A Lson LGBTQ History wh Key Wt's Legendary Gay Rort

Contents:

• HOW THE GAYS SAVED KEY WT
• WELE TO GAY KEY WT!
• GAY RIGHTS
• DPE KEY WT'S GAY-FRIENDLY HISTORY, GAY MARRIAGE TOOK THIS LONG
• GAY KEY WT EVENTS CALENDAR
• GET TO KNOW THE RADIL SPIR OF GAY KEY WT THAT KEEPS CALLG LGBTQ+ TRAVELERS
• GAY KEY WT · CY GUI
• TOP 10 THGS TO DO GAY KEY WT
• U.S. REPRENTATIVE BARNEY FRANK COM OUTBARNEY FRANK WAS FIRST ELECTED TO THE MASSACHETTS HOE OF REPRENTATIV 1972 AND SERVED UNTIL HIS ELECTN TO THE U.S. HOE OF REPRENTATIV 1980, BUT DID NOT YET PUBLICLY INTIFY AS LGBTQ. AAID THAT G OUT MIGHT HURT HIS REER, FRANK LGERED THE CLOSET UNTIL 1987, WHEN HE BEME THE FIRST MEMBER OF CONGRS TO VOLUNTARILY E OUT PUBLICLY AS LGBTQ+.“FOR MANY YEARS, I WAS ASHAMED OF MYSELF FOR HIDG MY MEMBERSHIP A UNIVERSALLY SPISED GROUP. I’D BEEN AAID OF EXPOSURE, AND ANGRY AT MYSELF FOR MY SELF-NIAL. I’D FELT SHAME AS I WATCHED YOUNGER GAY MEN AND LBIANS NONT THE BIGOTS OPENLY WH A URAGE THAT I LACKED. AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS, LYG TO PEOPLE WAS MUCH EASIER EMOTNALLY THAN FALLY ADMTG MY LIE,” FRANK WROTE POLI ON MARCH 12, 2015, AN EXCERPT OM HIS BOOK, FRANK: A LIFE POLICS OM THE GREAT SOCIETY TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.BUT FRANK RECEIVED UNEXPECTED SUPPORT AND LUXURIATED BEG AN OUT GAY REPRENTATIVE. “I’M ED TO BEG A MORY. HEY, I’M A LEFT-HAND GAY JEW. I’VE NEVER FELT, TOMATILLY, A MEMBER OF ANY MAJORY,” FRANK SAID A NEW YORK TIM MAGAZE TERVIEW FEBARY 4, 1996. WHEN REPUBLIN HOE MAJORY LEAR DICK ARMEY REFERRED TO HIM AS “BARNEY FAG,” FRANK REFED TO ACCEPT THE RIGHT-WGER’S APOLOGY, AND THE SLUR REBOUND ON ARMEY. OVER TIME, FRANK WOULD BEE ONE OF THE MOST FLUENTIAL MEMBERS OF THE U.S. CONGRS, PLAYG A KEY ROLE AS CHAIR OF THE HOE FANCIAL SERVIC COMMTEE. HE WOULD BE REELECTED 12 TIM.‍JOHN LAIRD ELECTED ONE OF FIRST GAY MAYORS THE U.S.JOHN LAIRD’S LONG REER PUBLIC SERVICE BEGAN 1981 WH A SUCCSFUL RACE FOR THE SANTA CZ CY COUNCIL, WHERE HE SERVED UNTIL 1990. BUT HE WAS PUBLICLY CLOSETED UNTIL 1983, WHEN HE RPOND TO A REPORTER’S QUTN ABOUT HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATN BY TELLG THEM HE WAS GAY. LAIRD LATER TOLD “I SAID Y, AND EMBARKED ON AN UNPLANNED MEDIA ROLLER-ASTER RI. I WAS ON THE ONT PAGE OF MOST CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPERS AND MA THE PL HARVEY NEWS. SAN FRANCIS TELEVISN REPORTS REFERRED TO ME AS "AN AVOWED HOMOSEXUAL." AND I WAS VED TO SPEAK AT THE FIFTH MILK/MOSNE NDLELIGHT MARCH.”YET SHORTLY AFTER, FELLOW CY UNCILMEMBERS ELECTED HIM TO A ONE-YEAR TERM AS MAYOR, MAKG HIM ONE OF THE FIRST OUT LGBTQ+ MAYORS U.S. HISTORY. HE WOULD SERVE AGA AS MAYOR OM 1987 TO 1988. IN 2002, HE WAS ELECTED TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY AND SERVED UNTIL 2008. IN 2020, HE WAS ELECTED TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, MAKG HIM ONE OF THE LONGT SERVG OUT LGBTQ+ ELECTED OFFICIALS.KEY WT MAK HISTORY ELECTG RICHARD HEYMAN

HOW THE GAYS SAVED KEY WT

As one of this year's Stoli Key Wt Cocktail Classic featured partners, we took a dive to s past and the importance of the Key Wt gay muny wh Jefey Smead, Marketg Director wh the Island Hoe:OUT: Let's start wh Jon Allen and Mart Kay, who purchased Island Hoe back 1999. After talkg for a while at the event, the topic of the Cocktail Classic me up and, bee so many of the gay bars Key Wt had bee inic the queer muny, we thought Key Wt would be the perfect settg for this that meetg LA, we brought Patrik to Island Hoe and he immediately h the ground nng, meetg wh our gay and lbian bs guild and several lol bs, and the procs to start the first annual Key Wt Cocktail Classic began. Other gay artists, notabl, cultural arbers, doyens, publishers, eccentric illumati and jt cur gay travelers followed wh their own entourag, assorted iends and acquatanc.

WELE TO GAY KEY WT!

Back when gay life existed a parallel universe separate om jobs, birth fai and a harshly tolerant mastream society the LGBTQ muny opted to vatn out-of-the-way statns like Key Wt.

GAY RIGHTS

By the early 1970s word had begun to filter north throughout gay culture that Key Wt was one of the few tly acceptg, e-as-you-are, quirky, fun plac the world where LGBTQ people uld exprs their creativy, their eedom, their love.

Other gay thet such as Ferdand Court, Bob Alfandre, Joe Famularo, Jimmy Pepper and Hugh Key soon followed su, snappg up shabille properti all over the island and rurrectg, refurbishg and rtorg them to former glory. Bolsterg Key Wt’s fame as an novator and early pneer LGBTQ travel promotn, lol travel agents and hoteliers me together 1983 to tablish the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Travel Associatn (IGLTA), a worldwi anizatn that today boasts 1, 200 members and growg.

Openly gay physician Jerome Covgton and his straight practice partner Mark Whi were at the foreont of the HIV tsunami that h the ltle island the early days, and they performed heroic work on behalf of the gay muny.

DPE KEY WT'S GAY-FRIENDLY HISTORY, GAY MARRIAGE TOOK THIS LONG

And much like other LGBTQ enclav at the time, the island’s lbian muny stepped up as primary regivers to so many of the gay men sufferg their last days away om home and away om fai. In 1997 a group of lol gay philanthropists on the island me together to tablish a visible, meangful monument to the memory of the victims of this horrific panmic.

GAY KEY WT EVENTS CALENDAR

The recently retired Chief of Police, native son Donie Lee, is openly gay as is the recently retired Supertennt of Schools and noted philanthropist, John Padget. Back when gay life existed a parallel universe—clared a natnal secury threat by the feral ernment, thlsly vtigated by the Florida state legislature and stigmatized as mentally ill by the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn, so many this generatn were separated om jobs, birth fai and a harshly tolerant mastream society. By the early 1970s word had begun to filter north throughout gay culture that Key Wt was one of the few tly acceptg, e-as-you-are, quirky, fun plac the world where LGBTQ people uld exprs their creativy, their eedom and their love.

Other gay thet and lears such as New York attorney Ferdand Court; real tate veloper and Washgton cultural force Bob Alfandre (1927-2014); publisher/thor Joe Famularo; Jam G. Herlihy me to love Key Wt “largely for the same reasons that had attracted (Tennsee) Williams: …beg part of an exclive unofficial club of gay artists who supported each other.

Drag shows, weddgs, water excursns, late night parti, beach, clothg optnal rorts, and the only gay & lbian historic trolley tour make our island the preement LGBT vatn choice. Back when gay life existed a parallel universe separate om jobs, birth fai and a harshly tolerant mastream the LGBT muny opted to vatn out-of-the-way statns.

GET TO KNOW THE RADIL SPIR OF GAY KEY WT THAT KEEPS CALLG LGBTQ+ TRAVELERS

We have ternatnally known award-wng gay gut ho, adult-themed gay bars, nightly drag shows, the only gay trolley tour North Ameri and some of the gay only water excursns Florida.

LGBTQ+ Key Wt HistoryHow the Gays Saved Key WtLong associated wh the ttosterone-fueled macho marketg of Hemgway, Key Wt fact has benefed far more om a very different variety of creative energy. The Early Gay Rights Movement In 1924, Henry Gerber, a German immigrant, found Chigo the Society for Human Rights, the first documented gay rights anizatn the Uned Stat.

GAY KEY WT · CY GUI

Army service World War I, Gerber was spired to create his anizatn by the Scientific-Humanarian Commtee, a “homosexual emancipatn” group ’s small group published a few issu of s newsletter “Friendship and Freedom, ” the untry’s first gay-tert newsletter. Ernment signated Gerber’s Chigo hoe a Natnal Historic Pk TriangleCorbis/Getty ImagHomosexual prisoners at the ncentratn mp at Sachsenhsen, Germany, wearg pk triangl on their uniforms on December 19, gay rights movement stagnated for the next few s, though LGBT dividuals around the world did e to the spotlight a few example, English poet and thor Radclyffe Hall stirred up ntroversy 1928 when she published her lbian-themed novel, The Well of Lonels. And durg World War II, the Nazis held homosexual men ncentratn mps, brandg them wh the famo pk triangle badge, which was also given to sexual predators.

Addnally, 1948, his book Sexual Behavr the Human Male, Aled Ksey proposed that male sexual orientatn li on a ntuum between exclively homosexual to exclively Homophile Years In 1950, Harry Hay found the Mattache Foundatn, one of the natn’s first gay rights group.

”Though started off small, the foundatn, which sought to improve the liv of gay men through discsn groups and related activi, expand after foundg member Dale Jenngs was arrted 1952 for solicatn and then later set ee due to a adlocked the end of the year, Jenngs formed another anizatn lled One, Inc., which weled women and published ONE, the untry’s first pro-gay magaze. Post Office, which 1954 clared the magaze “obscene” and refed to liver Mattache Society Mattache Foundatn members rtctured the anizatn to form the Mattache Society, which had lol chapters other parts of the untry and 1955 began publishg the untry’s send gay publitn, The Mattache Review. That same year, four lbian upl San Francis found an anizatn lled the Dghters of Bilis, which soon began publishg a newsletter lled The Ladr, the first lbian publitn of any early years of the movement also faced some notable setbacks: the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn listed homosexualy as a form of mental disorr followg year, Print Dwight D.

TOP 10 THGS TO DO GAY KEY WT

In 1961, Illois beme the first state to do away wh s anti-sodomy laws, effectively crimalizg homosexualy, and a lol TV statn California aired the first documentary about homosexualy, lled The 1965, Dr. ”In fear of beg shut down by thori, bartenrs would ny drks to patrons spected of beg gay or kick them out altogether; others would serve them drks but force them to s facg away om other ctomers to prevent them om 1966, members of the Mattache Society New York Cy staged a “sip-”—a twist on the “s-” protts of the 1960s— which they vised taverns, clared themselv gay, and waed to be turned away so they uld sue. They were nied service at the Greenwich Village tavern Juli, rultg much publicy and the quick reversal of the anti-gay liquor Stonewall Inn A few years later, 1969, a now-famo event talyzed the gay rights movement: The Stonewall clanste gay club Stonewall Inn was an stutn Greenwich Village bee was large, cheap, allowed dancg and weled drag queens and homels the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York Cy police raid the Stonewall Inn.

As -founr of the Gay Liberatn Front, Rivera was known for participatg the Stonewall Rts and tablishg the polil anizatn STAR (Street Transvte Actn Revolutnari). After the Stonewall Rts, a msage was pated on the outsi of the board-up bar readg, "We homosexuals plead wh out people to please help mata peaceful and quiet nduct on the streets of the village.

" This sign was wrten by the Mattache Society–an early anizatn dited to fightg for gay reportg the events, The New York Daily News rorted to homophobic slurs s tailed verage, nng the headle: “Homo Nt Raid, Queen Be Are Stgg Mad.

U.S. REPRENTATIVE BARNEY FRANK COM OUTBARNEY FRANK WAS FIRST ELECTED TO THE MASSACHETTS HOE OF REPRENTATIV 1972 AND SERVED UNTIL HIS ELECTN TO THE U.S. HOE OF REPRENTATIV 1980, BUT DID NOT YET PUBLICLY INTIFY AS LGBTQ. AAID THAT G OUT MIGHT HURT HIS REER, FRANK LGERED THE CLOSET UNTIL 1987, WHEN HE BEME THE FIRST MEMBER OF CONGRS TO VOLUNTARILY E OUT PUBLICLY AS LGBTQ+.“FOR MANY YEARS, I WAS ASHAMED OF MYSELF FOR HIDG MY MEMBERSHIP A UNIVERSALLY SPISED GROUP. I’D BEEN AAID OF EXPOSURE, AND ANGRY AT MYSELF FOR MY SELF-NIAL. I’D FELT SHAME AS I WATCHED YOUNGER GAY MEN AND LBIANS NONT THE BIGOTS OPENLY WH A URAGE THAT I LACKED. AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS, LYG TO PEOPLE WAS MUCH EASIER EMOTNALLY THAN FALLY ADMTG MY LIE,” FRANK WROTE POLI ON MARCH 12, 2015, AN EXCERPT OM HIS BOOK, FRANK: A LIFE POLICS OM THE GREAT SOCIETY TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.BUT FRANK RECEIVED UNEXPECTED SUPPORT AND LUXURIATED BEG AN OUT GAY REPRENTATIVE. “I’M ED TO BEG A MORY. HEY, I’M A LEFT-HAND GAY JEW. I’VE NEVER FELT, TOMATILLY, A MEMBER OF ANY MAJORY,” FRANK SAID A NEW YORK TIM MAGAZE TERVIEW FEBARY 4, 1996. WHEN REPUBLIN HOE MAJORY LEAR DICK ARMEY REFERRED TO HIM AS “BARNEY FAG,” FRANK REFED TO ACCEPT THE RIGHT-WGER’S APOLOGY, AND THE SLUR REBOUND ON ARMEY. OVER TIME, FRANK WOULD BEE ONE OF THE MOST FLUENTIAL MEMBERS OF THE U.S. CONGRS, PLAYG A KEY ROLE AS CHAIR OF THE HOE FANCIAL SERVIC COMMTEE. HE WOULD BE REELECTED 12 TIM.‍JOHN LAIRD ELECTED ONE OF FIRST GAY MAYORS THE U.S.JOHN LAIRD’S LONG REER PUBLIC SERVICE BEGAN 1981 WH A SUCCSFUL RACE FOR THE SANTA CZ CY COUNCIL, WHERE HE SERVED UNTIL 1990. BUT HE WAS PUBLICLY CLOSETED UNTIL 1983, WHEN HE RPOND TO A REPORTER’S QUTN ABOUT HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATN BY TELLG THEM HE WAS GAY. LAIRD LATER TOLD “I SAID Y, AND EMBARKED ON AN UNPLANNED MEDIA ROLLER-ASTER RI. I WAS ON THE ONT PAGE OF MOST CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPERS AND MA THE PL HARVEY NEWS. SAN FRANCIS TELEVISN REPORTS REFERRED TO ME AS "AN AVOWED HOMOSEXUAL." AND I WAS VED TO SPEAK AT THE FIFTH MILK/MOSNE NDLELIGHT MARCH.”YET SHORTLY AFTER, FELLOW CY UNCILMEMBERS ELECTED HIM TO A ONE-YEAR TERM AS MAYOR, MAKG HIM ONE OF THE FIRST OUT LGBTQ+ MAYORS U.S. HISTORY. HE WOULD SERVE AGA AS MAYOR OM 1987 TO 1988. IN 2002, HE WAS ELECTED TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY AND SERVED UNTIL 2008. IN 2020, HE WAS ELECTED TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, MAKG HIM ONE OF THE LONGT SERVG OUT LGBTQ+ ELECTED OFFICIALS.KEY WT MAK HISTORY ELECTG RICHARD HEYMAN

”Over the next several nights, gay activists ntued to gather near the Stonewall, takg advantage of the moment to spread rmatn and build the muny that would fuel the growth of the gay rights movement.

They are pictured here marchg Tim Square,, Sylvia Ray Rivera (ont) and Arthur Bell are seen at a gay liberatn monstratn, New York Universy, 1970 Marsha P. Johnson is seen at a Gay Liberatn Front monstratn at Cy Hall New York, a large crowd memorat the 2nd anniversary of the Stonewall rts Greenwich Village of New York Cy 1971.