Off With the Law

The Fight for Gay Freedom

For the most part, much of this world we live in is very open and accepting of difference. However, arguments can be made that many people, countries, and religious sects are vastly out of touch with the present, and are still living in the past, especially with regards to homosexuality.

Homosexuals are people who show sexual desire for someone of the same sex and have been around since the dawn of time, as well as homophobes, who are people prejudiced against them.

Though there have been many riots and public displays for gay equality throughout recent history, there are, sadly, still people and places in this world that continue to resist the call for equal rights. Despite all this, though, those who were once enemies of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community are now starting to side with those members of society. Perhaps people are starting to realize that those who are LGBT aren’t so different from the rest of us after all.

LGBT in Canada

Canada is a nation of acceptance and difference, a place where homosexuals can freely be with whom they desire without any fears of having to keep who they are to themselves. Thanks to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms this great country has become a leader in the Americas with regards to gay equality. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1969, while same-sex marriage has been legal since 2005. As well, Canada became the third country in the world to perform same-sex marriages. Ontario has been marrying homosexual couples since 2003. Canada also performed the world’s first legally-recognized same-sex marriage on January 14, 2001, which was legally upheld in court on June 10, 2003.

While Canada still has some work to do to support transgendered individuals, it can still boast an LGBT-equal present. Other nations meanwhile continue to be riddled with riots and fights for equality, along with arrests and attempts at rehabilitation.

Stonewall and Harvey Milk

The Stonewall Inn

Two of the most well-known fights for gay rights in history are the results of the Stonewall Riots and Harvey Milk. The Stonewall Riots happened on June 28, 1969, while Harvey Milk was, “the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States.

In 1950-60’s America, gay-friendly establishments were far and few between, as homosexuality was deemed an unacceptable way of life. However, the Stonewall Inn, which was run by the Mafia, catered to the poorest residents, and marginalized members of the gay community. A raid by police in 1969 led to one of the most spontaneous series of riots in history.

Police raids on suspected gay establishments in New York City were regular occurrences in the sixties. The routine was to check identification, check the genders of those in the establishment, seize alcohol, and arrest the men who were dressed as women. What wasn’t normal, though, was for the patrons of the Stonewall Inn to have the courage to retaliate.

Though a crowd had began to gather outside of the Inn during the raid, the riots didn’t truly begin until a transvestite, who had been beaten with a billy club, yelled to the crowd, “why don’t you guys do something?!” With that started the lighting of fires in garbage cans, kick lines, throwing of debris, from pennies to bricks, and mocking chants towards the police, who were severely outnumbered.

The storming of Stonewall led to the formation of many gay organizations, such as the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), and the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA). However, what is likely the most prominent legacy to come out of the Stonewall riots was the start of Gay Pride parades. The first parade was held on the anniversary of the Stonewall Inn siege, June 28, 1970, on Christopher Street. Though the parade attendees were unsure of what to expect, the New York Times reported that, “there was little open animosity, and some bystanders applauded when a tall, pretty girl carrying a sign ‘I am a Lesbian’ walked by.”

Like Stonewall, Harvey Milk also left a legacy as the first openly gay politician in America. In San Francisco, after being fed up with the treatment of the gay community, Milk reached a point where he knew he, “had to become involved or shut up.”

[pullquote]the riots didn’t truly begin until a transvestite, who had been beaten with a billy club, yelled to the crowd, “why don’t you guys do something?!”[/pullquote]

After a brief stint on the San Francisco Board of Permit Appeals, Milk began his campaign for the California State Assembly. As his campaigning was underway, his role as a representative of the gay community was also starting to expand. Though he lost the Assembly election, Milk went on to co-found the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club.

In response to an anti-gay vote that was held in Dade County, Miami, residents of the Castro District, led by Harvey Milk, embarked on a 5-mile march through San Francisco. As they marched, the gay activists chanted, “out of the bars, and into the streets!” And in response to Anita Bryant’s anti-gay movement in Miami, Milk declared, “this is the power of the gay community. Anita’s going to create a national gay force!”