Gay Officers Actn League Print Oppos Pri's Uniformed Law Enforcement Ban : NPR

Contents:

• I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
• THE COPS STANDG WH, AND FOR, THE GAY COMMUNI THEY SERVE
• ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
• COMG OUT AT WORK: WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE A GAY P NEW JERSEY
• “A GAY OFFICER CGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS”
• PRI SAID GAY COPS AREN’T WELE. THEN CAME THE BACKLASH.
• GAY OFFICERS ACTN LEAGUE PRINT OPPOS PRI'S UNIFORMED LAW ENFORCEMENT BAN

I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK

I was one of few soldiers who joed the service before graduatg high school, but the admistratn at the time, which I believe was homophobic, chose to act as if I never existed bee of my queer hate that I experienced growg up on Long Island was my first enunter wh how others would treat me as a queer soldier.

The multiday prott — wily nsired a pivotal turng pot the morn gay rights movement — was triggered by a police raid on the popular Stonewall Inn gay bar. History, police officers were bound to enforce explicly anti-gay laws — om lol measur outlawg men om “impersonatg a female” to the wispread crimalizatn of same-sex sexual activy. She poted to a study published by the Williams Instute May that found lbian, gay, bisexual and queer people are six tim more likely than the general public to be stopped by police (data about transgenr dividuals were not available the datasets analyzed).

Prr to the start of this trag, negative attus about the LGBTQ muny were reportedly pervasive wh the partment: In 1996, durg a retrag of veteran officers, a word associatn exercise asked for rpons to the word “gays. Gtavo Alvarez, a gay rint of Palo Alto, California, settled his lawsu agast s police partment after accg of vlatg his civil rights, rultg a settlement that clud a $572, 500 payout and a one-off two hours of mandatory LGBTQ-awarens trag for all police officers the partment.

THE COPS STANDG WH, AND FOR, THE GAY COMMUNI THEY SERVE

“There was no secret that he was gay, and the officers fely ed that as a way to mean him their prr ntacts wh him and also durg this ntact.

ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

In New York Cy — where LGBTQ trag is provid by the Gay Officers Actn League (GOAL) for both new recs and veteran officers — Cummgs wants the police missner to be a civilian and lgs om the Civilian Complat Review Board, the NYPD’s oversight agency, be bdg.

COMG OUT AT WORK: WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE A GAY P NEW JERSEY

But as the print of the force’s only LGBTQ aternal anizatn — the Gay Officers Actn League, or GOAL — his other role is to serve and support his brothers and sisters drsed blue … and rabows. In 1969, New York Cy officers raid the Stonewall Inn, a gay club Greenwich Village, sparkg vlent protts and clash that lasted six days. “It’s an ongog procs, y, but ’s important for the [gay muny] — which has this mentaly based on history that you n’t be both gay and a police officer — to see that there are gay ps out there.

Before he joed the force 17 years ago, Locke was a social worker and director at the Gay and Lbian Anti-Vlence Project, where he vtigated s of police vlence agast the gay muny. On June 12, a few weeks before this year’s Pri Para, Downey stood at the ont of an dorium New York’s police headquarters for an annual event to honor the cy’s gay officers. Even as recently as a few years ago, GOAL wasn’t allowed to hold Pri Month events, like the one this month to regnize their gay lleagu, at police headquarters.

“A GAY OFFICER CGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS”

Jam Tracy of the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, police partment, the abily to be openly gay while the police force is important to make those meangful chang.

Tammy Smh, the ary’s hight-rankg openly gay officer, me out 2012, she has tried beg an example of livg thentilly while also beg a bean of visibily to other Soldiers and their fai.

PRI SAID GAY COPS AREN’T WELE. THEN CAME THE BACKLASH.

As difficult as was for her, g out publicly as gay “may not have been as easy for someone who was at a lower rank, ” Smh said an terview last week.

Behalf of all the members of the Gay Officers Actn League of New York, we thank everyone who has reached out over the last few Members and Friends, Sce Herage of Pri announced s cisn to ban GOAL om participatg Pri, we've been Journey 35 Years of GOALThe New York Cy Police Department (NYPD) has e a long way and we are proud to be a part of the posive chang. Jam Tracy me out as gay to his police joed the Englewood Cliffs police partment 2002, but 10 years passed before he revealed his secret.

GAY OFFICERS ACTN LEAGUE PRINT OPPOS PRI'S UNIFORMED LAW ENFORCEMENT BAN

“I was gettg lls om gay police officers all over the untry sayg thgs like ‘Hey, thanks for the publicy and gettg out there', ” he said. ”It's not always easy to be a p who is gay, but each step forward helps pave the way for a better future work environment, Tracy ntu below galleryWell before Tracy ever put on the police uniform, Wtwood police Officer Larry Schwartz helped pave the way for gay officers.