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Gay History Month: Frank Kameny, Tammy Baldwin, Harvey Milk

Gay History Month: Frank Kameny, Tammy Baldwin, Harvey Milk
by Jason Villemez - Special to the SGN Editor's Note: In honor of Gay History Month, the Seattle Gay News will feature 12 pioneers who paved the way for the next generation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people. Each week we will recognize three of these pioneers. FRANK KAMENY One of the founders of the modern American Gay rights movement, Frank Kameny brought a radical, take-charge attitude in place of more assimilationist policies that plagued many early Gay leaders. A child prodigy and WWII veteran, Kameny obtained a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University in 1956 and began work for the Army Map Service in 1957. However, mere months into the job, rumors circulated regarding Kameny's homosexuality, which culminated in his firing from the Map Service and being barred from all civil service jobs, reflecting a McCarthy-era mandate for all homosexuals at the time. Kameny fought to regain his job for five years, including a personal appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and a suit against the government, both of which were denied. Finally, in 1961, he decided to join with Jack Nichols to establish a D.C. version of the homophile group Mattachine Society. Reflecting both Kameny's personal priorities and local complaints, the Mattachine Society of Washington focused on ending sexual orientation discrimination in civil service positions and the military. It organized the first Gay protests in front of the White House in April 1965, in which Kameny, Barbara Gittings, and other prominent activists participated. Kameny's work along with the Mattachine Society eventually led to the Civil Service Commission to amend its anti-Gay policies in 1975. He also advised countless armed services members in coping with anti-Gay military policies. In addition to his civil and military service radicalism, he also battled the American Psychiatric Association in an effort to remove homosexuality as a mental disorder, disrupting the APA annual meeting in 1971 and fostering the eventual removal of homosexuality from its list of illnesses. To top off an already growing list of achievements, Kameny became the first openly Gay person to run for Congress, using the campaign to publicize the issue of unequal government treatment of the community. He is one of the oldest surviving activists, celebrating his 80th birthday last May. TAMMY BALDWIN Tammy Baldwin is the only out Lesbian in the U.S. House of Representatives. The congresswoman from Wisconsin's 2nd District since her election in 1998, Baldwin has been a champion of Gay rights during her tenure, as well as a host of other issues including health care, the environment, and women's rights. Her political career has spanned more than two decades, from her beginnings on the Dane County (Wisconsin) Board of Supervisors to her fourth consecutive term in Congress. Born and raised in her congressional district by her Caucasian mother and African American stepfather, Baldwin knew from experience at an early age the privilege given to her because of her race, but furthermore the hardships faced as a result of both her gender and her sexuality. She attended Smith College in Massachusetts, majoring in government and mathematics, and immediately after graduation returned home to Wisconsin to begin her political career and attend the University of Wisconsin Law School. In addition to serving as a Dane County supervisor, she was a Wisconsin state representative for five years until her election to national office. Many considered her grassroots campaign in 1998 far too liberal, but Baldwin did not compromise, standing strong in her support of universal health care, advanced care for the elderly, public funding for day care programs and stricter environmental standards. All the issues for which Baldwin stands are the results of her own experiences. Her grandmother had extensive medical expenses which Baldwin helped pay for, shaping her views on health care, specifically for the elderly. Growing up within her mother's and stepfather's families helped enlighten her on the importance of family support, an idea she has broached through day care reform. But perhaps the largest inspiration for Baldwin's political career has been her mother, who turned around an addiction to prescription drugs and became a counselor, working with patients suffering from similar addictions. Baldwin, like her mother, has overcome tremendous challenges and become a positive role model for both her Wisconsin constituents and the entire LGBT community. HARVEY MILK Eleven months after his inauguration on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone in City Hall, the victim of a former Supervisor's outrage over the liberal shift in city politics. Milk was instantly made a martyr of the Gay community. Sensing the danger of his position within city government, he had created several recorded wills to be played in the event of his assassination. One memorable line is inscribed today in a plaza named for him: "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door." The gunman, Dan White, was eventually charged and convicted of manslaughter, serving only five years in prison and committing suicide shortly after. His trial strategy is infamously known as the "Twinkie Defense," in which his lawyer argued White's depression because of the large amounts of junk food he had ingested. The verdict inflamed members of San Francisco's Gay community, and the evening following the verdict, a mob encroached upon City Hall in what was to be known as the White Night Riots. Outraged citizens clashed with police, who took on their own anti-Gay agenda, mercilessly beating individuals and destroying property in the largely Gay Castro neighborhood. The following day was Harvey Milk's birthday, and, fearing a second night of rioting, the city permitted Castro Street to be closed in celebration of Milk and his legacy. The celebration went smoothly as individuals spoke on a makeshift stage and disco music filled the air, a fitting tribute to a man named as one of the 100 most influential politicians by TIME magazine. Milk's political journey ended abruptly, but not without a budding, still-growing legacy. Along with an annual commemorative candlelight march in San Francisco honoring Milk and Moscone, the Harvey Milk High School in New York serves at-risk LGBT youth, and several notable landmarks in San Francisco's Castro district have been named for him, all of which are a testament to his impact on the community in San Francisco and across the country.
An American Gay history timeline

1924 The Society for Human Rights in Chicago becomes the country's earliest known Gay rights organization. 1948 Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, a groundbreaking study which broaches topics of homosexuality and Bisexuality previously undiscussed. 1951 The Mattachine Society is formed by Harry Hay, and becomes the country's first national Gay rights organization. 1956 National Lesbian group The Daughters of Bilitis is formed. 1962 Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize private consensual homosexual acts between adults. 1965 The first Gay rights protests occur in Washington, DC and in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. 1969 The Stonewall Riots begin on June 27 for three days, launching the previously quiet Gay rights movement into a massive period of social change, with members increasing from hundreds into the thousands in less than a year. 1971-73 The Gay Raiders, a Gay militant group, campaign against television networks to feature and discuss Gay people on the air. They disrupt various programs including the CBS Evening News. 1973 The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders. 1975 Governor Milton Shapp of Pennsylvania creates the first committee to research and report on discrimination against sexual minorities. One year later, Governor Shapp issues an executive order outlawing discrimination against sexual minorities in employment, housing and public accommodation. 1981 The first cases of AIDS are found in homosexual men in New York and Los Angeles. 1982 Wisconsin becomes the first state legislature to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 1982 The first Gay Games takes place in San Francisco, drawing over 1,350 athletes. 1985 A spokesperson for actor Rock Hudson acknowledges the star has AIDS, brining the disease to the media forefront for the first time. 1993 The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is instituted for the U.S. military, permitting Gays to serve in the military but banning homosexual activity. Thousands of Gay and Lesbian persons are relieved of their positions. 1996 The Supreme Court strikes down Colorado's Amendment 2, which denied Gays and Lesbians protections against discrimination, 1997 Ellen Degeneres' character Ellen Morgan comes out as a Lesbian on the popular sit-com Ellen, drawing 36 million viewers. 2000 Vermont becomes the first state in the country to legally recognize civil unions between Gay or Lesbian couples. 2003 The Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that laws prohibiting sodomy are unconstitutional. 2004 On May 17, same-sex marriages become legal in Massachusetts. 2005 Civil unions become legal in Connecticut in Oct. 2005.