Gay Liberation: flamboyant, loved and hated

The gay liberation movement, the term coined in the 70s for a movement that had been building for decades, had its first official stirrings in the late 60's, and centered around San Francisco, California. It was linked with the Feminist movement and was a major issue in the American conscience of the 70's.

At this time, homosexuals of all colors, gay, transgendered, lesbians, this that and the other and their straight friends all started coming out, spreading the idea of acceptance like wild fire across America. The started speaking out in public, by words and by actions, for what they believed in. Even if it was the simple act of dressing however they wanted, these people realized that to be accepted for who they were, they had to first accept themselves, and truly be and act how they wanted to. The big cities of America were often highly influential centers of action for this sub culture.

On March 28, 1969 in San Francisco, Leo Lawrence, a member of the press, called for "the Homosexual Revolution of 1969" , which resulted in an explosion of energy in this movement. Leo encouraged members of this minority group, gays, lesbians, and other liberal political groups to join together, interact, and "come out" together accepting homosexuality as a normal human lifestyle choice.

Later that year a group of patrons resisted a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in San Francisco that was a home and hub of culture and activity for members of this gay subculture, beginning a huge riot. 2,00 people came out and stayed out in the streets for 3 days.




A month later the Gay Liberation Front was started. This group published a magazine called "COME OUT!", blatantly and boldly spreading their word. And it worked,as this group ended up inspiring many other like minded groups to get together all over the country, bringing their message to the foreground of American awareness.

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On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride Marches took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York commemorating the anniversary of the riots. It was called Gay Liberation Day.



In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association "Came out", Defending Homosexuality from a scientific and academic perspective. The APA leaders mutually realized that Homophobia was the problem, and the APA publicly spoke out in favor of anti-discrimination laws.

But not all people were supportive of this movement. A few decades before it would have been dangerous to "come out", and it still could have been even as late as the '70s. Residual attitudes from a politically homophobic past showed up in the 1970's politics. In 1972, the Supreme Court of Minnesota in Baker vs. Nelson ruled that it did not violate the federal Constitution for a state to deny a civil marriage license to a same-sex couple.

A popular Miss America runner up from Oklahoma, B actress, and three times Good Housekeepings "Most Admired Woman In America" named Anita Bryant became an anti-gay movement activist in 1977 after launching a crusade to repeal a new Miami-Dade ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.


A number of U.S. states repealed sexually restrictive laws during this decade -- laws that had criminalized same-sex behavior as misdemeanors or felonies. These laws were basically putting the government rule in your bedroom, gay or straight. These laws were called by various names: anti-sodomy, unnatural intercourse, crimes against nature, sexual misconduct, "abominable crime of buggery" laws, etc. Many had been placed on the books during colonial times or the Victorian era. Many banned all anal and oral intercourse, whether performed by gays, lesbians, heterosexual singles or even married heterosexual couples.

Political change concerning gay marriage has been slow to come about nationally for this movement, but its strength in the consciousness of America is steadfast and encouraging major change on the state level, with the question currently rising to the national level.