Hostility and prejudice toward homosexuality has deep roots in American society. State sodomy laws criminalized homosexual acts. Federal immigration laws excluded homosexual aliens. The 1873 Comstock Act permitted postal authorities to exclude homosexual publications from the mail. Hollywood’s “Production Code,” adopted in 1934, prohibited the depiction of gay characters or open discussion of homosexuality in film. The American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual defined homosexuality as a psychopathology. During the McCarthy era, the charge that homosexuals were “moral perverts” and security risks led the government to adopt rules explicitly excluding them from federal jobs or military service. During the 1950s, the police in cities around the country arrested many men on charges relating to homosexuality. Raids on gay or cross-dresser bars were common at the time.
Gays and lesbians became more militant in their quest for civil rights and acceptance in the 1960s and 1970s. For example, on April 21, 1966, three young men went out to have a drink at Julius’ Bar in Manhattan’s West Village that they hoped would make history. Julius’ was the oldest gay bar in NYC. The men, members of the early gay rights group the Mattachine Society, aimed to challenge bars that refused service to gay people, a common practice at the time, though one unsupported by any specific law. Such refusals fell under a vague regulation that barred taverns from serving patrons deemed “disorderly.” They called their action a “Sip In,” a reference to the civil rights lunch-counter sit-ins then being held at places that segregated black patrons. The Sip In was a pivotal moment for the gay rights movement, predating the Stonewall riots (see below) by more than three years. The next day’s New York Times featured an article about the event with the headline “3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars.” “By all accounts, this was one of the first, if not the very first, planned act of civil disobedience for L.G.B.T. rights,” said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. “It set a lot of incredibly important changes in motion.” (Jim Farber, NY Times, 4/21/16) No law was overturned as a result of the “Sip In”, but the New York City Commission on Human Rights later declared that homosexuals had the right to be served. The “Sip In” was a catalyst for gay rights protests in the West Village and led to the opening of private clubs for gays like the Stonewall Inn. Three years later, in the same neighborhood, young queer people started the “Stonewall Inn Riots” in protest to continued police harassment.
The Gay Rights Movement is generally dated from the date of the Stonewall Inn Riots in 1969. Early in the morning of June 27, 1969, New York City police staged a raid on the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village bar whose patrons included transvestites, gay men, and lesbians. State law threatened bars with the loss of their liquor licenses if they tolerated same-sex dancing or employed or served men who wore women’s clothing. Instead of passively acquiescing in the raid as was the typical reaction, this time the bar’s patrons fought back, battling the police with bricks, bottles, and shards of broken glass. Three days of civil disobedience followed.
This incident ushered in a new era for gays and lesbians in the United States: an era of pride, openness, and activism. It led many gays and lesbians to “come out of the closet” and publicly assert their sexual identity and to organize politically. In Stonewall’s wake, activist organizations like the Gay Liberation Front transformed sexual orientation into a political issue, attacking customs and laws that defined homosexuality as a sin, a crime, or a mental illness. (Carroll, pp. 289-294.) On the first anniversary of Stonewall, 10,000 gays paraded down Sixth Avenue (Anderson, p. 319.)
“Stonewall Nation,” was written and sung by Madeline Davis, a folk artist, singer, teacher, actress and well-known gay rights activist (1971). In 1969, she witnessed the aftermath of the Stonewall riots and talked to many of her friends who were involved. Davis wrote “Stonewall Nation” in the weeks following the incidents. “Stonewall Nation” became the first gay anthem. She followed it up with over 40 songs devoted to gay and lesbian issues. (https://youtu.be/tR8BK56mHOw)
I don’t want to see my brothers, kicked into the dust no more,
And dreams all turned to rust no more, no more
I don’t want to see my sisters having to give in no more,
Their loving fold a sin, no more, no moreIn the Stonewall nation, gonna have its liberation
Wait and see, just wait and see,
You can take your tolerance and stick it
We’re gonna write our own ticket
Stonewall nation is gonna be freeCome on brothers march along,
We’re all gonna sing our song, right now, right now
And sisters take me by the hand,
We’re gonna build a promised land, right now, right nowThe Stonewall nation gonna have its liberation,
Wait and see, just wait and see
You can take your tolerance and shove it,
We’re gonna be ourselves and love it.
Stonewall nation is gonna be free (Repeat)
The same type of harassment of gays occurred in other countries. “Glad to be Gay,” (1976) written and performed by the Tom Robinson Band, a British group, reflects harassment of gays in England. (https://youtu.be/ox-egz0hGSo)
The British Police are the best in the world
I don’t believe one of these stories I’ve heard
‘Bout them raiding our pubs for no reason at all
Lining the customers up by the wall
Picking out people and knocking them down
Resisting arrest as they’re kicked on the ground
Searching their houses and calling them queer
I don’t believe that sort of thing happens hereSing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that way
Sing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that wayPictures of naked young women are fun
In Titbits and Playboy, page three of The Sun
There’s no nudes in Gay News our one magazine
But they still find excuses to call it obscene
Read how disgusting we are in the press
Telegraph, People and Sunday Express
Molesters of children, corruptors of youth
It’s there in the paper, it must be the truthSing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that way
Sing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that wayDon’t try to kid us that if you’re discreet
You’re perfectly safe as you walk down the street
You don’t have to mince or make bitchy remarks
To get beaten unconscious and left in the dark
I had a friend who was gentle and short
He was lonely one evening and went for a walk
Queer-bashers caught him and kicked in his teeth
He was only hospitalized for a weekSing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that way
Sing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that waySo sit back and watch as they close all our clubs
Arrest us for meeting and raid all our pubs
Make sure your boyfriend’s at least 21
So only your friends and your brothers get done
Lie to your workmates, lie to your folks
Put down the queens and tell anti-queer jokes
Gay Lib’s ridiculous, join their laughter
‘The buggers are legal now, what more are they after?’Sing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that way
Sing if you’re glad to be gay
Sing if you’re happy that way
“Why?” was written by Calvin E. (Gene) Taylor (1994), performed by Bronski Beat, an openly gay band. It describes some of the travails of growing up gay in an environment without understanding. (https://youtu.be/KzA-V0YN3QA)
Contempt in your eyes when I turned to kiss his lips
Broken I lie all my feelings denied – blood on your fist.
Can you tell me why? Can you tell me why?
Can you tell me why? Can you tell me why?
You in your false securities tear up my life condemning me.Name me an illness, you call me a sin, never feel guilty, never give in.
Tell me why? Tell me why? Tell me why? Tell me why? Yeah!
You and me together, fighting for our love.
You and me together, fighting for our love.
You and me together, fighting for our love. . . .
You and me together, fighting for our love. . . .Contempt in your eyes when I turned to kiss his lips
Broken I lie all my feelings denied – blood on your fist.
Can you tell me why? Can you tell me why? . . .
Can you tell me why? Can you tell me why? . . .
Can you tell me why? Can you tell me why? . . .
“It’s Alright,” written and sung by the Indigo Girls (1997), a lesbian duo that has been singing folk music for several decades. A lot of their music reflects their activism, but it is “It’s Alright” that was specifically written to reflect the pain and bullying that gays experience, and to give them hope that times and the laws are changing. (https://youtu.be/0Fn9HIPts7g)
It’s alright forty days of rain, my skin stretched out from the growing pain
I’d be nice to have an explanation, but it’s alright
And it’s alright if you hate that way, hate me cause I’m different, hate me cause I’m gay
Truth of the matter come around one day, so it’s alrightI look at this lifeline stretched way all across my hand
I look at the burned out empty like a plague across the land
And for everything I learn there are two I don’t understand
That’s why I’m still on a search through the weather strewn church I’m doing the best
I can and it’s alrightAnd it’s alright though we worry and fuss, we can’t get over the hump or get over us
It seems easier to push than to let go and trust but it’s alright
When we get a little distance some things get clearer
Give em the space our hearts grow nearer I ran as hard as I could and still ended up here
but it’s alrightI look at this lifeline stretched way all across my hand
I look at the fires of hatred burning up the bounty of this beautiful land
I know I’m small in a way but I know I’m strong
And it’s my thirst that brought me to the water when I give it all up then she carries me on and it’s alright
Yeah it’s alrightAnd it’s alright though I feel afraid, my plans in pieces, my plans mislaid
It’s the will of the way, the will of the way, the will of the only way
that could have brought me here today and it’s alright.
A dramatic incident of homosexual harassment and persecution was the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998. Shepard, an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming, was kidnapped, tortured and killed (beaten, tied to a fence and set on fire) by two local toughs, who did not know him but who wanted to prove something. Janis Ian wrote and sung “Matthew” in his memory. (https://youtu.be/RLNb_53EZq8)
Footsteps on gravel at the neighborhood bar
Things start to unravel, then they go too far
The sound of pain written on the wind
fades to grey and then goes dimA boy is tied to a barbed wire fence
for the crows to ride and the claws to clench
For the sweet bouquet of blood and bone
to undermine the scent of collegiate cologneWhat makes a man a man?
The cut of a coat, the hint of a tan?
It’s not who you love, but whether you can
What makes a man a man?Who did he harm, what was the crime?
Did he walk too lightly, did he seem too shy?
Did he make them wonder deep inside?
Did they feel like real men when he died?Did the waning moon look down from on high?
Did the twinkling stars try to catch his eye?
Did the wind caress his flesh and bone?
Did they leave him there to die alone?What makes a man a man?
The cut of a coat, the hint of a tan?
It’s not who you love, but whether you can
What makes a man a manNow the stars are nailed to an empty sky
The moon is pinned like a butterfly
and I’m afraid to shine too bright
since the day they took his lifeSo mothers, teach your children this
Don’t overreach, don’t run the risk
Hide in the shadows, don’t expect
your good heart to save your neckWhat makes a man a man?
The cut of a coat, the hint of a tan?
It’s not who you love, but whether you can
What makes a man a man?
Melissa Etheridge’s, “Scarecrow” (1999) is also about Matthew Sheppard, and persecution of the gay community. (https://youtu.be/KnCDKTs_X-s)
Showers of your crimson blood
Seep into a nation calling up a flood
Of narrow minds who legislate
Thinly veiled intolerance
Bigotry and hateBut they tortured and burned you
They beat you and they tied you
They left you cold and breathing
For love they crucified youI can’t forget hard as I try
This silhouette against the skyScarecrow crying
Waiting to die wondering why
Scarecrow trying
Angels will hold carry your soul awayThis was our brother
This was our son
This shepherd young and mild
This unassuming one
We all gasp this can’t happen here
We’re all much too civilized
Where can these monsters hideBut they are knocking on our front door
They’re rocking in our cradles
They’re preaching in our churches
And eating at our tablesI can’t forget hard as I try
This silhouette against the skyScarecrow crying
Waiting to die wondering why
Scarecrow trying
Angels will hold carry your soul awayI search my soul
My heart and in my mind
To try and find forgiveness
This is someone’s child
With pain unreconciled
Filled up with father’s hate
Mother’s neglect
I can forgive but I will not forgetScarecrow crying
Waiting to die wondering why
Scarecrow trying
Rising above all in the name of love
The push by gay rights groups led to counter-movements by conservative religious organizations. The religious right did not need to bother gays much prior to this time because they had no rights and the vast majority were closeted. One such group was Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” (Carroll, pp. 290-294.) Ms. Bryant was a former Miss America, a popular songstress, and commercial representative of the Florida citrus industry.
In 1977, Dade County, Florida tried to pass an ordinance that would forbid discrimination due to sexual orientation. Anita Bryant was outraged at this. She started the “Save Our Children” campaign to stop the ordinance from passing. She teamed up with the likes of Jerry Falwell, leader of fundamentalist Christian group the “Moral Majority” and Pat Robertson of the “Christian Coalition,” to protest against gay rights. (Carroll, p. 332.)
Ms. Bryant is purported to have said: “As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children, therefore, they must recruit our children.” And, “If gays are granted rights, next we’ll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with Saint Bernards and to nail biters.” (Id.) In June of 1977, Bryant’s campaign was successful—the Dade County ordinance was repealed by a vote margin of 69 to 31 percent.
After the repeal of the ordinance in Florida, Bryant took her campaign to other states across the nation. One of her efforts was to try to pass the Briggs Initiative in California, which called for the ban of homosexuals from teaching and the immediate dismissal of any school employee who even spoke of homosexuality or homosexuals in a positive light. (http://gayhistory4u.blogspot.com/2009/08/religious-right-has-been-on-attack.html)
In June 1977, those who participated in Miami’s city election, by a vote of two to one, rejected a proposed municipal ordinance banning discrimination against homosexuals. In 1978, voters in St. Paul, Minnesota, Wichita, Kansas, and Eugene, Oregon did the same. (Carroll, Id.) On the other hand, those in Seattle, Washington refused to repeal a non-discrimination law and Californians defeated the Briggs initiative. (Id.)
Singer-songwriter Tom Paxton wrote a song about Anita Bryant in 1978 titled “Anita O.J.” (https://youtu.be/0MF8gVbL2PI)
Jesus loves Anita, or so it doth appear.
Lately things are looking strange or dare I say it? – queer.
In spite of controversy, so the morning paper said,
She’s retained her high commission to squeeze fruits for heavy bread.You squeeze mine, Anita.
I squeeze yours, Anita.
You’ve been chosen, Anita.
Yours are frozen, Anita.
Terrible cost, Anita.
Covered in frost, Anita.
Smile and pray, Anita.
You’ll feel gay.You spoke in Miami to set the record straight.
Gave the folks a target acceptable to hate.
You told us there are somethings one may never do in bed.
One wonders, dear Anita, if you’ll ever get ahead.You squeeze mine, Anita.
I squeeze yours, Anita.
You’ve been chosen, Anita.
Yours are frozen, Anita.
Terrible cost, Anita.
Covered in frost, Anita.
Smile and pray, Anita.
You’ll feel gay.
“Thank You, Anita,” written and sung by Charlie King (1979) was also critical of Ms. Bryant. (http://www.shazam.com/track/114236783/thank-you-anita)
Thank you Anita you could not have been sweeter, you brought us together like never before,
Chorus:
Thanks to your mission, your new found profession is now your obsession, not mine anymoreI am the gay one, afraid of the straight one, I kept my head down and I thought I’d get by
But you and your colleagues pushed me from the closet,
Now I lift up my head and I sing from the skyChorus
I am the straight one, afraid all of the gay ones, but they’d make me one, if I offered my hand
Since your fiasco I’M marching in Frisco, two hundred thousand strong walking as friendsChorus
You thought you’d divide us, instead you unite us, the lesson you thought us, we knew all along, we all end up better by standing together as sisters and brothers just singing this song
Chorus
The people that need you won’t need you for long, me I’m just hanging loose, boycott orange juice, as long as you’re on the loose, I will be singing this song
Chorus
At the same time Bryant was making a case against homosexual rights, challenges to earlier legal and medical opinion about homosexuality appeared. Alfred Kinsey’s studies of sexual behavior, published in 1948 and 1953, suggested that homosexual and lesbian behavior was far more prevalent than most Americans previously suspected. During the 1960s, reformers within the legal profession argued in favor of decriminalizing private, consensual adult homosexual relations, on the grounds that government should not regulate private morality.
In 1961, Illinois became the first state to repeal its sodomy statutes. The next year, the Supreme Court ruled that a magazine featuring photographs of nude males was not obscene, and, therefore, not subject to censorship. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of psychopathologies.
In 1986, the Supreme Court upheld state sodomy laws, ruling that private acts of homosexuality were not protected by the Constitution. Gay advocacy groups responded to the decision by lobbying for passage of state and city civil rights acts that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and housing. As a result, two states, New York and Vermont, and several municipalities, extended health and dental insurance to the gay and lesbian domestic partners of public employees. A number of municipalities and states, including Colorado, responded to these initiatives by passing referenda prohibiting government from extending special rights to homosexuals. But state courts found these to be unconstitutional infringements on the rights of gay and lesbian citizens to petition government.
In 1993, a major controversy erupted after President Bill Clinton proposed a policy to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military. The policy that eventually emerged—nicknamed “don’t ask, don’t tell”—satisfied few, and federal courts refused to permit the expulsion of gays from the military. In 2003, Supreme Court justice Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down laws making gay sex a crime. Going into the 21st century, the focus of the gay rights movement changed from individual rights of homosexual people to the right to same sex marriage and rights of transgender people, leading to the Supreme Court Obergefell v. Hodges decision in June 2015, affirming the right of same sex marriage.