In one sense, 40 years is a relatively short time. But, for a community beginning to come into its own, four decades can mean a world of change.
At the time when PGN started, the concept that LGBT people even constituted their own community was just beginning to really take off; today, LGBT people are out, visible, active members of every sector of society, and our community is a thriving, diverse and ever-evolving entity. Over the last 40 years, our community’s priorities have changed; our rights have prevailed, been stripped and prevailed again; our language has shifted and continues to shift; our organizations have opened, closed and changed; our political might has been proven; our role in society has been challenged, fought for, earned and solidified.
PGN has had the privilege of having a front-row seat for these past 40 remarkable years. In this, our 40th-anniversary issue, we look back at our biggest story of each year — tracing the highs, lows and many monumental moments that have made up our LGBT history.
1976: Gay Pride Week proclamation
Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp became the first governor in the nation to proclaim Gay Pride Week. Shapp’s June 9 proclamation noted that, “Since emerging from anonymity, gay men and women have devoted much time and effort in educating the general public. Gay men and women seek equal rights in employment, in housing and in the law. As governor, I hereby express my support for equal rights for all minority groups and for all those who seek social justice and dedicate Gay Pride Week to those worthy goals.” The Pennsylvania House of Representatives summarily passed a resolution condemning Shapp’s proclamation.
1977: Nondiscrimination efforts flourish
As Anita Bryant went on a national campaign against gay rights, advances were made for gay-inclusive nondiscrimination legislation locally. Temple University adopted a gay-rights ordinance Feb. 7 and locals gathered twice at the Gay Community Center that month to discuss — and ultimately reject — a watered-down version of a proposed citywide gay-rights ordinance. At the state level, the Pennsylvania Department of Education mandated “affectional or sexual preference” in the nondiscrimination policies of all 14 state colleges. And at the federal level, Sen. Ted Kennedy came out for gay-inclusive federal nondiscrimination legislation.
1978: Gay man murdered
Frankford baker Robert Riebow, 18, was arrested for the late 1977 killing of Robert Asman, a banker and community leader who was involved in such groups as LGBT Catholic organization Dignity. Riebow contended he killed Asman in self-defense and stole his belongings because he “didn’t want anyone to know” he went to Asman’s apartment “voluntarily, because he was a homosexual.” He was convicted of murder June 7 and sentenced to life in prison.
1979: National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
Up to 100,000 people from around the United States and 23 countries participated in the Oct. 14 rally in the nation’s capital. Participants called for federal gay-rights legislation, among other demands, in what was characterized as the “largest gay assembly” in American history. The event was star-studded, with one of the loudest cheers for out poet Allen Ginsberg.
1980: PA anti-sodomy law overturned
On May 30, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state’s “voluntary deviate sexual intercourse” statute, which prohibited sodomy among individuals who were not “husband and wife,” was unconstitutional. The 4-3 ruling was seen as a big win for gay rights, although it was prompted by a suit from patrons of a heterosexual adult theater who were arrested. In his opinion, Supreme Court Judge John Flaherty said, “Many issues that are considered to be matters of morals are subject to debate and no sufficient state interest justifies the legislation of norms simply because a particular belief is followed by a number of people.”
1981: ‘Gay cancer’ emerges
On June 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report on pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a lung condition affecting five gay men in Los Angeles. This was the first known report of what would become the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which, in that first year, was given names like “gay cancer” and “Gay-Related Immunodeficiency Disease.”
1982: Philly gets a gay-rights law
Philadelphia’s long-awaited gay-rights law was swiftly passed with little fanfare in the summer. City Councilmember Lucien Blackwell quietly introduced the legislation — which added sexual orientation to the classes protected from discrimination in the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance — June 30. A committee approved it July 27 after unanimous support from 55 speakers at a hearing. It sailed through Council Aug. 5 in a 13-2 vote, with only Councilmembers Joan Krajewski and Harry Jannotti in opposition. Mayor Bill Green did not sign the bill but allowed it to become law without his approval Sept. 9.
1983: Eromin Center controversy
Scandal grew after the board of the Eromin Center, which provided mental-health services for sexual minorities, fired its executive director, Tony Silvestre, Aug. 29. The board later cited “financial-management problems” and went on to fire its administrative director, Lisa Segal. A wide-ranging PGN investigation, which earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination, found the agency owed back taxes of more than $50,000 and was facing an IRS lien. The center’s members voted out the board’s executive committee in September. In the ensuing months, the city launched an audit of the organization’s finances and subsequently suspended its city contract. By early 1984, the center laid off nearly all of its staff and its members voted to shutter the organization. It officially closed in March 1984.
1984: Mayoral commission launches
Shortly after taking office, Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode announced his intention to create a Commission on Sexual Minorities to address LGBT issues. He launched a committee in January to lay the groundwork for the unit and issued an executive order Feb. 23 creating the body. The commission was comprised of 17 members, including 10 LGBT community members and seven representatives of city departments. It was co-chaired by Lisa Bacon and Len Bost.
1985: Police indictments
A federal grand jury indicted six Philadelphia police officers for extorting money from four local gay bars and a bathhouse. The indictment contended the officers accepted money in exchange for allowing the bars — Rainbows, Steps, the DCA Club and Odyssey — to serve liquor after hours and to permit Back Street Baths to “operate without harassment.” Two of the officers were found guilty that summer.
1986: Two trans women brutally murdered
The bodies of South Philly residents Tina Rodrigues, 27, and Tanya Moore, 31, were found July 3 in trash bags in a ravine off Trenton Road in Bucks County. Both of the trans women had been severely beaten, burned and dismembered, their legs cut off and one had been shot. The next month, investigators released the sketch of two men whose car passersby said the victims got into at 13th and Sansom streets. In December, U.S. marshalls arrested Center City cab driver Donald Jennings in Brooklyn on unrelated robbery charges, and identified him as a suspect in the women’s murders. It is unknown if he ever was charged in the case.
1987: AIDS funding, programming expand
There was a concentrated push for expanded resources to combat the spread of AIDS this year. In the summer, Philadelphia City Council held a hearing on prevention efforts, and in July Mayor W. Wilson Goode allocated $1 million for the creation of the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office. The city also received $790,000 from the federal government to fight AIDS. Also in July, Health Commissioner Maurice Clifford and Police Commissioner Kevin Tucker issued separate directives for medical and emergency personnel on interacting with AIDS patients. In the fall, the state authorized $3.3 million in funding for AIDS, nearly 10 times the budget proposed by then-Gov. Robert Casey.
1988: Anthony Milano trial
Frank Chester and Richard Laird were convicted May 20 in the grisly 1987 murder of Bucks County artist Anthony Milano. Prosecutors say the men lured Milano from a tavern and viciously beat him to death because he was gay. Chester’s attorneys blamed Laird, and Laird’s blamed Chester during the weeklong trial. Jurors deliberated for 13 hours on the guilty verdicts and 11 hours the next day before sentencing both to death. Laird remains on death row after numerous appeals, while Chester’s sentence was recently downgraded to life imprisonment.
1989: Rash of gay murders
At least eight gay men were murdered in the Philadelphia area in the spring and summer of 1989. Three suspects were ultimately arrested, with one, South Philly resident Arnold Mulholland, 22, charged with three of the murders: Tracy Griffin, 24; Allen Munchweiler, 61; and David Johnson, 58. Investigators said Mulholland, who called gays “sick,” targeted men who were looking for sex, robbing and killing them in their Center City apartments. About 250 gays and allies marched through Center City Sept. 22 in a “Save Our Streets” rally to protest antigay violence. Mulholland pleaded guilty in 1990 and was sentenced to life in prison.
1990: Movement on hate crimes
For the first time, a Pennsylvania House committee approved gay-rights legislation. In a 14-2 vote Feb. 6, the House Judiciary Committee approved Rep. Babette Josephs’ legislation to add sexual orientation as a protected class in the state’s hate-crimes law. The bill was tabled in the spring by the full House, which voted June 26 118-80 against the measure.
1991: Explosive anti-Bush protest
About 7,500 people gathered outside The Bellevue Sept. 12 to protest an appearance by President George Bush. Protesters — who included members of ACT Up, National Organization for Women and reproductive-rights groups — attempted to staged a “die-in” to demonstrate lives lost to AIDS. Eight individuals were arrested, and several people reported that police were physically and verbally abusive to protesters. Police Commissioner Willie Williams created a seven-member advisory board to examine the incident. Protesters filed a federal suit against police the following month, and settled early the next year for $76,000.
1992: Gay sting in Judy Garland Park
Seventeen men and one juvenile were arrested Aug. 23 at Schuylkill River Park, a popular gay-cruising spot at 25th and Spruce streets known as Judy Garland Park. Police scoured the park and arrested anyone present after the 1 a.m. curfew. The sting was characterized by many in the LGBT community as antigay, prompting the threat of a federal lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. Gay-rights leaders met with Police Commissioner Richard Neal about the arrests and the issue of gay sex stings.
1993: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ written into law
About 100 gay-rights advocates and allies protested July 21 outside the Liberty Bell in response to the growing movement for a written policy regulating military service by openly gay Americans. Rita Addessa, executive director of the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force, said, “We are here because we stand against bigotry.” The demonstration included participation by openly gay veterans. Despite backing open service, President Bill Clinton issued a compromise directive, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Dec. 21 that forbade military service by openly gay individuals.
1994: City agrees to landmark AIDS ruling
Following a federal lawsuit from an HIV-positive man, the City of Philadelphia agreed to a consent decree in March with the U.S. Department of Justice that instated groundbreaking protections for people with HIV/AIDS. AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania filed the suit on behalf of a local student, who collapsed at school. The man, identified as John Smith, said Philadelphia Fire Department personnel refused to touch him after learning he was taking AZT, telling him to put himself on a stretcher. The settlement ordered the city to pay Smith $10,000 and issue a written apology. The city also agreed to train all 2,300 fire-department employees on HIV transmission and patients’ privacy rights, and instate a written policy banning HIV/AIDS discrimination by emergency personnel. The agreement was announced less than a day before Tom Hanks won the Academy Award for his role in the groundbreaking HIV/AIDS film “Philadelphia.”
1995: Prominent stylist murdered
John Eastwood, a hair stylist who had a roster of well-known clients at Pierre and Carlo’s at Bellevue Hotel, was found murdered Oct. 29 in his Old City townhouse. After not reporting for work, the 53-year-old was found nude, with a leather belt around his neck. Police at first contended Eastwood died accidentally during “strangulation” sex, which outraged his family and friends, who said the case was being improperly investigated because Eastwood was gay. His death was later ruled a homicide. In May 1996, police arrested Eastwood’s friend, Victor Cartagena, for murder; the charges were later downgraded to involuntary manslaughter. He pleaded guilty in 1997 and was sentenced to 11-and-a-half to 23 months in prison.
1996: State, federal DOMAs instated
Legislation to ban same-sex marriage successfully worked its way through the state and federal government bodies nearly simultaneously. On May 8, state Rep. Allan Egolf (R-Perry County) introduced a marriage-ban bill, with 38 cosponsors. The state House adopted the legislation in a 177-16 vote June 28; the Senate followed Oct. 2 with a 43-5 vote. The House had to cast another affirmative vote Oct. 7 on the slightly amended bill, making Pennsylvania the 16th state to outlaw same-sex marriage through statute. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its own Defense of Marriage in a 342-67 vote July 12, followed by an 85-14 Senate vote Sept. 10.
1997: AIDS Ride controversy
Three local HIV/AIDS agencies and a fundraising company agreed to pay $134,000 to settle claims that they violated state laws when soliciting donations for the 1996 Philadelphia-D.C. AIDS Ride. The parties involved were ActionAIDS, AIDS Information Network and Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives, as well as fundraising group Pallotta TeamWorks. The settlement followed a yearlong investigation by the state Attorney General, who contended organizers solicited donations prior to being fully compliant with state requirements. About 2,100 people participated in the June 1996 bike event, raising about $1.7 million, though only about $260,000 went directly to the AIDS charities involved.
1998: Philly adopts ‘life partner’ benefits
After a multi-year fight, Philadelphia passed comprehensive life-partnership legislation May 7. The packet of three bills, adopted in a 10-6 vote, granted health and pension benefits, as well as real-estate tax exemption, to same-sex couples who registered as life partners with the city. Mayor Ed Rendell signed the legislation May 19. The vote came after strong pushback from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua sent hand-delivered letters to Council Feb. 10 urging them to oppose the legislation, and the archdiocese hosted a series of planning workshops at local churches to mobilize supporters. About 100 people testified both for and against the legislation in an April 22 hearing, which drew a crowd that filled Council chambers and two other galleries.
1999: Suicide of pioneering out cop
The city’s first out police recruit killed himself after resigning from the force. Thomas Gilbert Kalt, Jr., 26, shot himself in the head Jan. 6 at Franklin Court in Old City. The Tacony native was considered the department’s first openly gay recruit, after he applied through a form at Giovanni’s Room. PGN followed his final days at the Police Academy and his Dec. 15, 1998, graduation. He filed paperwork Jan. 4 to resign, for unspecified reasons. Police officials quickly denied homophobia within the force played a role in Kalt’s suicide, a claim that prompted Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights executive director Andrew Park to call for an investigation into the climate of the department. A few weeks later, Inspector James Tiano was named the department’s first LGBT liaison, a discussion that had been in the works prior to Kalt’s suicide.
2000: Ruling bans second-parent adoption
A Nov. 8 ruling from the Pennsylvania Superior Court banned second-parent adoption by same-sex partners in Pennsylvania. The ruling followed a suit by a lesbian couple from Lancaster and a gay couple from Erie, who were seeking court precedence establishing the right for one same-sex partner to adopt the biological child of the other; the practice had been allowed piecemeal by certain judges. In its ruling, the court interpreted the state’s adoption law as applying only to legal spouses of a parent, effectively barring same-sex partners. The ruling did not invalidate the second-parent adoptions that had already been performed in 14 of the state’s 67 counties. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned that ruling Aug. 20, 2002, paving the way for second-parent adoptions.
2001: LGBTs among victims of 9/11
The LGBT community mourned with the rest of the nation as nearly 3,000 lives were lost on Sept. 11. Perhaps the most well-known LGBT victim of the terrorist attacks was San Francisco public-relations guru Mark Bingham, credited as one of the passengers who fought the attackers and brought down United Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field. Others killed included attorney Don Brandhorst and his partner, retail manager Ron Gamboa, as well as their 3-year-old son; the family was aboard United Flight 175 that slammed into World Trade Center 2. Also on that flight was openly gay software engineer Graham Berkeley, a British transplant who lived in Boston. David Charlebois was the copilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon, a flight that carried openly gay passenger Joe Ferguson, director of the National Geographic Society’s education programs. The Rev. Mychal Judge was a gay Franciscan friar and chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, who was killed while tending to victims.
2002: Pennsylvania passes LGBT hate-crimes law
After stalling for a year-and-a-half, the state legislature in November approved the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity into Pennsylvania’s hate-crimes law. Gov. Mark Schwieker signed the measure — Pennsylvania’s first statewide LGBT-inclusive law — Dec. 3. However, five years later, the Commonwealth Court overturned the law, saying its addition as an amendment to an unrelated agricultural bill was unconstitutional. That ruling was upheld by the state Supreme Court in 2008. A bill to add LGBT protections to the state’s hate-crimes law remains stalled in the legislature.
2003: Investigation begins into Nizah Morris homicide
The LGBT community began mobilizing in January after the December 2002 death of local trans woman Nizah Morris. Morris was found dead in Center City shortly after a courtesy ride from police; the case was initially thought to be an accident but was later ruled a homicide. PGN published its first story on the case Jan. 3 and followed up nearly weekly. On April 2, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office opened its investigation, which it acknowledged hit an impasse by the end of the year. PGN quickly began a quest for records relating to the case; in the spring, homicide detectives allowed the paper to listen to audio recordings of radio-room transmissions relating to the case and in June released a police-incident report that officials earlier said didn’t exist. Morris’ mother filed a federal lawsuit in September, blaming police, paramedics and others for her daughter’s death, which was later settled. The case remains unsolved.
2004: N.J. Guv.: ‘I am a gay American’
New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey shocked the nation when he called a press conference Aug. 12 to both come out and announce his resignation. The revelation reportedly came after pressure from a former appointee with whom he had an extramarital affair. Since McGreevey’s resignation would not take effect for three months, he became the nation’s first sitting out governor.
2005: Philly gets nation’s first LGBT historical marker
Nearly 40 years to the date of the first Reminder Day march, crowds gathered outside Independence Hall for the dedication of a historical marker honoring the event’s role in LGBT history. The Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission approved the marker in March, and the blue and yellow sign was unveiled July 1; it was the first LGBT-specific state historical marker in the country. A ceremony at National Constitution Center preceded the dedication, with remarks by Mayor John Street and Gov. Ed Rendell via phone. Marchers Frank Kameny, Bill Kelley, Randy Wicker, Ada Bello, Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen were on hand for the event.
2006: PA lawmakers defeat marriage ban
Pennsylvania narrowly missed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. On June 6, the state House approved legislation to add “one man-one woman” language to the state constitution’s definition of marriage; the Senate followed suit June 21, though its version included language banning civil unions and domestic partnerships for both same- and opposite-sex couples. Because of the differences, the legislation was sent to a conference committee, where lawmakers could not iron out a compromise before the legislature’s summer recess. Supporters of the initiative contended the constitutional ban would strengthen the state’s existing statute banning same-sex marriage; similar legislation would go on to fail in the next two sessions.
2007: City moves to evict Boy Scouts
After several years of back and forth about the Boy Scouts’ policy of banning gay members, Philadelphia City Council voted May 31 for a resolution that gave the local Cradle of Liberty Council chapter an ultimatum: Move out of its city-owned property, pay fair-market rent or refuse to abide by the national organization’s antigay policy. The chapter in turn filed suit the following year alleging the resolution was a constitutional violation, which a judge partly sided with in 2010. The city and Scouts ultimately settled in 2013, with the chapter moving out of the property and the city giving them $825,000. The Scouts have since rescinded their ban on gay members and leaders.
2008: Calif. voters approve Prop. 8
By a 52-48 margin, voters in California on Nov. 4 approved a ballot measure known as Proposition 8 that overturned the state’s marriage-equality law, prompting sharp national backlash. Protests were held throughout the nation, including in Philadelphia, where a Nov. 15 demonstration drew more than 5,000 people to City Hall. The Prop. 8 effort had local support from John Templeton Jr., area businessman and philanthropist and a board member of the local Boy Scouts chapter. Templeton donated $900,000 to backers of the ballot initiative, tying with a California man for the single-largest donation. Outrage over the Prop. 8 success is thought to have galvanized the effort in ensuing years to advance marriage equality nationwide.
2009: Pennsylvania sees first marriage bill
State Sen. Daylin Leach introduced Pennsylvania’s first piece of legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. Leach submitted the measure in July with cosponsor Sen. Larry Farnese; Sen. Jim Ferlo later signed on. The effort, which ultimately died in committee, was considered to be a long shot, but backers said the legislation fueled conversation about marriage equality and heightened awareness of LGBT issues among lawmakers.
2010: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is repealed
The military’s 1993 ban on openly gay servicemembers finally met its demise. The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to repeal the law in May but it remained stalled in the Senate until a long-awaited report from the Pentagon that predicted a low risk of damage to the military from lifting the measure. Congressman Patrick Murphy, of Pennsylvania, himself a veteran, resubmitted the repeal bill in the fall and the House approved it in a 250-175 vote Dec. 15, with the Senate following in a 65-31 vote Dec. 18. President Obama signed the measure Dec. 22.
2011: Sex-abuse scandal rocks Archdiocese
A grand jury on Feb. 10 indicted three priests and a lay teacher for sexually abusing male students in the 1990s. In a national first, the jury also indicted a high-ranking Archdiocesan official, Msgr. William Lynn, for reckless endangerment for covering up the abuse. Lynn was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison. His conviction was later overturned and then reinstated; he remains in prison. The lay teacher and one priest were tried, convicted and sentenced to prison, another priest pleaded guilty and the other priest’s trial ended in a hung jury. The indictment also indicated that 40 priests who previously faced allegations of sexual abuse remained in service, a finding that led to the suspension of about two-dozen priests.
2012: PA gets two out lawmakers
Former Equality Pennsylvania president Brian Sims campaigned against longtime state Rep. Babette Josephs for the 182nd House seat, winning by about 200 votes in the April primary. Sims became the first out LGBT candidate elected to state office in Pennsylvania. Sitting state Rep. Mike Fleck, a Republican, became the first out Republican state lawmaker in the state and nation when he came out Dec. 2.
2013: Philadelphia adopts groundbreaking LGBT-reform law
Councilman Jim Kenney submitted a sweeping LGBT-reform measure that sailed through City Council. The legislation would provide tax credits for companies that offered transgender-inclusive health care and domestic-partner benefits, both first-in-the-nation initiatives. The measure also mandated all new city construction be equipped with gender-neutral restrooms and revamped city forms and signage to make them more LGBT-inclusive, among other provisions. Council approved the bill in a 14-3 vote April 25 and Mayor Michael Nutter signed it into law May 9.
2014: Marriage equality arrives in the Keystone State
Pennsylvania became the 19th state to sanction same-sex marriage May 19. The historic change came after a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones 3d in a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and firm Hangley Aronchick on behalf of a group of same-sex couples. Jones found that Pennsylvania’s 1996 law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, a ruling that came less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a similar finding about the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Hundreds gathered outside Philadelphia City Hall for an impromptu celebration, and the city Register of Wills kept its office open late to accept marriage-license applications. Republican Gov. Tom Corbett announced the next day he would not appeal the ruling. Marriages began May 23, the first taking place shortly after midnight on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
2015: SCOTUS makes marriage history
In a landmark 5-4 decision issued June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for nationwide marriage equality. The ruling, which found same-sex couples had a fundamental right to marry, came in Obergefell v. Hodges, which consolidated six lower-court cases, led by plaintiff Jim Obergefell, a widow from Ohio. SCOTUS held oral arguments April 28, with many predicting the June 26 decision date, which was also when SCOTUS overturned a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 and struck down sodomy laws in 2002. Local LGBT advocates gathered at Independence Mall that afternoon to celebrate.
