Gay Activists Alliance | gay rights anizatn | Branni

Contents:

• GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE
• THE GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE IS FOUND
• GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE FIREHOE
• HOW THE GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE MASTREAMED LGBTQ RIGHTS IN THE YEARS AFTER THE STONEWALL UPRISG
• GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE FIREHOE: A "SCHOOL FOR DEMOCRACY"
• PARTY AND PROTT: THE RADIL HISTORY OF GAY LIBERATN, STONEWALL AND PRI
• TAG: GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE

GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE

The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was formed December 1969 by Jim Owl, Marty Robson, Arthur Evans, Arthur Bell, and others, who beme disaffected by the Gay Liberatn Front (GLF), the first LGBT group formed right after Stonewall. While the pickets and actns by earlier homophile groups the 1960s, like the Mattache Society’s Sip-In at Juli’, had been peaceful, the post-Stonewall groups, cludg GAA, GLF, and Radilbians, were more nontatnal.

This was the “zap, ” a direct, surprise public nontatn wh polil figur and rporate and ernmental enti regardg gay rights and discrimatn, signed to ga gay and straight media attentn.

Learn about this topic the articl:fluence of Stonewall rts In Stonewall rts: The legacy of Stonewall…Liberatn Front (GLF) and the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA). In addn to lnchg numero public monstratns to prott the lack of civil rights for gay dividuals, the anizatns often rorted to such tactics as public nontatns wh polil officials and the disptn of public meetgs to challenge and to change…Read More.

THE GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE IS FOUND

GLAA is an all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-prof polil anizatn that fends the civil rights of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people the Natn’s Capal. The rerds (1970-83) reflect the activi of a homophile anizatn of New York Cy which was dited to the achievement of civil rights for gays through ant, non-vlent means and which beme a lear the gay liberatn movement durg s more ant phase followg the Stonewall Rts of 1969.

Includ are rrponnce and llateral rerds of s prcipal mte cludg Ad Hoc Intro 2, Agprop, Executive, Fair Employment, Legal Actn, Municipal Government, Natnal Gay Movement, and News and Media Relatns Commtee. The rerds document GAA's stggle to obta fair hog and employment legislatn for gays New York Cy and State, the repeal of legislatn rpectg sodomy and solicatn, the endg of police harassment and entrapment of gays, and s role as a lear promotg the velopment of gay rights groups other ci.

GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE FIREHOE

The Natnal Gay Movement Commtee worked to tablish ntact wh gay groups other ci and to enurage the formatn of sister anizatns wh a view to exertg prsure for gay rights at the natnal level.

The rrponnce reveals the fluence of GAA on the velopment of the gay liberatn movement pecially California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and New York. The News and Media Relatns Commtee acted as liaison wh the media and strove to publicize the work of GAA and to furnish rmatn on the gay muny and the gay liberatn movement. Includ is rrponnce (maly out-gog) of Bce Ev, John Hammond, Jim Owl and David Thorstad wh reprentativ of the d-visual and prted media; and a file of prs releas which document the activi, methods and tactics employed by GAA s stggle to obta civil rights for gays.

The Agprop Commtee sought to brg the msage of gay pri to high school and llege stunts and prepared wrten, oral and d-visual material for prentatn to stunts New York Cy and suburban areas. Includ are outgog rrponnce of Jim Owl and Rich Amato to homophile and bs anizatns, labor unns, ernment agenci, and cy uncil members relative to employment discrimatn agast gays, support of a gay rights bill, and preparatn for heargs before the New York Cy Commissn on Human Rights.

HOW THE GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE MASTREAMED LGBTQ RIGHTS IN THE YEARS AFTER THE STONEWALL UPRISG

The Municipal Government Commtee acted as liaison between GAA and New York Cy ernmental agenci, lobbied for the passage of gay rights legislatn.

GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE FIREHOE: A "SCHOOL FOR DEMOCRACY"

Includ are rrponnce of Jim Owl, David Thorstad, and Richard Wanl wh labor unn officials, cy uncil members, and ngrsmen; and memoranda, reports, and pi of uncil bills ncerng gay rights. The topil file clus nstutn and by-laws, electn qutnnair, rerds relative to the Gay Activist, s gay studi rearch project, and mut of general meetgs of GAA.

The electn qutnnair were sent by GAA to ndidat for public office om the metropolan area durg the 1970 and 1972 electoral mpaigns to ascerta the ndidat' views on issu ncerng gay rights. Includ is a transcript of an terview (1976) nducted by David Thorstad wh John Damien, a horse-racg steward who was dismissed om his job by the Ontar Racg Commissn on the grounds that he was a homosexual, and who fought for restatement.

PARTY AND PROTT: THE RADIL HISTORY OF GAY LIBERATN, STONEWALL AND PRI

The prs clippgs (1971-72) which are loose and arranged by state and cy, nta articl havg referenc to GAA, homosexualy, amnty legislatn, urt cisns, and gay liberatn movement. Almost exactly six months after the Stonewall Rts, the group was found by Marty Robson, Jim Owl, and Arthur Evans, as an offshoot of the Gay Liberatn Front.

The GAA was tend to be a “sgle issue, polilly ntral [anizatn]”, whose goal would be to “secure basic human rights, digny and eedom for all gay people. ” Active mostly jt om 1970 to 1974, they had a profound fluence not only on the liv of gay and lbian New Yorkers, but on the broar culture and on activism our cy and untry general.

TAG: GAY ACTIVIST ALLIANCE

GAA members were most famoly known for performg zaps — r public monstratns signed to embarrass a public figure or celebry while also llg the attentn of both gays and straights to issu of LGBT rights. GAA was formed December 1969 when a number of members, led by Jim Owl, Marty Robson, and Arthur Evans, broke away om the more radil Gay Liberatn Front. The exclive purpose of GAA, the leadg and largt Amerin gay liberatn polil activist anizatn of the early 1970s, was to advance LGBT civil and social rights.