human rights law, effectively holding up issuance of the bonds
  • GAA begins its Police Training Project which provides gay-run training sessions as part of the regular curriculum for police recruits
  • In conjunction with other groups, GAA forms the DC Committee on AIDS Issues, an inter organizational council to establish a unified front in fighting the AIDS crisis
  • The City increases AIDS funding to nearly $1 million


1986

  • DC Council passes an AIDS insurance bill, prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to persons who test positive for AIDS antibodies
  • GAA changes its name to the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC (GLAA).


1987

  • The US Holocaust Memorial Council holds a conference on non-Jews persecuted by the Nazis, including a panel on gay victims of the Holocaust. with the assistance of GLAA
  • Gay students at Georgetown University win the right to "tangible benefits" from the University
  • GLAA publicly criticizes Mayor Marion Barry for failure to oppose the Armstrong Amendment passed by Congress which effectively overturns the court victory


1988

  • Mayor Barry appoints former GLAA president Lorri Jean as chairperson of DC Domestic Partnership Commission to study the possibility of providing benefits to non-married partners of city employees
  • City's AIDS funding increases to $6 million, but gay groups criticize the city for failure to begin media education program and services
  • GLAA protests Council actions gutting the city's AIDS insurance law and approving tax-exempt bonds for Georgetown University without an anti-discrimination clause


1989

  • After over fifteen years of lobbying by GLAA culminating in a demonstration at its annual fundraiser, Big Brothers of the National Capital Area ends its practice of discriminating against gay men in assigning volunteers to its youth program
  • A coalition of gay groups persuades the Council to block the Mayor from decreasing AIDS funding under budget deficit pressures


1990

  • DC Council passes Hate Crimes legislation, providing stiffer penalties for crimes against gays and lesbians
  • Woodward & Lothrop agrees to change its employee spouse discount benefit policy to include unmarried domestic partners
  • GLAA protests local anti-gay violence by the Marine Corps, leading to the expulsion of one soldier and penalties for several others
  • GLAA participates on regional Ryan White Planning Council from its inception, helping to determine priorities and distribution of federal funds for fighting HIV and AIDS


1991

GLAA members, Michael Singerman, Frank Kameny, Barrett Brick, RicK Rosendall, and Craig Howell, marching at Capital Pride 1990s.
  • GLAA initiates Condom Availability Coalition, which leads to adoption by Public Health Commissioner in 1992 of condom availability program in District schools and prisons
  • GLAA leads effort, in coalition with Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) and other groups, to launch first annual Walk Without Fear, a community rally, march, and candlelight vigil against anti-gay and -lesbian violence


1992

  • DC Council passes Health Care Benefits Expansion Act, popularly known as the Domestic Partnership bill, after years of coalition leadership by GLAA
  • GLAA, with the collaboration of the Gay and Lesbian Education Fund, produces a dramatic 60-second public awareness radio spot, which it runs on stations WMZQ and WPGC, describing the consequences of homophobia and calling for the listener to speak out against bigotry.


1993

  • DC Council reforms District sodomy statute with language drafted by GLAA member Frank Kameny, legalizing private, consensual sodomy
  • GLAA member and Community Pioneer, Barrett Brick, delivers “A Sacred Obligation,” at the dedication of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation Friday, April 23, 1993


1994

  • GLAA and GLOV succeed in getting Hate Crimes law implemented by DC police after years of struggle


1995

Tyra Hunter.
  • GLAA works with other groups to pressure the District government to pay AIDS service providers on time
  • GLAA participates in first annual political forum during Lesbian and Gay Freedom Festival on the state of the local gay and lesbian movement
  • GLAA files amicus brief in lawsuit against proposed DC School Prayer Initiative, which is ruled "patently unconstitutional" in April 1996 and kept off the ballot
  • GLAA joins in protest and pressure against DC Fire Department in response to the death of transgendered citizen Tyra Hunter following the withholding of proper emergency treatment from her after a traffic accident; pressure is kept on Fire Chief Otis Latin when the department's investigation into the incident is bungled


1996

GLAA's website today.
  • GLAA helps persuade the District government to reconsider its 1995 ruling that the Boy Scouts of America is a "distinctly private club" that may bar gays from participating as leaders or scouts
  • GLAA launches its website (glaa.org) to facilitate participation by gay and lesbian citizens in the District's political process through online access to GLAA materials such as testimony, position papers, candidate ratings, information on upcoming events, and a directory of DC officials


1997

  • Gay rights supporters claim a partial victory against the Boy Scouts of America when, after a long delay, the DC Office of Human Rights issues a finding that paid BSA employees are covered by the DC Human Rights Act
  • With support from The Crew Club and the Gay and Lesbian Business Guild, GLAA launches an advertising campaign in The Washington Blade, City Paper, Metro Weekly, and InTowner, in which GLAA questions the District government's priorities and criticizes the Metropolitan Police Department and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for their harassment of gay businesses
  • GLAA joins the Metropolitan Police and Criminal Justice Review Task Force established by the DC Branch of the NAACP


1998

  • GLAA persuades the DC Corporation Counsel to withdraw offensive arguments from the government's brief in a civil suit brought against the District government by the mother of the late Tyra Hunter, a transgendered citizen (see 1995 item). One of the withdrawn arguments had been that the DC Fire Department was not covered by the DC Human Rights Law
  • GLAA and GLOV participate in the Mayor's Citizens Advisory Committee on the Selection of the Chief of Police, which plays an active role in the process leading to the confirmation of Charles Ramsey (Chicago's deputy police superintendent, with a strong record in community-based policing) as the new Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. Upon his swearing-in he immediately seeks a meeting with gay leaders, as does the new Commander of the MPD Homicide Division, Ross Swope
  • GLAA, in a broad-based coalition including local chapters of ACLU and NAACP, succeeds in pushing legislation through the DC Council re-establishing a Citizen Complaint Review Board to investigate citizen complaints of police abuse
  • GLAA and the DC Coalition join the Federation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Statewide Political Organizations, and begin working with the Federation and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, along with a broad-based coalition of local activists, to plan Equality Begins at Home in DC for the week of March 21-27, 1999


1999

  • GLAA and the DC Coalition sponsor DC's Equality Begins at Home — a week-long series of events timed to coincide with similar efforts at statehouses throughout the country — featuring a rally in Freedom Plaza and lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill urging members of Congress to respect DC Home Rule and oppose homophobic amendments to the DC Appropriations Bill
  • Mayor Anthony Williams, after aggressive organizing and lobbying efforts by GLAA and others, agrees to seek an out-of-court settlement in the case of Tyra Hunter, a transgendered citizen who died in August 1995 following an automobile accident after emergency medical workers withdrew care and ridiculed her when they discovered her male genitalia. The DC Corporation Counsel continues to drag its feet for several months after the announcement
  • The DC Appropriations Working Group — a coalition including GLAA, ACT UP Washington, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, congressional staffers, and many others working closely with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton — succeeds for the first time in defeating on the House floor an anti-gay amendment that would prohibit adoptions in the District by unmarried couples
  • Mayor Anthony Williams, faced with a veto-proof DC Council majority opposed to HIV names reporting, announces that he will keep his campaign promise to GLAA and respect confidentiality concerns by implementing a unique-identifier-based system for tracking cases of HIV infection. GLAA had laid the groundwork for this by lobbying extensively and by obtaining written pledges on the issue from mayoral and council candidates during the 1998 election


2000

  • Superintendent Arlene Ackerman issues an anti-harassment directive for DC Public Schools in response to GLAA lobbying for such a policy to protect all students including sexual minority youth
  • Fulfilling a pledge made by Mayor Williams in 1999, the District agrees to pay Margie Hunter $1.75 million in settlement of her lawsuit against the city for the wrongful death of her transgendered child, Tyra, as a result of discrimination and medical malpractice following an automobile accident in August 1995

2001

  • The Office of Citizen Complaint Review opens for business after several years of efforts by GLAA, ACLU/NCA, NAACP-DC, and others (Now called Office of Police Complaints)
  • At the request of DC Office of Human Rights Director Charles Holman, members of GLAA and the Intersex Society of North America brief OHR staff on intersexuality and its medical, ethical and legal dimensions
  • After a lobbying campaign by a coalition of local and national groups, the DC Appropriations bill for FY 2002 is passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the president without a spending ban on the District's 1992 domestic partnership law — the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act — finally allowing the law to be implemented


2002

  • The District begins registration of domestic partners after ten years of being prohibited from doing so by the U.S. Congress
  • The Human Rights Amendment Act of 2002 becomes law, amending the DC Human Rights Act to make harassment a form of discrimination under the Act, and to make explicit the right of persons to sue the District government for violations under the Act
  • The DC Board of Education, complementing the DC Council passage of the Human Rights Amendment Act, amends school policies to prohibit harassment and sexual harassment


2003

  • Activist John Aravosis launches the "Safe Streets DC" web campaign against police inaction in the District
  • The Health Care Decisions Act of 2003 becomes law, amending the DC Code to include domestic partners and close friends among the persons authorized to make health-care decisions for incapacitated individuals


2004

  • GLAA releases report identifying 212 rights and responsibilities of marriage in the District of Columbia
  • The Elimination of Outdated Crimes Amendment Act of 2003 becomes law, repealing outdated anti-sex laws including those against adultery and fornication. Thanks to the efforts of GLAA progenitor Frank Kameny, a provision of the new law prevents the government from using the undefined common law to prosecute people for crimes that have been repealed


2005

Poster for "We Are Family - Unity Weekend."
  • GLAA co-sponsors “We Are Family – Unity Weekend, Fighting Oppression and Homophobia in the Black Community, the Black Church and the Black March”
  • Agreeing with GLAA's recommendation, Council Chairman Linda Cropp breaks up the unwieldy Committee on Human Services to create a new Committee on Health. She names gay Councilmember David Catania (Independent, At-Large) as its chair, and he immediately pursues an aggressive program of reform
  • The First Amendment Rights and Police Practices Act of 2004, authored by Councilmember Kathy Patterson with strong backing from the ACLU, GLAA and other groups, becomes law, providing additional protections for the exercise of peaceful free speech in the District of Columbia


2006

Signage from GLAA's protest against Iranian persecution of LGBT people. Photo by Rick Rosendall.
  • GLAA prepares extract of GLBT- and HIV/AIDS-related entries from State Department Country Human Rights Reports for 2005, makes it available online as a resource for international human rights activists.
  • The Human Rights Clarification Amendment Act of 2005 becomes law, making explicit the intent of the D.C. Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
  • The Domestic Partnership Equality Act of 2005 becomes law, adding several rights and responsibilities to domestic partners that already apply to spouses.
  • GLAA joins protests against Iranian persecution of GLBT people.


2007

Frank Kameny with picket signs from the Smithsonian exhibit.
  • GLAA prepares extract of GLBT and HIV/AIDS-related entries from State Department Country Human Rights Reports for 2006, makes it available online as a resource for international human rights activists
  • Four bills supported by GLAA — the Domestic Partnerships Joint Filing Act of 2006, Domestic Partnership Property Equity Act of 2006, Homeless Shelter Monitoring Amendment Act of 2006, and Safe and Stable Homes for Children and Youth Amendment Act of 2007 — become law
  • DC Superior Court Judge Geoffrey M. Alprin finds probable cause against D.C. Fire & Emergency Medical Services personnel and management in the case of EEO Expert Kenda Kirby, who had charged Fire/EMS with creating a hostile work environment and discriminating based on sex/gender, sexual orientation/gender identity and personal appearance/physical characteristics. GLAA, which provided financial assistance to Ms. Kirby to help cover her legal costs, urges Mayor Fenty to instruct Attorney General Linda Singer to make a prompt and just settlement with Ms. Kirby; the city drags its feet
  • The One-Time Relocation of Licensees Displaced by the Ballpark and Skyland Development Project Amendment Act of 2007, introduced by Councilmember Jim Graham, is passed and becomes law after heavy lobbying by GLAA, but it is watered down so heavily due to pressure from Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. that it is doubtful any of the displaced gay clubs will actually be able to relocate
  • GLAA and activist Peter Rosenstein lead community mobilization effort to prevent the decentralization of the Metropolitan Police Department's Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU). Police Chief Cathy Lanier meets with community leaders and agrees to preserve the core unit while expanding the unit's reach into patrol areas throughout the city
  • The Smithsonian displays Frank Kameny's historic picket signs (August 31, 2007). You can read more about the first protest outside the White House in 1965 here. And linked below is a short video of the Smithsonian exhibit.

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2008

The Smithsonian displays the actual picket signs from the first gay protest at the White House in 1965. Frank Kameny is pictured behind Jack Nichols in the front. Photo UPII/Corbis-Bettmann.

* GLAA prepares extract of GLBT and HIV/AIDS-related entries from State Department Country Human Rights Reports for 2007, makes it available online as a resource for international human rights activists

  • A broad coalition of transgender equality supporters, including the DC Trans Coalition and GLAA, opposes a proposed rulemaking that would effectively exempt the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) from the requirements of the DC
  • Human Rights Act (DCHRA) as they protect transgender detainees
  • The proposed rulemaking is withdrawn, and a new policy is developed which, while still short of the coalition's goal, improves protections by such changes as establishing a Transgender Committee in DOC and allowing detainees access to hormone therapy
  • GLAA testifies on the confirmation of Peter Nickles as D.C. Attorney General, noting that instead of confronting the entrenched homophobia and transphobia within the Office of the Attorney General, he has exacerbated the problem during his tenure as Acting AG
  • GLAA urges the Council not to confirm him unless he: stops efforts to weaken the rules enforcing transgender protections under DCHRA; ends OAG’s opposition to the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Act of 2008; and commits to consulting the GLBT community on legal protections for GLBT people and their families.
  • The Council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary votes not to confirm Nickles, but is overruled by the full Council. Nonetheless, GLAA's efforts lead to a productive series of meetings with Nickles and his staff attorneys on both the transgender protections and the parentage bill
  • The Safe Marriage Amendment Act of 2007, supported by GLAA as amended, becomes law. It eliminates archaic provisions voiding marriages between idiots, lunatics, and those physically incapable of entering into the marital state; and repeals the requirement of a premarital blood test, which state after state has determined to be cost-ineffective and counterproductive
  • The Domestic Partnership Police and Fire Amendment Act of 2008, supported by GLAA and introduced by Councilmembers Phil Mendelson, Jack Evans, and Carol Schwartz, passes. It gives domestic partners equity in retirement benefits; includes them as survivors for purposes of police and fire retirements; and includes them among the relatives responsible for hospitalization costs of a mentally ill relation. It becomes law March 25, 2009
  • The Kameny Papers opens


2009

Screen shot of GLAA's new blog, glaaforum.org.


2010

MarriageEqualitySM.jpg
  • Marriage Equality becomes law in Washington, DC on March 3, 2010 (Please read more about Marriage Equality becoming law in Washington, DC here.)


Looking Ahead

To quote then GLAA president Rick Rosendall who, when he made these remarks during GLAA’s 25th Anniversary Gala back in 1996, was paraphrasing former South African President Nelson Mandela:

We have taken a moment here to rest... to look back on the distance we have come. But we can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and we dare not linger, for our long walk is not yet ended.


REFERENCES


MAIN GLAA PAGE

  1. ↑ Clendenin, et al., p. 419
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