Ted Kennedy was the first U. S. senator to take a pro-gay-rights position. He did so early in our struggle, under strange circumstances, but he never backed down. It happened Jan. 18, 1971. It was in the frenzy of the new gay movement in New York City, and I was president of Gay Youth and a member of Gay Liberation Front and, as a sideline, a member of the New York Theatre Ensemble.
My friend Rosemary Gimple got tickets to the final preview of “No, No, Nanette,” starring legendary tap-dancer Ruby Keeler. We had seats in the back of the theater and watched as the senator came in and made his way to the aisle seat in row 5.
On Rosemary’s prompting, I made my way down the aisle before the show began and tapped the senator on the shoulder from behind. He jumped. (Later, I realized that tapping this senator from behind was not a good idea.) When he turned, I quickly asked, before he had a chance to say anything, “Senator, where do you stand on gay rights?” Thinking he might not understand, I added, “Homosexual rights.”
His first response, with his Massachusetts accent, was, “I’ve never been asked that before.” After a very short pause, he added, “That’s a civil-rights issue. Yes, I think they should have rights.”
As I said, that was very early in the struggle and it wouldn’t come up in the Senate for years. But in his reelections, when asked, Kennedy said he supported gay rights. He did so in his home state and, when it finally hit the U.S. Senate, he kept his word.
And he made history of sorts when he challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980, when he became the first major presidential candidate to do a live full interview with the gay press. That interview was published in the paper you are reading right now. (Carter had previously issued statements on gay rights, but had not given a live interview.)
As President Obama said, Sen. Kennedy was one of the greatest senators of our time. He was a man with a vision and was able to forge compromises to eventually win the battle. All who support human rights mourn his passing.
Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He can be reached at [email protected].