RTÉ Archiv | Society | Gay Rights And Decrimalisatn

Contents:

• 10 TON IRISH GAY RIGHTS
• IT’S BEEN 40 YEARS SCE NORTHERN IRELAND’S HUMANISG GAY SEX BAN WAS FALLY STCK DOWN
• GAY RIGHTS
• PRI 2019 – FROM ILLEGAL TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND AN OPENLY GAY LEAR, IRELAND’S FIGHT FOR GAY RIGHTS
• IRELAND, ENTHIASTIC ABOUT GAY RIGHTS, FRETS OVER ABORTN
• ‘GAY KE’ ROW: MAN LOS SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE AGAST BELFAST BAKERY

10 TON IRISH GAY RIGHTS

In 1988, David Norris – who by then had bee a Senator – won a se the European Court agast the Irish State over the nstutnal stat of the crimalisatn of certa homosexual acts. On his cisn to e out the Health Mister stated that he felt was important for upg vot he would be volved – cludg whether laws on gay and bisexual men donatg blood should be lifted and the upg referendum on same-sex marriage.

1: The trial of Osr Wil, 1895In the aftermath of his trials for “gross cency” at the Old Bailey 1895, when he was nvicted and sentenced to two years of hard labour, Wil was bankpted, his plays removed om the Wt End stage and his name erased om all public discsn except as a name for “unspeakabl of the Osr Wil sort” – or gay men, as we would now ll them.

2: The crown jewels theft, 1907A siar high-profile legal se me wh the furore around the 1907 theft of the Irish crown jewels, when opportunistic natnalist anger agast crown admistrators was exprsed vilently homophobic newspaper outpourgs. As Ireland experienced radil enomic, legal and social change durg the last half of the 20th century and to the 21st, there began a rensiratn of the public role of Irish lbian and gay liv. 5: Irish Gay Rights Movement, 1974Gay liberatn, already a key polil and social velopment the UK and North Ameri the 1960s, found a new foc Ireland 1974, five years after the Stonewall rts New York, wh the foundatn of the Irish Gay Rights Movement, Dubl.

IT’S BEEN 40 YEARS SCE NORTHERN IRELAND’S HUMANISG GAY SEX BAN WAS FALLY STCK DOWN

The mpaign for the crimalisatn of male homosexualy Ireland (abolished the UK 1967) foced on a legal challenge taken by a universy lecturer English lerature, David Norris. 6: Natnal Gay Feratn, 1979In 1979 the Natnal Gay Feratn, which clud Norris, set up the Hirschfield Centre the then unfashnable Temple Bar area of Dubl; the centre published a seri of -hoe magaz, partly to provi a social work and partly to give support on polil issu and on the Aids crisis of the 1980s.

7: David Norris and Declan Flynn s, 1983David Norris brought his se for the crimalisatn of homosexualy to the High Court, where was rejected, and then to the Supreme Court, where he was reprented by Mary Robson, and where was also rejected, 1983.

GAY RIGHTS

8: Decrimalisatn, 1993Decrimalisatn eventually took place after the European Court of Human Rights led that Ireland's anti-gay laws ntravened the European Conventn on Human Rights of 1988. 10: Civil partnership, 2010From this ccial moment me a seri of other legal and social moments regnisg the existence of Irish LGBT liv, as wh the moment when, 2010, lbian and gay relatnships were regnised by civil partnership, wh some of civil marriage’s legal rights and there is one thg I have learned om wrg historil fictn and bgraphy is that private liv are much the same now as they were 100 years ago. The UK ernment tried to move forward wh the partial crimalisatn of homosexualy Northern Ireland followg that remendatn – however, efforts stalled when beme clear that none of the 12 MPs for the terrory were willg to support change.

Those volved the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Associatn (NIGRA) fought tirelsly for the law to be changed as police arrted them, forced them to unrgo humanisg medil exams and raid their hoe. Paisley, a reverend wh the Free Prbyterian Church, was termed that the law should not be changed to grant gay people the rights and eedoms they so sperately craved. Police disvered personal rrponnc sent by him which he tailed gay sex acts he had taken part , and jt like that, his se was transformed to an anti-gay wch hunt.

PRI 2019 – FROM ILLEGAL TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND AN OPENLY GAY LEAR, IRELAND’S FIGHT FOR GAY RIGHTS

The Rabow Project, a Belfast-based LGBT+ chary, marked the 40th anniversary of the crimalisatn of homosexualy by drawg attentn to the areas where change is still need. Fears of vlence, timidatn and harassment rema a realy for many lbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, tersex and asexual people across Northern Ireland and beyond. We see how the same twisted msag which were ed to nmn gay people and ce fear of our muny are beg ed to target trans/non-bary people, qutng their existence and ignorg their lived experienc.

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. 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.

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.

IRELAND, ENTHIASTIC ABOUT GAY RIGHTS, FRETS OVER ABORTN

”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.

‘GAY KE’ ROW: MAN LOS SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE AGAST BELFAST BAKERY

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.