March on Washgton 1993 · Wearg Gay History

Contents:

• MARCH FOR GAY RIGHTS; GAY MARCHERS THRONG MALL APPEAL FOR RIGHTS
• GAYS DEMAND RIGHTS IN 6-HOUR MARCH
• 200,000 MARCH CAPAL TO SEEK GAY RIGHTS AND MONEY FOR AIDS
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS THE UNED STAT: NATNAL MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS
• USER CLIP: URVASHI VAID AT THE MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN, GAY AND BI EQUAL RIGHTS AND LIBERATN
• 'WE'RE EVERYWHERE,' MARCHERS SAY PROUDLY GAY RIGHTS MARCH ON WASHINGTON
• ARTICL ON GAY MARCH - WASHGTON 1993
• SEND MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS SUMMARY

MARCH FOR GAY RIGHTS; GAY MARCHERS THRONG MALL APPEAL FOR RIGHTS

On April 25, 1993, “The March on Washgton for Lbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberatn” (93 MOW) took place. We mand passage of a lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr civil rights bill and an end to discrimatn by state and feral ernments cludg the ary; repeal of all sodomy laws and other laws that crimalize private sexual exprsn between nsentg adults.

We mand legislatn to prevent discrimatn agast lbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenr people the areas of fay diversy, ctody, adoptn and foster re and that the fn of fay clus the full diversy of all fay stctur. We mand full and equal cln of lbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenr people the tnal system, and cln of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr studi multicultural curricula. On April 25, 1993, the March on Washgton for Lbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberatn took place Washgton, D.

Years earlier, televisn works ignored the Natnal March on Washgton for Lbian and Gay Rights 1979. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMARCH FOR GAY RIGHTSApril 26, New York Tim ArchivSee the article s origal ntext om April 26, 1993, Sectn A, Page 1Buy ReprtsTimMache is an exclive benef for home livery and digal the ArchiveThis is a digized versn of an article om The Tim’s prt archive, before the start of onle publitn 1996. Ocsnally the digizatn procs troduc transcriptn errors or other problems; we are ntug to work to improve the archived once fiant and ftive, hundreds of thoands of gay and lbian Amerins and their supporters rallied the pal today, celebratg the right to be homosexual and mandg eedom om discrimatn.

GAYS DEMAND RIGHTS IN 6-HOUR MARCH

Mixner, a longtime gay iend of Print Clton, who has lately been cril of him, told the crowd.

"Although the marchers me wh a broad civil rights agenda, the ban on homosexuals the ary domated the tone of the day.

"I stand wh you the stgle for equaly for All Amerins, cludg gay men and lbians, " the Print wrote. Clton remd the crowd that he had asked for a report by July 15 on how to put to effect an end to the ban on homosexuals the ary.

200,000 MARCH CAPAL TO SEEK GAY RIGHTS AND MONEY FOR AIDS

A slight majory of marchers said dozens of nversatns that they thought he was dog all he uld for gay rights. M., hundreds of men and women unr the banner of the Gay Men's Health Crisis of New York lay down ont of the Whe Hoe silence, symbolizg the number of AIDS aths. But the numbers were clearly swelled by reactn to recent anti-gay measur Oregon and Colorado, by creased opposn to homosexualy om relig groups and by the sharply anti-gay ments the fight over endg the ban on homosexuals the ary.

Feelgs of PriThe overall tone at the march today was one of pri, of feelg part of a larger gay muny and not beg aaid to march down the street to proclaim . Increasgly, homosexuals have e to feel they are the only group still acceptable to hate.

The state has been an tense polil battleground, wh the passage last year of Amendment 2, which prohibs lol anti-discrimatory laws that are signed to protect lbians and gay Coloradans' black banners, one of them proclaimg "Unr Siege, " stretched almost the full width of the thoroughfare.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS THE UNED STAT: NATNAL MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS

Others took to chantg, "Shame, " over and over aga as they Christian Actn Network, a nservative relig group that oppos homosexual rights, labeled the march "a wake-up ll to the silent majory of Amerins whose dividual rights are at stake. Service men and women discharged for homosexualy, who have bee hero among gay people, led up uniform on the stage before the crowd, settg off thunro applse, tears and screams. Schdler, a 22-year-old Navy radman beaten to ath last October near the Uned Stat Navy base Sasebo, Japan, exprsed fear for every gay and lbian service march -- officially lled the 1993 March on Washgton for Lbian, Gay and Bi-Equal Rights and Liberatn -- lled for the meetg of several mands, cludg passage of a civil rights bill and other antidiscrimatn measur; more money for AIDS tn, treatment and rearch; the cln of lbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenr people the tnal system; reproductive eedom; and an end to discrimatn and vlent opprsn based on sexual orientatn, race, relign, sex, disabily, age, class or H.

"A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 1 of the Natnal edn wh the headle: MARCH FOR GAY RIGHTS; Gay Marchers Throng Mall Appeal for Rights. Hundreds of thoands of gay men and lbians om across the untry marched past the Whe Hoe and flood the Mall yterday a largely peaceful procsn to mand an equal place Amerin society. The marchers, acpanied by fay, iends and other supporters, streamed for more than six hours down Pennsylvania Avenue NW, wavg thoands of rabow flags, a symbol of gay liberatn.

USER CLIP: URVASHI VAID AT THE MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN, GAY AND BI EQUAL RIGHTS AND LIBERATN

At ralli on the Mall, many speakers lked the event spir and ambn to the historic 1963 civil rights march on Washgton and argued that after 30 years, homosexuals are the last segment of the cizenry that still fac legally sanctned discrimatn.

Lears of the march, who lled a landmark the history of the gay rights movement, said that the mment shown yterday would brg polil gas and spire thoands more gay men and women to celebrate -- not hi -- their sexual orientatn. " Print Clton, who mpaigned aggrsively for gay vot last fall, was out of town and did not attend the march, as many gay and lbian lears had plead wh him to do.

" "I stand wh you the stggle for equaly for all Amerins, cludg gays and lbians, " Clton said the letter. The print, who met wh gay lears the Whe Hoe earlier this month, also urged the untry to "put asi what divis and foc on what we share. " Even whout Clton's prence, gay rights lears exulted the huge turnout -- and the moment.

'WE'RE EVERYWHERE,' MARCHERS SAY PROUDLY GAY RIGHTS MARCH ON WASHINGTON

"We're g om the outsi to take our place at the table, " Torie Osborn, executive director of the Natnal Gay and Lbian Task Force, told the crowd. Park Police timated that the crowd for the march, the first natnal gay rights monstratn six years, was about 300, 000, far short of the 1 ln that gay anizers had predicted.

Police and march anizers also had clashed over crowd timat at a gay rights march 1987, prevly the largt such gatherg of gays and their supporters the natn.

ARTICL ON GAY MARCH - WASHGTON 1993

Park Police said there were 200, 000 monstrators then; gay rights lears put the unt at 650, 000.

On some rners, misters stood alone and ed bullhorns to tell the gay men and lbian marchers to repent for what the misters scribed as the s of homosexualy. Other protters, angry over Clton's plan to lift the ban agast gays servg the ary, also jeered gay marchers as they arrived on chartered b that parked at the Pentagon. " Yterday's march was the culmatn of a week of ceremoni and protts anized by gay and lbian lears to affirm their liv, secure more fundg for AIDS re and rearch, and w passage of legislatn that would ban discrimatn agast them.

SEND MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS SUMMARY

Lears of the march also said that was held part to prsure Clton -- whom many of them view as their bt-ever hope for change -- to keep the promis he ma to gay voters as a ndidate.

Wherever one ntgent -- the Parents and Friends of Lbians and Gays -- passed, onlookers shed to curbs and gave them enormo ovatns. Another of the most appld ntgents was the Gay, Lbian and Bisexual Veterans Associatn, which numbered about 1, 000 people, some full ary uniform. Jane Rogers, 46, of Fort Worth, said the march was a turng pot her activism on gay and lbian issu.

"AIDS has ed many of to bee active gay issu as well as the movement for health re reform.