Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels

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1951 Gay activist, Harry Hay, and others formed the Mattachine Society in Los Angeles, one of the first gay organizations in the United States and forerunner of the gay liberation movement. 1961. Illinois was the first state to repeal the ban on consensual homosexual sex. 1969 The Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, New York, became a symbol of defiance for the homosexual community. On June 27 th a riot ensued when police tried to close a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. For several days homosexuals, transvestites, teenage male prostitutes, a few lesbians and some passersby marched, yelled, booed, sang and threw bottles. The police were threatened with rape. The demonstration became a rallying point for gay and lesbian organizations. The day continues to be commemorated in many cities with parades, dances and other events. (Abrahamson. 1996:108). 1971. The National Organization for Women supported lesbian rights, over the opposition of founder Betty Friedan, who referred to lesbians as ‘the Lavender Menace’. 1973: The American Psychiatric Association no longer classified homosexuality as a mental disorder. 1978: The Rainbow flag, designed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker, becomes a symbol of gay and lesbian pride. The motif may have been taken from Judy Garland’s popular song, “Over the Rainbow” . 1979 : The first national March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights drew over one hundred thousand marchers. 1981: The U.S. Department of Defense bared gay people from serving in the military. 1981: On July 3rd the New York Times published “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals”. This is the first reporting on what later becomes known as AIDS. 1987: 2 nd March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights draws a half million. The NAMES quilt is displayed on the mall to remember those who have died of AIDS. 1989: Over 5,000 ACT UP activists staged a protest in front of and inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral against the Catholic Church’s negative policies on homosexuality and AIDS. 1993: President Clinton attempts to overturn the ban on gays in the military. After opposition he settles for a compromise, “Don’t ask, don’t tell”. 1994: The 25 th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots draws 1.1 million marchers. 2000: Vermont is the first state to legally recognize civil unions between gay or lesbian couples. 2003; U.S. Supreme Court strikes down all remaining sodomy laws. (Biskupic.2003). 2009: Vermont becomes the first state to legally recognize gay marriage through the legislature. (Infoplease.com 2009) 2010: President Barack Obama supports gay rights in society. Over the Rainbow: The Gay Battle for Social Reorganization of America. 2010 Dr. M. L. Coppock 6 | P a g e
Organizations Form to Support and Oppose the Gay Agenda Influenced by the civil rights and women’s movement, and encouraged by the aftermath of the Stonewall riots, gay rights activists organized to create a public presence and press for gay rights. Marches and rallies were organized across the country. As gay organizations achieved recognition and social support, powerful opposing groups developed to challenge the normalization of the gay and lesbian lifestyle within society. The following lists of organizations will identify major groups that formed to support or oppose the normalization of homosexuality in America. This is not an inclusive listing, but will demonstrate the impact this social movement has had in American life over the last 50 years. Organizations Formed to Support Gay Rights . (GA,1996) _________________________________________________________________________________ 1969: The Gay Liberation Front was founded as an ongoing militant political action group. 1973: The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) formed to lobby, organize, educate and advocate for gay civil rights. 1973: The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund works to achieve full recognition through litigation, education and public policy. 1980: The Human Rights Campaign developed the nation’s largest political organization for gay rights. This group lobbies Congress. It sponsors the National Coming Out Day on October 11 th . 1980: The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) sought to abolish all age-ofconsent laws and other laws that violate the freedom of young people to control their own body. 1981: Los Angeles parents form P-FLAG – Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gay Men to combat homophobia. 1985: New York activists found GLADD – Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, as a watchdog for the presentation of lesbian and gay men in Hollywood and the media. 1994: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), works to end anti-gay bias in America’s public, private and parochial schools. Over the Rainbow: The Gay Battle for Social Reorganization of America. 2010 Dr. M. L. Coppock 7 | P a g e
Page 1 and 2: Over the Rainbow: The Gay Battle Fo
Page 3 and 4: (Table of Contents, cont.) 34. Corp
Page 5: individual choices…Gay marriage
Page 9 and 10: Reframing Education The first gay s
Page 11 and 12: BACKLASH in Education When the vide
Page 13 and 14: Concerned Women for America (CWA),
Page 15 and 16: The Debate over Reparative Therapy
Page 17 and 18: elated immune disorder” because o
Page 19 and 20: problems that plague homosexual ind
Page 21 and 22: instead of asking NGLTF to accept r
Page 23 and 24: ecruits could not be questioned abo
Page 25 and 26: Gays Confront the Media The Comstoc
Page 27 and 28: newspapers across the country ran a
Page 29 and 30: Coast to Coast Surveillance (Montgo
Page 31 and 32: BACKLASH to Gay Programming Sociolo
Page 33 and 34: in 1992 with a sample size of 7,500
Page 35 and 36: Cracking The Corporate Closet is a
Page 37 and 38: * sponsored the TV show Family Guy
Page 39 and 40: InVitro fertilization. The process
Page 41 and 42: Rights in Conflict (Blankenhorn, 20
Page 43 and 44: eighty percent of gay-union license
Page 45 and 46: amendment denying gay marriage had
Page 47 and 48: marriage’s ‘customary forms’:
Page 49 and 50: Churches Are Challenged The Souther
Page 51 and 52: eporting, “Today there are two re
Page 53 and 54: BACKLASH - Protecting Religious Lib
Page 55 and 56: federal hate crimes bill was passed
Page 57 and 58:
Obama’s Rainbow World (Vitagliano
Page 59 and 60:
* subsidization of reproductive tec
Page 61 and 62:
grandchildren, and extended relativ
Page 63 and 64:
Curtis, Barbara. “In the beginnin
Page 65 and 66:
Sears, Alan & Craig Osten. The Homo
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Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels

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