[Clipping: A New Big Push for Homosexuals' Rights] Part: 1 of 4
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A New Big Push for
Homosexuals' RightsNo longer content to be a
silent minority, America's
homosexuals want equality
-and are bringing many
changes across the U.S.
When citizens in San Jose, Calif., or-
ganized to repeal a law that banned
discrimination based on sexual orienta-
tion, homosexual groups quickly raised
S250,000 to fight the June vote.
In the wake of protests by homosex-
pals against the movie "Cruising''-
which depicts a sordid and violent ho-
inosexual world-a number of theaters
turned the film down.
In Key West, Boulder and Minne-
apolis-St. Paul, gay vigilante groups pa-
trol streets and parks to curb antigay
violence in homosexual trysting areas.
Such actions and others in recent
weeks show convincingly that Ameri-
ca s homosexual minority is in an all-
out drive for full and open equality.
Behind the headlines, gay individ-
uals are making quiet gains in key ar-
eas of national life.
Surprising inroads. Although homo-
sexuals are regarded with suspicion, if
not outright hostility, in many areas,
the homosexual-rights movement has
sparked subtle changes in the nation's
social makeup-from politics to the
marketplace-that few would have
thought possible a decade ago.
"The battle isn't won yet, but we
have demonstrated that we are a major
constituency with legitimate de-
m ands," says Charles Brydon, co-direc-
tor of the National Gay Task Force, a
homosexual-rights group. "The straight
world simply can't ignore us now."
In seeking parity, however, homo-
sexuals must overcome prejudice
against sexual practices that most
Americans still consider biologically or
psychologically abnormal or immoral.
Most sensitive is the issue of whether
homosexuals are a threat to children-
a charge that gay leaders firmly deny.
Although open advocacy of homo-
sexual interests is carried out by only a
small number of the nation's estimated
20 million lesbians and gay men, evi-
dence of rising public tolerance of ho-
mosexuality is growing.
A young female bank executive in
Los Angeles notes that people are con-
sidered "square" today if they're not
tolerant of unorthodox sexual prefer-
U.S NEWS & WORLD REPORT 93ences. She asserts: "Homosexuality is so
widespread that if you go to a party of
50 people, you would suspect that at
least 10 are bisexual or gay. An attor-
ney may look straight and you have a
date with him. Then you find out that
he swings on the side-that he's a bi.
The most clear-cut advances have
come in big-city politics, where office
seekers court homosexual support and
elections have been decided by blocs of
gay voters. Moreover, gay activists make
no secret of their aim to influence this
year's presidential campaigns.
1lomosexuals have begun to show an
economic power that may even be
greater than that of either the black or
Hispanic communities. Gay-oriented
periodicals, churches, businesses and
professional services have proliferated
in dozens of communities, and gay or-
ganizations are cropping up on many
college campuses.
Urban gains. Onetime slum neigh-
borhoods in Boston, Philadelphia, Bal-
timore, Chicago, St. Louis, Houston
and Los Angeles have been colonized
and restored by homosexual investors.
Entertainment featuring homosex-
ual characters has moved from small
clubs to Broadway plays and movies.
Homosexual roles are now common-
place on prime-time television, and an
all-gay situation comedy is being pre-
pared for the fall TV season.
The increased visibility of homosex-
ual men and women has largely oc-
curred since the "gay power" move-
ment began in 1969, when New York
City police raided a bar on Christopher
Street, a gay area in Manhattan's
Greenwich Village. Since then, both
peaceful and militant demonstrations
have been held in cities
from Washington to San Poll
Francisco. The rallying drive
cry "We are every-
where!" has signaled to
the heterosexual world
that gay individuals cutVigilantes of San Francisco's Community
United Against Violence patrol streets to
stop assaults on homosexuals.
across every socioeconomic, racial and
occupational line.
"Gay people themselves are respon-
sible for the way in which society re-
gards homosexuals," says Peter G.
Frisch, publisher of the Advocate, a bi-
monthly gay newsmagazine in San Ma-
teo, Calif. "We have allowed the myths
and stereotypes to go unchallenged for
centuries. Now we are using our eco-
nomic and political power to play the
establishment games, to show that in
most ways we are no different than
anyone else."
Such intentions arouse vehement op-
position, especially from religious anc
conservative political groups.
"Nothing gets our members more
riled up than gay-rights issues," say>
Gary Jarmin, a leader of Christiar
Voice, a coalition of 40 denomination,
with a membership of 180,000. "We
consider homosexuality a threat to the
nation's moral environment."
Jarmin believes that increased mili-1t
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[Clipping: A New Big Push for Homosexuals' Rights], clipping, April 1980; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1954939/m1/1/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.