Lawyers guild drops police suit
Adapted from reporting by Harry Langhorne
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions forced volunteer lawyers to drop work in 1976 on the class-action suit alleging harassment of gay people by the Philadelphia Police Department, according to the National Lawyers Guild.
The guild had enjoined 10 complaints of verbal harassment, entrapment and overnight detention without charges. Lawyers felt they would need at least 50 complaints to persuade the court that a pattern of civil-rights violations existed.
Of the existing complaints, none involved the same police officer and none involved physical injury, lawyers’ fees or job loss. It would’ve been difficult to prove a pattern or make a case for damages, lawyers said.
The Supreme Court decisions that made the lawyers guild ultimately drop the class-action suit included Aldinger v. Howard, which made it difficult to hold an employer responsible for civil-rights violations, and Hampton v. United States, which laid out the difference between police “enticement” and “entrapment.” The court had also upheld a Virginia law criminalizing sodomy.
Mr. Club contest to raise money for PGN’s office
Adapted from reporting by PGN staff
The fifth-annual “Mr. Club” contest was organized to help raise money for Philadelphia Gay News to open a permanent office in Center City.
The $3 cover for each attendee was earmarked for the paper. The contest was slated for Sept. 14, 1976, at the DCA Disco, 204 S. Camac St., near the current Tavern on Camac.
All males over 21 were invited to compete. The winner received $125 in cash. He would also get an all-expense paid trip to Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend to compete for the national “Mr. Club” title and a free one-year Club Baths room pass.
Drag entertainer Mr. Tiffany Jones, known as “the Texas tornado,” was expected to host the Philadelphia competition. Les Harrison’s Fabulous Fakes from Philadelphia’s Boom-Boom Room were also scheduled to perform. The Camden Club Baths sponsored the event.