September 24th, 1997 to September 30th, 1997

What a Difference a Gay Makes

The Gay/Lesbian Movement, 5, 10, 15 & 20 Years Ago

by Sukie de la Croix

What was happening in the gay and lesbian movement 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago this month?

Here's this week's Outlines overview to help you trigger the memories of yesteryear ...

Sept .12-27

1992: 5 Years Ago
U.S.: Magic Johnson resigns from the National Commission on AIDS. In a letter to President Bush, he writes: "I cannot in good conscience continue to serve on a commission whose important work is so utterly ignored by your administration." - At Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, 14 Army soldiers are discharged, after a video surveillance sting catches them participating in homosexual acts in a public restroom on the base. - Lloyd Leafer, a gay computer manager, who refused to disclose intimate details of his sex life to the Department of Defense, is finally granted a security clearance, after a four year battle to obtain it. - In Portland, Ore., a lesbian and a gay man are killed, after four neo-Nazi youths throw Molotov cocktails into their home. Hattie Mae Cohens, 29, and Brian Mock, 45, are victims of an escalation in hate crimes, resulting from the upcoming statewide anti-gay initiative Measure 9. - Homophobic U.S. Congressman Jim McCrery of Louisiana, is outed in The Advocate. - The Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down the state's anti-sodomy law. - Britain: The Government's Heath Education Authority's latest gay-press AIDS Education ads say: "Not all condoms are created equal. Some are stronger than others. So, if you're going to fuck, it makes sense to use one of the stronger variety.'

1987: 10 Years Ago
U.S.: Surgeon General C. Everett Koop denounces doctors and healthcare workers who refuse to treat AIDS patients. - Assistant Secretary of Health, Robert Windom, presents Dionne Warwick with an award for 'exceptional service as a leading health ambassador.' Warwick donated more than $1 million to AIDS research from royalties of the hit single, "That's What Friends Are For," which she recorded with Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Gladys Knight. - Maurice, the Ismail Merchant and James Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster's posthumously published novel of the same name, is in the movie theaters.

1982: 15 Years Ago
U.S.: The Deja Vu and The Duchess, two lesbian bars in New York's Greenwich Village, lose their liquor licenses, because they discriminate against men. - In an interview with Inside Sports, former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player Glen Burke, who is Black, becomes the first major league baseball player to 'come out.' - Canada: Farmers in the Edmonton area report problems with homosexuality among their bulls. An animal psychiatrist at the University of Alberta says: "It's apparently very common for bulls to hop on one another, but these particular bulls will not move away in disgust-instead they will host one ton-heavy bull after another, endangering their well-being." The 'bull sex sessions' often result in broken gates and fences, as the 'tops' will fight for the opportunity to get at the willing 'bottom.'

1977: 20 Years Ago
U.S.: The Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, fasts on the steps of the Federal Building in Los Angeles, until $100,000 is raised to oppose a state-wide initiative that would require California School Boards to fire openly gay teachers. - In Pasadena, Calif., and Houston, Texas, the Ku Klux Klan have tape recorded telephone messages urging the execution of all homosexuals. - The Naked Civil Servant, the autobiography of Britain's most famous homosexual, Quentin Crisp, is published in the U.S. - Lesbian author Rita Mae Brown is interviewed in The New York Times. On the subject of Anita Bryant's Save Our Children crusade, Brown says, "It's made the gay issue public in a way that it never could have been without her bigotry. So it's been valuable."

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