LGBTQ+Information+&+Resources

= = = LGBTQIA = Thanks go to Deeth Ellis, Wellesley Public Schools, Johnny Woodnal, Concord Public Schools, Jodie Cohen, Newton Public Schools and Ryan Augusta, Newton Public Schools for the research they provided on this group.

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Culture
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, Ally community is a constantly growing one, who’s various forms of culture (music, dance, art, festivals, religion, community & family, folklore) continues to take a larger and more public role as time moves forward. We as a group feel as though adding in any specific aspects of culture within any LGBTQIA community is really just writing stereotypes - that to generalize what the assignment defines as part of "culture" is very difficult. Many different people who identify as a part of the LGBTQIA culture can have many interests and beliefs that belong to many aspects of culture.

U.S. Experience
Each GLBTQ experience in the United States is different depending on one’s age, state/city of residence, family life, education, personality and culture. Today GLBTQ people can marry in some states, adopt children in most states, are no longer closeted by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if serving in the military, and are portrayed on television shows as teens, parents, friends and couples. Many middle and high schools have Gay/Straight Alliance student groups to support GLBTQ teens. How the GLBTQ community reached this point is the result of a rich history of activism, organization and many court cases at the state and federal level.

The modern Gay Rights Movement grew out of the Gay Liberation of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Although there were organizations formed to advocate for gay rights earlier (for example, the ACLU brought their first GLBT case in 1936), the turning point that led to the modern Gay Rights movement, many argue, was the Stonewall Riot in 1969. The AIDS epidemic of the late 1970’s and 1980’s devastated and called to political action all groups within the GLBTQ community. This history of advocating for and demanding to be treated equal by the government has affected each in a different way as a U.S. citizen and as a member of the GLBTQ community either as one who identifies as GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, or Questioning) or has a family members who does. Here are some of the significant political movements, organizations, laws and events that defined the American experience for many.

**__First/Later Generation experiences__** Those GLBTQ Americans who grew up in the 1920’s through the 1940’s would see the formation of small organizations and pockets within communities created to support GLBTQ rights. During the Harlem Renaissance there was a thriving gay and lesbian subculture. This led to the Homophile movement in the 1950’s which resulted in more organized political groups such as the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of the Bilitis, a lesbian organization. However, GLBTQs were still ostracized in the larger mainstream society. At the same time, courts upheld laws that banned GLBTQ people from all government jobs and did not allow immigrants who were GLBTQ into the country.

Those who lived during the 1960’s and 1970’s witnessed the Gay Liberation Movement. In 1969 the Stonewall Riots in which police raided a gay bar and those in the bar fought back until arrested marked a turning point of gay activism. Days after the riots the first court case //Norton v. Macy// ruled that civil servants could not be dismissed automatically for being gay. Gay pride parades and festivals have been held in June each year since. In the 1970’s many legal organizations were founded in order to help GLBTQ Americans fight for equal rights. In the late 1970’s and 1980’s the AIDS epidemic devastated the gay community, and many saw friends and family members die.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s law suits were brought in order to overturn //Bowers v. Hardwick,// the law that automatically criminalized GLBTQ people for being sexually immoral and more destructively made it so “gay people had no constitutionally protected rights” (//LGBTQ Today//). Finally in 2003 in //Lawrence v. Texas// the Supreme Court ruled overturning //Bowers// and thus decriminalizing homosexuality.

People who have grown up in the late 1990’s or 2000’s will have seen the change of legalized gay marriage, the end of “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” in the military and adoption laws in some states that allow for two or even three parents to adopt one child. Although gay immigrants are allowed to enter the U.S., partners of immigrants still are not.

**__Laws__**
The American Civil Liberties Union: GLBT Rights. ( [|http][|://][|www][|.][|aclu][|.][|org][|/][|lgbt][|-][|rights] ) provides information on the which states have which laws protecting the rights of GLBTQ Americans. There are books in the Additional Resources list that have more information about Federal laws, Supreme Court cases, and rights of GLBTQ youth, adults and families.

**__Supreme Court Cases:__**
Hurley v. Irish American GLIB Association (1995) - Allowed GLBTQ groups to be excluded from marching in St. Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston. Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000) - Allowed Boy Scouts to exclude GLBTQ members. Lawrence and Garner v. Texas (2003) - Homosexual Conduct Law - Revoked. Romer v. Evans (1996) - Gave gay people constitutional protection against government or private discrimination. McVeigh v. Cohen (1998) - First time “don’t ask, don’t tell” was tested.

**__Massachusetts Laws__** Many laws have been passed protecting rights of GLBTQ people, GLBTQ families, and specifically transgendered people in Massachusetts. Massachusetts was first state to legalize gay marriage. For information on other laws go the website of the Massachusetts Trial Court Library ( [|http][|://][|www][|.][|lawlib][|.][|state][|.][|ma][|.][|us][|/][|subject][|/][|about][|/][|index][|.][|html] ) and select the appropriate subject (e.g., Adoption, Gay Marriage, Gender Identity, etc.) and find out more. Some important court cases: · [|Goodridge][|v][|.][|Mass][|.][|Department][|of][|Public][|Health] – legalized gay marriage  · [|Della][|Corte][|v][|.][|Ramirez] (2012)- A child born of a same-sex marriage is the legitimate child of both people. · [|St][|.2011,][|c][|.199] –An Act Relative to Gender Identity. An act amending Mass Constitution to include the words “gender identity” in places that previously used only the word “sex.” New protections effective July, 2012.

Subgroups Within the GLBTQ Community
**__African American GLBTQ Community__** Historically, the African-American community has been reluctant to recognize their GLBTQ members. However, historically there have been people and organizations formed within or by African American GLBTQ people. Some examples are: · Cleo Bonner, a black lesbian, served as the president of the national lesbian organization the Daughters of Bilitis from 1963 to 1966 (Homophile Era) · Gay Liberation Front and New York City’s Gay Activist Alliance established related groups for people of color; the latter (formed in 1971) is still extant under the name of African Ancestral Lesbians for Societal Change. · Chicago Gay Alliance- Les Trotter, a black graduate student in political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, became president and was first black gay man to be elected into such a position anywhere in the United States. · Combahee River Collective, one of the first independent groups for African American gays and lesbians formed in 1974 by a group of black lesbian feminists · National Association of Black and White Men Together, founded in San Francisco in 1981. · New York City’s Lavender Light, an LGBT gospel choir. · Onyx started in Chicago in 1995, which would charter chapters in New York City, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. by 2006.

The AIDS pandemic stimulated the rise of groups specifically targeting the dynamics of the disease as expressed in the African American community: · African-American Gay and Lesbian Alliance, Houston’s major organization for lesbians and gay men of color and their allies, founded by activist and HIV educator Steve Walker and Ken Harris in early 1994 · Black Gay Research Group-Founded in 2001 in New York City, dedicated to the creation of a forum for the presentation of scholarly work on black gay men.

**__Latino GLBTQ Community__** Many of the first GLBTQ organizations were largely white, but after the Stonewall Riot there was a call to action to the Latino LBGTQ community. “Stonewall was a drag bar frequented mostly by minorities, Puerto Ricans, and other low-income patrons. These Puerto Rican drag queens, lesbians, and gay men continued the rioting and fighting against the police throughout the night” (//LGBTQ America Today//). Although GLBTQ Latinos wanted many of the rights as their white counterparts, their culture also emphasized “the realities of race, class, and gender oppression…Examples of these would be educational equity, access to health care, and protection of equal voting privileges” (//LGBTQ America Today).// Some Latino GLBTQ organizations formed primarily in urban areas in the early 1970s were: · //El Comite de Orgullo Homosexual Latinoamericano// (COHLA), · //Comunidad de Orgullo Gay,// Greater Liberated Chicanos · Gay Latino Alliance (GALA) · Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos de Los Angeles (GLLU)- formed in response to the AIDS epidemic. Although Latino LGBTQ groups have struggled to organize, they have pushed for and had educational and awareness programs in their communities particularly since the AIDS epidemic. The stereotype is that the Latino culture is machismo and thus intolerant of LGBTQ people.

**__Asian GLBTQ Community__** There are many cultures that encompass the Asian-American community. These cultural differences should be kept in mind when thinking about the GLBTQ members. A study of immigrant families with GLBTQ children by Alice Hom finds that Japanese parents have different views toward their GLBTQ children than Vietnamese or Chinese parents. Moreoever, the study refutes the stereotype of Asian people denying that GLBTQ members exist within their community. She found that more parents understand and acknowledge that homosexuality exists and are even familiar with the “nature v. nuture” debate. Still in many Asian communiites, “homosexuality is seen as a wholly Western sexual practice and identity or is seen to come from Western influences” (//GLBTQ America Today//). There has not been much collaboration between the Asian communities and GLBTQ organizations. An exception in history is during the AIDS crisis when GLBTQ communities. Understanding GLBTQ through literature and arts has been part of Asian culture. Some works by and about Asians with a GLBTQ theme: · //Joy Luck Club// by Amy Tan – AIDS epidemic included · Russell Leong and Timothy Liu, Poets writing about the AIDS epidemic Anthologies: · //Between the Lines: An Anthology by Pacific/Asian Lesbians of Santa Cruz, California (//1987) - collection, difficulties of reconciling sexual and ethnic differences among women are explored. · //The Lavender Godzilla// (1987) – Published by the Gay Asian Pacific · //Charlie Chan Is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction// (1994) – includes some notable work by Asian American LGBTQ writers although not specifically concerned with LGBTQ issues.

**__GLBTQ and Deaf Community__** “The GLBT community has been long fascinated with the Deaf GLBT community and has tried to be more inclusive of them, unlike the hearing straight community with their Deaf straight counterparts. Ironically, many straight Deaf people have proven to become more accepting of gayness mainly because so many of our best American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are GLBT persons who have often become fixtures on stage at pride festivals around the country. It helps that we have a strong national Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf (RAD) of which there are many local chapters around the country. Deaf GLBT people often attend the national RAD convention every two years in addition to supporting fundraisers sponsored by the local RAD organization” (//LGBTQ America Today)//.

Educational Implications
Teachers’ and administrators’ role is to support students who identify as GLBTQ, have friends or family members who identify as GLBTQ and effect understanding and tolerance in the larger community. Some particular points: · GLBTQ youths and those with GLBTQ family members are at risk of being bullied and stigmatized. · GLBTQ teens have a higher incidence of depression and suicide. · Gay/Straight Alliances in middle and high schools make a positive difference for GLBTQ and straight youths. · GLBTQ Families – There are many configurations in GLBTQ families. Find out who is considered part of the family to your student, don’t make assumptions. **For History/English teachers –** o The GLBTQ history in the U.S. is deep, rich and largely unknown, particularly relating to different sub-groups. Some young people may have GLBTQ parents or grandparents who could speak or do an oral history project about their experience in the U.S. o There is much literature written by and about GLBTQ people. Some should be included in the curriculum. References: //American Civil Liberties Union: GLBT Rights//. ( [|http][|://][|www][|.][|aclu][|.][|org][|/][|lgbt][|-][|rights] ) Massachusetts Trial Court Library – [|http][|://][|www][|.][|lawlib][|.][|state][|.][|ma][|.][|us][|/][|subject][|/][|about][|/][|index][|.][|html]

Willoughby, Brian. //LGBTQ America Today: An Encyclopedia//. Ed. John C. Hawley. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2008. //ABC-CLIO eBook Collection//. Web. 18 Jul 2012.

Community and Support Services
[|http][|://][|www][|.][|linkpink][|.][|com][|/][|ma][|_][|nonprofits][|.][|html]

- The Gay Pink Pages offers many community connections as well as a long list of helpful phone numbers and contact information to various agencies throughout Massachusetts. [|http][|://][|www][|.][|mass][|.][|gov][|/][|cgly][|/][|youth][|.][|htm]

-The Massachusetts Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth offers local resources, news and meeting information. [|Boston][|Alliance][|of][|Gay][|,][|Lesbian][|,][|Bisexual][|,][|and][|Transgender][|Youth][| (][|BAGLY][|)]

P.O. Box 814 Boston, MA 02103 Telephone: 617-227-4313 BAGLY provides weekly and monthly social activities and special events for people ages 22 and under. These activities provide an opportunity for youth to socialize, have fun and develop a sense of personal and community identity. BAGLY also has HIV, STD, Drugs, and Alcohol education and prevention programs in place to actively educate and empower youth in making wise decisions regarding their health. Free HIV testing and counseling - Every other Wednesday. For health care concerns and other needs, BAGLY makes referrals to the appropriate LGBT friendly health service providers. [|Boston][|GLASS][| --][|Justice][|Resource][|Institute][| (][|JRI][|)][|Health]

93 Massachusetts Ave., 3rd floor Boston, MA 02116 Telephone: 617-266-3349 JRI Health: [|http][|://][|www][|.][|jri][|.][|org][|/][|index][|.][|php]

The Boston GLASS is a drop-in center for homeless or runaway GLBT youth, young women of color, and HIV + youth. Services include counseling, empowerment education, health and legal service referrals, and the distribution of condoms, bleach kits, and food coupons. A related program, “HIV Stops With ME”, is an Internet-based campaign that targets young MSM that do not identify as gay or bisexual, as well as transgendered youth. The focus is on counseling, meeting basic needs, self-empowerment, HIV and peer education. [|Boston][|Glass][|Community][|Center][| --][|Shades][|of][|Color]

93 Massachusetts Ave., 3rd floor Boston, MA 02115 Telephone: 617.266.3349 *201 Shades of Color, a peer education & leadership development program, addresses issues related to HIV/AIDS; other STDs and Pregnancy; Safer Sex; Homophobia and Transphobia; Racism, Safety and Decision-making; Coming out; and Self-Love. Shades of Color offers workshops for community organizations, colleges and high schools.

[|Boston][|Glass][|Community][|Center][|:][|Slice][|Of][|Rice]

93 Massachusetts Ave., 3rd Floor Boston, MA 02115 Telephone: 617-266-3349 Resources: [|http][|://][|www][|.][|bostonglass][|.][|org][|/][|resources][|.][|htm]

Slice of Rice provides individual support for those Asian and Asian American youth who identify as queer (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) or questioning, building community among those youth, and raising political consciousness, voice, and action within both the Asian Pacific Islander community, and the queer community. [|Fenway][|Community][|Health][|Center]

7 Haviland Street Boston, MA 02115 Telephone: 617-267-0900 Fax: 617-859-1250 This program provides MSM & their sex partners with HIV services to engage them and improve their health by increasing their knowledge about HIV, and improving their self-esteem and self-efficacy. Services include individual & group HIV education, counseling, community events. HIV prevention services include Internet outreach, community-based training, workshops, and small group education in a social setting.

**Fenway Community Health Program Center - Peer Listening Line** Telephone: 1-800-399-PEER (7337) The Peer Listening Line Offers support and information; it also provides referrals for gay and lesbian youth who have been victims of violence and harassment.

**Fenway Community Health Program Center - Violence Recovery Program** Telephone: 617-927-6250 / 800-834-3242 The VRP provides counseling, support groups, advocacy, and referral services to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) victims of bias crime, domestic violence, sexual assault and police misconduct.

[|GLBT][|Health][|Access][|Project]

100 Boylston Street Suite # 815 Boston, MA 02116 Telephone: 617-988-2605 The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Health Access Project is a collaborative, community-based program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The project's mission is to foster the development and implementation of comprehensive, culturally appropriate, quality health promotion policies and health care services for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) people and their families.

[|**Gay**][|**and**][|**Lesbian**][|**Youth**][|**Support**][|**Project**][| **(**][|**GLYS**][|**)**]

942 W. Chestnut Street Brockton, MA 02301 Telephone: 508-583-2250 x224 Resource Page: [|http][|://][|www][|.][|hcsm][|.][|org][|/][|glys][|/][|resources][|.][|htm]

The Gay and Lesbian Youth Support (GLYS) is a program of Health Care of Southeastern Massachusetts, Inc. GLYS works to ensure safe and supportive communities for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) youth and their families.

[|**Massachusetts**][|**Area**][|**South**][|**Asian**][|**Lambda**][|**Association**][| **(**][|**MASALA**][|**)**]

MASALA is a social group based in Boston that provides a safe and supportive environment to New England based Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning South Asians (people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet; and from the global South Asian Diaspora). MASALA also takes pride in its cross alliance with organizations in the Boston area which strive against social taboos, ignorance, phobia and help foster general awareness in the realm of public health, HIV awareness, and domestic violence prevention.

[|**Massachusetts**][|**Asian**][|**AIDS**][|**Prevention**][|**Project**][| **(**][|**MAAPP**][|**)**]

[|**Massachusetts**][|**Asian**][|**and**][|**Pacific**][|**Islanders**][|**for**][|**Health**][| **(**][|**MAP**][|**for**][|**Health**][|**)**]

59 Temple Place, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02111 Telephone: 617-426-6755 Toll Free: 1-800-479-7251 MAAPP targets Asian Pacific Islander MSM/GLBT through HIV prevention services, including group and individual education, counseling, and outreach, as well as education via the telephone and Internet. The outreach focuses on specific venues, and public sex environment. MAP for Health is a non-profit organization that promotes health, HIV and sexuality awareness, and access to care in Massachusetts Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander communities through education, advocacy and technical assistance. We aim to break through the profound stigmas and the cultural, familial, social, and political barriers that silence members of the API community, placing them at high risk for HIV infection.

[|**Massachusetts**][|**Commission**][|**on**][|**Gay**][|**,**][|**Lesbian**][|**,**][|**Bisexual**][|**and**][|**Transgender**][|**Youth**]

c/o Massachusetts Department of Public Health 250 Washington Street, 4th floor Boston, MA 02108 Telephone: 617-624-5485 This Commission is an independent agency of the Commonwealth and has a mandate to investigate the use of resources from both the public and private sectors to enhance and improve the ability of state agencies to provide services that protect and support the health and safety of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) youth in the schools and communities of Massachusetts, with a focus on suicide prevention, violence intervention, and the promotion of zero-tolerance policies regarding harassment and discrimination against GLBT youth. The Commission is also mandated to make recommendations about policies and programs supporting GLBT youth to the State government and its agencies, and to ask for adequate funding in the annual State budget for effective programs.

[|**Online**][|**Nursing**][|**Degrees**][|**:**][|**LGBT**][|**Resources**]

A list of resources concerning health in the LGBT community.

[|**Project**][| **10**][|**East**]

PO Box 382401 Cambridge, MA 02238 Telephone: 617-864-GLBT (4528) Project 10 East fights oppression through gay-straight student alliances in Massachusetts public high schools. The group conducts after-school and summer programs utilizing peer mentors, parent meetings, and other social and educational activities. Ages served: 13-22.

[|**Queer**][|**Asian**][|**Pacific**][|**-**][|**Islander**][|**Alliance**]

Today our organization is known as the Queer Asian Pacific Alliance, reflecting our inclusion of bisexual, transgendered, and questioning individuals, as well as Pacific Islanders. We are committed to providing a supportive social, political, and educational environment for all queer individuals of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage in the Boston and New England area. In 2004, we celebrated our 25th anniversary as the oldest Asian queer organization in the United States.

[|**The**][|**Theater**][|**Offensive**][|**:**][|**True**][|**Colors**][|**Out**][|**Youth**][|**Theater**]

43 Thorndike St. Box 14 Cambridge, MA 02141 Telephone: 617-621-6090 The Theater Offensive is New England’s leading LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) theater company.

WAGLY – West Suburban Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth – An organization for GLBTQ teens and allies. [|http][|://][|www][|.][|wagly][|.][|org][|/][|index][|.][|php][|?][|option][|=][|com][|_][|content][|&][|view][|=][|article][|&][|id][|=28&][|Itemid][|=31]

//Resources:// [|http][|://][|www][|.][|bu][|.][|edu][|/][|bhlp][|/][|Resources][|/][|boston][|/][|cultural][|_][|communities][|/][|glbt][|.][|html]

[|http][|://][|www][|.][|mass][|.][|gov][|/][|cgly][|/][|youth][|.][|htm]

[|http][|://][|www][|.][|linkpink][|.][|com][|/][|ma][|_][|nonprofits][|.][|htm]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES **News** The Advocate – Online news magazine with GLBTQ-related stories (http://www.advocate.com/) **Primary Sources** //25 Years of Political Influence: The Records of the Human Rights Campaign//, Cornell University Library ( [|http][|://][|rmc][|.][|library][|.][|cornell][|.][|edu][|/][|HRC][|/][|index][|.][|html] ) Provides primary sources from early gay publications, photos, magazines and reports starting in 19th century.

**Video/Movies** //The Times of Harvey Milk –// (R rated) – Important political figure in the GLBTQ rights movement.

Recommended Readings
**Middle/High School Young Adult Fiction** //Almost Perfect// by Brian Katcher (Gr. 9 and up) Winner of the ALA’s Stonewall Book Award (2011). Story of a transgendered teen. //Annie on My Mind// by Nancy Garden (Gr. 8 and up) //Boy Meets Boy// by David Levithan //David Inside Out// by Lee Bantle //Deliver Us From Evie// by M.E. Kerr (Gr. 8 and up) //Freaks and Revelations// by Davida Wills Hurwin (Gr. 10 and up) ALA’s Stonewall Book Award Honor book (2011) //The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities//. Levithan, David, and Billy Merrell, eds. //Geography Club// by Brent Hartinger //The Miseducation of Cameron Post// by Emily m. Danforth (Gr. 9 and up) 2011 //Living in Secret// by Christina Salat //Say the Word// by Jeannine Garsee (Gr. 9 and up) //So Hard to Say// by Alex Sanchez (Gr. 7 and up) There are many others by Alex Sanchez. //Will Grayson, Will Grayson// by John Green and David Levithan (Gr. 9 and up)

**//Non-Fiction for Middle/High School//** //Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence// edited by Marion Dane Bauer Ball, Carlos A. //From the Closet to the Courtroom: Five LGBT Rights Lawsuits That Have Changed Our Nation//. Boston: Beacon, 2010. Print. In depth coverage of five important lawsuits that have changed the experience of being a US citizen for the LGBTQ community. Belge, Kathy, and Marke Bieschke. //Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens//. San Francisco: Zest, 2011. Print. Guide for LGBT teens. Chapters include topics on figuring out whether you are gay, finding others to be allies, overcoming “queerphobia”, dating, relationships, sex and rights in school. Bronski, Michael. //A Queer History of the United States//. Boston: Beacon, 2011. Print A recently published LGBTQ history in the U.S. by a senior lecturer at Dartmouth College with a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. Faderman, Lillian. //Great Events from History//. Pasadena: Salem, 2007. Print. Organized chronologically, describes events as far back as 1848 that relate to the LGBTQ experience and influence. Fakhrid-Deen, Tina. //Let’s Get This Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents//. Berkeley: Seal, 2010. Print. Discusses various family structures, parents coming out to their kids and then how kids come out about having gay parents, accepting gay parents, teasing and homophobia in middle and high school, religion, and activism. Appendixes include: 25 Comebacks to Clueless Questions and Additional Resources for Youth and Young Adults. Hunter, Nan D., Courtney G. Joslin, and Sharon M. McGowan. //The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People: The Authoritative ACLU Guide to the Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People//. 4th ed. New York: New York UP, 2004. Print. An official handbook put out by the ACLU stating the rights of LGBTQ people. Marcus, Eric. //What If Someone I Know Is Gay?: Answers to Questions about What It Means to Be Gay and Lesbian//. New York: Simon Pulse, 2007. Print. Book intended for the straight person who is trying to understand someone who is gay. Basic coverage includes broad definition, description of being gay, friends and family, dating, marriage, sex, religion, activism, school, and with a chapter for parents. Additional resources at end. Stein, Marc. //Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America//. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/‌Thomson/‌Gale, 2004. Print. A 3-volume reference source with articles on people, places, events, pictures, leaders, organizations and more.

**Elementary/Early Middle Books and Resources** //The Skull of Truth// by Bruce Coville //Antonio's Card/La Tarjeta de Antonio// by Rigoberto Gonzalez //Real Heroes// by Marilyn Kaye

**Early Childhoood Books and Resources** //The Sissy Duckling// by Harvey Fierstein and Henry Cole //And Tango Makes Three// by Justin Richardson and Henry Cole //The Family Book// by Todd Parr //What Parents Are// by Kyme Fox-Lee and Susan Fox-Lee //My Princess Boy// by Cheryl Kilodavis and Suzanne DeSimone //King and King// by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijlandtoc

LGBTQ Statistics
As of 2011, surveys suggest that there are more than 8 million adults in the US who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, comprising 3.5% of the adult population There are also nearly 700,000 transgender individuals in the US In total, there are approximately 9 million Americans (roughly equivalent to the population of New Jersey) who identify as LGBT Women are substantially more likely than men to identify as bisexual An estimated 19 million Americans (8.2%) report that they have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and nearly 25.6 million Americans (11%) acknowledge at least some same-sex attraction The 2010 Census was the first to allow LGBT people living with a spouse or partner to identify their relationship by checking either the “husband or wife” or “unmarried partner” box. The census did not ask about sexuality, so statistics on individuals are not available. The following are estimates based on the 2010 Census: ▪ 131,729 same-sex married couple households ▪ 514,735 same-sex unmarried partner households

Historical Time Line
**25th Century BC** – Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum’s tomb is built in Egypt during the fifth dynasty. It is believed the two men may have been lovers.

**9660-5000 BC** – Mesolithic rock art in Sicily depicts phallic male figures in pairs that have been interpreted variously, including as depictions of homosexual intercourse

**7000-1700 BC** – Neolithic and Bronze Age drawings and figurines from the Mediterranean include “third sex” human figures having female breasts and male genitals

**600 BC** – Sappho of Lesbos, a female poet, writes love poetry addressing younger women, providing the eventual inspiration for the word lesbian

**385 BC** – Plato publishes //Symposium// in which Phaedrus, Eryixmachus, Aristophanes and other Greek intellectuals argue that love between males is the highest form

**326** **BC** – Alexander the Great, a bisexual man (as was considered the norm in Ancient Greek culture) completes the conquest of most of the then known Western world, launching the Hellenistic Age in which millions of people are converted to a culture where homosexuality is viewed positively

**80 BC** - Julius Caesar allegedly has a love affair with King Nicomedes IV of Bithyrnia

**54** – Nero becomes Emperor of Rome and marries two men in legal ceremonies, with at least one spouse accorded the same honors as empress. Gay relationships are accepted and institutionalized in this time period.

**218** – The emperor Elagabalus begins his reign; he marries a man named Zoticus, an athlete from Smyrna, in a lavish public ceremony at Rome amid the rejoicings and the public

**342** – The sons of Constantine, Constans, and Constantius II, pass a law read variously by historians as outlawing gay prostitution, gay marriage, and homosexuality altogether.

**529** – Justinian’s Code outlaws homosexuality in Byzantium; however the populations of Constantinople and other Byzantine cities are very much opposed to Justinian and Theodora on this issue, including the Christian laity. The public resists attempts to enforce the law.

**650** – In early medieval Visigothic Spain, there is a great persecution of scapegoats in an attempt to unite the Hispano-Roman majority with the Visigothic minority, most notably gays and Jews. Homosexuality is criminalized; however, outside of Spain, it remains completely legal and even relatively accepted in almost all of Europe.

**800-900** During the Carolingian Renaissance, there is a large amount of complete gay poetry.

**1000-1100** An eleventh century Byzantine legal treatise makes it clear that gay unions are well-known and legal in early medieval Byzantine society. At the same time, in Scandanavia, cult transvestitism persisted for centuries.

**1051** – St. Peter Damian composed the //Book of Gomorrah//, in which he luridly described several varieties of gay sex, and accurately stated that they were quite common, especially among priests. He had little luck however convincing his contemporaries that homosexuality was a grave problem that had to be stopped.

**1100** – Raoul, Archbishop of Tours, is reported to have had the King of France install his lover John as the bishop of Orleans. The King also openly bragged about his sexual relations with Raoul himself. Pope Urban II had full knowledge of these relationships; John ruled effectively for almost forty years and Ralph was well-known and well-respected.

**1102** – The Council of London takes measures to ensure that the public, quite tolerant of homosexuality, knows that it is sinful, making a significant shift in church attitudes, which were previously more or less indifferent or very mild condemnation

**1250-1300** During this time, homosexuality in most of Europe goes from being completely legal to incurring the death penalty in most cases

**1327** – The deposed King Edward II of England, a well-known homosexual, is allegedly sodomized to death with a red-hot poker; his lover’s genitals are cut off before he is beheaded.

**1533** – King Henry VIII begins the English common law tradition of sodomy laws, proclaiming sodomy, then-defined as any non-procreative sexual activity, a crime; this includes masturbation, anal, and oral sex

**1553** – Mary Tudor ascends the English throne and removes all of the laws passed by Henry VIII

**1558** – Elizabeth I ascends the English throne and reinstates sodomy laws

**1624** – Richard Cornish of the Virginia Colony is tried and hanged for sodomy

**1649** – The first known conviction for lesbian activity in North America occurs in March when Sarah White Norma is charged with “lewd behavior” with Mary Vincent Hammon in Plymouth, MA

**1665** – The Connecticut Colony passes a law against sodomy including women

**1730** – A widespread panic in the Dutch Republic begins that lasts for more than 80 years and leads to a spectacular series of trials for sodomy

**1792** – France decriminalizes sexual acts between men

**1811** – The Netherlands and Indonesia decriminalize homosexual acts

**1813** – Bavaria decriminalizes sexual acts between men

**1830** – Brazil decriminalizes homosexual acts

**1832** – Russia criminalizes homosexual acts making them punishable by up to five years exile in Siberia

**1835** – For the first time in its history Poland criminalizes homosexuality due to the occupying Russian Empire imposing repressive laws

**1836** – The last known execution for homosexuality in Britain

**1861** – In England, the penalty for conviction of sodomy is reduced from hanging to imprisonment

**1867** – On August 29, Karl-Henrich Ulrichs becomes the first self-proclaimed homosexual to speak out publicly for homosexual rights when he pleaded at the Congress of German Jurists in Munich for a resolution urging the repeal of anti-homosexual laws

**1869** – The term “homosexuality” appears in print for the first time in a German pamphlet written by Karl-Maria Kertbeny (1824-1882)

**1870** – //Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania// is published, possibly the first American novel about a homosexual relationship

**1871** – Homosexuality is criminalized throughout Germany

**1880** - The Empire of Japan decriminalizes homosexual acts, having only made them illegal during the Meiji Restoration in 1868

**1886** – Sexual relations between men (but not women) is given Royal Assent by Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom

**1892** – The word “bisexual” is first used in its current sense in Charles Gilbert Chaddock’s translation of Kraft-Ebing’s //Psychopathia Sexualis//

**1895** – Oscar Wilde is prosecuted for the “gross indecency” of his homosexual relations and sentenced to two years in prison

**1897** – Magnus Hirschfeld founds the Scientific Humanitarian Committee on May 14 to organize for gay rights

**1910** – Emma Goldman first begins speaking publicly in favor of gay rights

**1914** – The word “faggot” is first used in print in reference to gays in a vocabulary of criminal slang published in Portland, Oregon

**1921** – In England an attempt to make lesbianism illegal for the first time in Britain’s history fails

**1923** – The word “fag” is first used in print in reference to gay in Nels Anderson’s //The Hobo//; Elsa Gidlow, born in England, publishes the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry in the US, titled //On a Grey Thread//

**1924** – The first gay rights organization in America, the Society for Human Rights, is founded in Chicago; it is shut down by the police after a few months

**1926** – The //New York Times// is the first major publication to use the word “homosexuality”

**1928** – //The Well of Loneliness// by Radclyffe Hall is published in the US, sparking great legal controversy and bringing the topic of homosexuality to public conversation

**1929** – On October 16, a Reichstag Committee votes to repeal the criminalization of homosexuality, but the Nazis’ rise to power prevents implementation of the vote

**1932** – Homosexuality is decriminalized in Poland

**1933** – The Nazi Party bans homosexual groups and some homosexuals are sent to concentration camps; the Nazis burn the library of Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Research

**1935** – Homosexuality is decriminalized in Denmark

**1936** – Mona’s 440 Club, the first lesbian bar in America, opens in San Francisco

**1940** – Homosexuality is decriminalized in Iceland

**1937** – The first use of the pink triangle for gay men in Nazi concentration camps

**1944** – Homosexuality is decriminalized in Sweden

**1945** – Upon the liberation of concentration camps by Allied forces, those interned for homosexuality are not freed, but required to serve out the full term of their sentences

**1946** – COC, a Dutch acronym for Center for Culture and Recreation, the earliest homophile organization, is founded in the Netherlands; it is currently the oldest surviving LGBT organization in the world

**1951** - Homosexuality is decriminalized in Greece

**1952** – Christine Jorgensen becomes the first widely publicizes person to have undergone sex reassignment surgery, in this case, male to female

**1956** – Homosexuality is decriminalized in Thailand

**1957** – The Wolfenden Committee’s report recommends decriminalizing consensual homosexual behavior between adults in the UK; psychologist Evelyn Hooker publishes a study showing that gay men are as well adjusted as non-gay men

**1958** – The Homosexual Law Reform Society is founded in the UK; the US Supreme Court rules in favor of the 1st Amendment rights of a gay and lesbian magazine, marking the first time the court had ruled on a case involving homosexuality

**1961** - Homosexuality is decriminalized in Czechoslovakia and Hungary

**1962** – Illinois becomes the first US state to remove sodomy law from its criminal code

**1963** – Sodomy and sexual acts between men are decriminalized in Israel

**1967** - Homosexuality is decriminalized in Chad, as well as in England and Wales, the two latter so long as only two men are involved, both are age 21 or older, neither is mentally retarded, neither is a member of the armed forces or the merchant marine, and neither is a resident of a jurisdiction where male homosexual behavior is illegal (e.g., Scotland or Northern Ireland); the book //Homosexual Behavior Among Males// by Wainwright Churchill suggests homosexuality is a fact of life rather than a sin, crime or disease; the worlds first gay and lesbian bookstore,Oscar Wilde Bookshop, opens in NYC; //The Advocate//, now a leading magazine specializing in gay issues, is first published in September

**1968** – Canada repeals all anti-sodomy laws and Bulgaria decriminalizes adult homosexual relations

**1969** – Stonewall riots; homosexual behavior legalized in Canada

**1970** – First Gay Liberation Day March held in NYC; First Gay Freedom Day March held in Los Angeles

**1971** - Homosexuality is decriminalized in Finland; Colorado and Oregon repeal sodomy laws; Dr. Frank Kameny becomes the first openly candidate for the US Congress; University of Michigan establishes the first collegiate LGBT programs office

**1972** – Sweden becomes first country in the world to allow transgendered people to legally change their sex, and provides free hormone therapy; homosexuality is decriminalized in Norway; Ann Arbor, Michigan, becomes first US city to pass gay rights ordinance

**1973** – The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of Mental Disorders, based largely on the research and advocacy of Evelyn Hooker

**1974** – In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Kathy Kozachenko becomes the first openly gay or lesbian American elected to public office when she wins a seat on the city council; Ohio repeals sodomy laws

**1975** – Elaine Noble becomes the second openly gay American elected to public office, winning a seat in the MA State House

**1977** – Harvey Milk is elected city-county supervisor in San Francisco, becoming the third openly gay American elected to public office; Dade County, Florida, enacts a Human Rights Ordinance but it is repealed the same year after a militant anti-gay-rights campaign led by Anita Bryant; Quebec becomes the first jurisdiction larger than a city or county in the world to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation

**1978** – The Gay Pride Flag is first flown; Harvey Milk and SF Mayor George Moscone are assassinated by former SF Supervisor Dan White

**1979** – First national gay rights march on Washington, DC

**1980** – The Democratic National Convention becomes the first major political party in America to endorse a gay rights platform plank; homosexuality is decriminalized in Scotland; David McReynolds becomes the first openly GLBT individual to run for President of the United States, appearing on the Socialist Party USA ticket

**1981** – Moral Majority starts anti-gay crusade; Norway becomes the first country in the world to enact a law to prevent discrimination against homosexuals; Hong Kong’s first sex-change operation is performed

**1982** – Homosexuality decriminalized in Northern Ireland; Wisconsin becomes the first US state to ban gay discrimination; Laguna Beach, CA, elects the first openly gay mayor in the US

**1983** – Massachusetts Representative Gerry Studds reveals he is a homosexual on the floor of the House, becoming the first openly gay members of Congress

**1984** – Massachusetts voters re-elect Gerry Studds; Chris Smith becomes the first openly gay member of UK parliament when he comes after his election

**1985** – France prohibits discrimination based on lifestyle; first memorial to gay Holocaust victims is dedicated

**1987** – US Congressman Barney Frank comes out as gay

**1988** – Sweden is first country to pass laws protecting gays and lesbians regarding social services, taxes, and inheritances

**1989** – Denmark first country in the world to enact registered partnership laws for same-sex couples with most of the same rights as marriage (excluding the right to adoption and marriage in a church)

**1991** – Hong Kong, Bahamas, and Ukraine decriminalize homosexuality; red ribbon first used as a symbol of the fight against HIV/AIDS

**1992** – Althea Garrison is elected as the first transgender state legislator in America, serving one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives; however, her transgender identity is not known publicly at the time of election; Australia and Canada end a ban on gays in the military

**1993** – Third gay rights march on Washington, DC; Russia decriminalizes consensual male sodomy; Norway enacts civil union laws similar to those in Denmark; New Zealand ends a ban on gays in the military, while the US establishes “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; Roberta Achtenberg becomes the first openly gay or lesbian person to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the US Senate when she is appointed to Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity by Bill Clinton

**1994** – Canada grants refugee status to homosexuals fearing for their well-being in their native country; Israel’s supreme court defines gay-couples’ rights same as any common-law-couples’ rights; Germany and Bermuda decriminalize homosexuality; Deborah Batts becomes the first openly gay or lesbian US federal judge

**1995** – Sweden legalizes registered partnerships similar to those in Denmark and Norway; Albania and Moldovia decriminalize homosexuality; Rachel Maddow becomes the first openly gay or lesbian American to win an international Rhodes scholarship

**1996** – South Africa becomes the second country to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation to its constitution; the first lesbian wedding on television occurs, held for fictional characters Carol and Susan on //Friends//; the Defense of Marriage Act is passed in the US

**1997** – UK extends immigration rights to same-sex copules akin to marriage; Fiji is second country to explicitly protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution

**1998** – Matthew Shepard is slain; homosexuality is decriminalized in Chile, Kazakhstan, Krygystan, South Africa (retroactive to 1994), Southern Cyprus, and Tajikistan; Romania and South Africa end bans on gays in the military; Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay or lesbian non-incumbent ever elected to Congress and the first open lesbian ever elected to Congress, winning Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district seat

**1999** – California adopts domestic partner law

**2000** – Vermont becomes first US state to legalize civil unions; Israel recognizes same-sex relations for immigration purposes for a foreign partner of Israeli resident; UK ends ban on gays in the military; Azerbajian, Gabon, and Georgia decriminalize homosexuality

**2001** – Same-sex marriage legalized in the Netherlands; Germany enacts registered partnership legislation; participants in the first Pride march in Belgrade are attacked and police are too poorly equipped to protect them

**2002** – Sweden legalizes adoption for same-sex couple; Zurich extends marriage-like rights to same sex couples; controversial openly gay Dutch politician is assassinated

**2003** – US Supreme Court strikes down remaining state sodomy laws; same-sex marriage legalized in Belgium, but is not equal to heterosexual marriage because couples lack adoption rights; a bill is introduced in Canadian parliament to legalize same-sex marriage; Germany’s Supreme Court upholds the country’s new civil union law

**2004** – Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage in May while 11 other US states ban the practice through public referenda in November; domestic partnerships in New Jersey legalized in June; in Canada, 85% of the population lives in a province or territory with same-sex marriage; Australia bans same-sex marriage, while New Zealand passes the Civil Union Bill; James McGreevey becomes the first openly gay Governor in US history; SF mayor Gavin Newsom allows city hall to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples (all same-sex marriages in California this year are later annulled)

**2005** – California expands domestic partnership statues to include most marriage rights available under state law; Uganda and Latvia amend their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage, while it is legalized in Canada and Spain; Switzerland votes in favor of extending rights for registered same-sex couples; South Africa’s Supreme Court rules that banning gay marriage is illegal; UK introduces civil partnerships with rights all but equal to marriage; Maine adds sexual orientation and gender identity to existing anti-discrimination laws; Connecticut passes Civil Union law

**2006** – Illinois outlaws sexual orientation discrimination; Washington state adds sexual orientation to existing anti-discrimination laws; an attempt to stage the first-ever gay pride march in Moscow ends in violence and mass arrests after activists take to the street despite the ban by mayor Yuri Luzhkov; the first regional Eastern European Pride takes place in Zagreb, Croatia; Kyle Hawkins becomes first openly gay male coach at the NCAA level of a men’s team; US Senate fails to pass an amendment to the US Constitution making gay marriage illegal; South Africa passes same-sex marriage

**2007** – The UK and seven US states pass anti-discrimination laws for sexuality; Nepal decriminalizes homosexuality; the first ever gay pride parade in a Muslim country is held in Istanbul, Turkey; transgender actress Candis Cayne plays a transgender woman having an affair with a married New York attorney (played by William Baldwin) on the ABC prime time drama //Dirty Sexy Money//

**2008** – California legalizes same-sex marriage in May, but Proposition 8 makes it illegal in November; Connecticut and Norway also legalize same-sex marriage; Portland, Oregon becomes the largest US city with an openly gay mayor when voters elect Sam Adams (the next largest is Providence, Rhode Island); Silverton, Oregon elects Stu Rasmussen as the first openly transgender mayor in America; Rachel Maddow becomes the first openly gay or lesbian anchor of a major prime-time news program in the US; Annise Parker is elected as the first openly gay or lesbian mayor of Houston, Texas

**2009** – Sweden, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Washington, DC, legalize same-sex marriage; India decriminalizes homosexuality; Barbara “Babs” Siperstein becomes the first at-large transgender member of the Democratic National Committee

**2010** – Portugal, Iceland, and Argentina legalize same-sex marriage; California’s Proposition 8 is struck down by the district courts; Australia becomes the first country in the world to recognize a “non-specified gender” and also ends a ban on transgender individual in the military; Serbia ends a ban on gays in the military; Kye Allums becomes the first openly transgender athlete to play in NCAA basketball, playing on George Washington University’s women’s team; Victoria Kolakowski becomes the first openly transgender judge in America

**2011** – New York legalizes same-sex marriage; India marries its first lesbian couple; US ends “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; Elio Di Rupo becomes the first openly gay male head of government as Prime Minister of Belgium; Chaz Bono becomes the first openly transgender man starring on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender when he appears on //Dancing with the Stars// in the US; the Presbyterian Church in the US votes to allow the ordination of openly gay and lesbian ministers

**2012** – Denmark legalizes same-sex marriages; Maryland and Washington pass same-sex marriage legislation; Katie Ricks becomes the first open lesbian ordained by the Presbyterian Church; Barack Obama becomes the first US President to publicly announce support for same-sex marriage

**Additional Resources**

http://www.ct.gov/dcf/lib/dcf/wmv/pdf/timeline_of_lgbt_history.pdf

http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/factSheet_General_LGBT.pdf

Famous People
(Keep in mind, this is far from a complete list). **__Historic__** Alexander the Great Katherine Lee Bates, author of the words to the anthem “America the Beautiful” Alan Turing, considered the father of modern science

**__Literary__** Virginia Woolf, //Mrs. Dalloway//, //To The Lighthouse//, “A Room of One’s Own” Oscar Wilde, //The Importance of Being Earnest//, //The Picture of Dorian Gray// James Baldwin, //Go Tell It on the Mountain//, //Giovanni’s Room// Edna St. Vincent Millay, Poet Lorraine Hansberry, //A Raisin in the Sun// Gregory Maguire, //Wicked// David Sedaris, Essayist, //Me Talk Pretty One Day//, //When You Are Engulfed in Flames// Tennessee Williams, //A Streetcar Named Desire//, //The Glass Menagerie// Walt Whitman//,// Poet Truman Capote, //Breakfast at Tiffany’s//, //In Cold Blood// Langston Hughes, Poet, Novelist, Playwright Chuck Palahniuk, //Fight Club// Herman Melville, //Moby-Dick//, //Billy Budd// T. S. Eliot, Poet

**__Religious__** Rev. Peter J Gomes (Harvard’s Pastor), African American

**__Education:__** Dr. Darieck Scott, author, Assistant Professor of African Studies at UC Berkeley, African American Raynard S. Kington, MD, MBA, PhD, deputy director of the NIH, 13th president of Grinnell College in Iowa, currently associate director of NIH for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and acting director of the NI on Alcohol Abuse, African American

**__Arts:__** Russel T Davies British Film director, Derek Jarman Richard Chamberlain Jesse Tyler Ferguson Screenwriter, director, actor, producer, Alan Ball (creator of American Beauty, Six Feet Under, and True Blood) Billy Porter (recording artist and actor, African American) Jonathon Groff, stars as Jesse St. James in Glee Chris Colfer, stars as Kurt Hummel in Glee Paul Monette (died of aids related illness in 1995) author, poet and activist Bill T. Jones, Choreographer, African American Harry Wilder, activist, jewish, dwarf (died in 2010 car accident in NYC) Tyra Sanchez, born James Ross, season 2 winner of RuPaul’s show Drag Race Ricky Martin, singer G. Winston James, author, poet, director, Jamaican born Mario Montez, Andy Warhol’s first drag superstar, actor Sean Patrick Hayes, Actor from Will and Grace Alexander McQueen, Fashion Designer, committed suicide Feb. 11, 2010. Clay Aiken, Singer Lance Bass, singer from N’SYNC Nate Berkus, interior decorator Doug Spearman, Actor, African American Didier Zheng, host of Chinese Internet Show Tongxing Xianglaian (connecting homosexuals) Freddie Mercury, singer for group Queen John Waters, film BD Wong, actor Ellen Degeneres, Portia de Rossi, actors and married legally since 2008 Amber Heard, actress Kristanna Loken, actress Rosie O’Donnell, actress Wanda Sykes, comedian, actress, African American Melissa Etheridge, Singer Anne Heche, actress Melissa Ferrick, singer Nelly Furtado, singer Sara Gilbert, Actress Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, The members of the group the Indigo Girls Chaz Bono, Transgender daughter of sonny Bono & Cher Alexis Arquete, born Robert Arquette, actor and Cabaret singer Rachel Maddow Anderson Cooper

**__Sports:__** Kyle Hawkins, first openly gay male coach at the NCAA level of a men’s team Steven Davies, professional Cricket Player in England Chris Kanyon, WCW and WWF pro wrestler superstar (commited suicide on April 2, 2010) Emile Griffith, boxing hall of famer, from the US Virgin Islands Gareth “Alfie” Thomas, rugby player John Amaechi, NBA player, Orlando Magic 1999 – 2001, Utah Jazz, Knicks, retired in Jan 2004 Justinus Soni, Fashanu, UK football player, African, hanged himself after allegedly sexually assaulting a 17 year old American. Matthew Mitcham, Australian Olympic Diver and trampoline gymnast Jackie Walker, All American linebacker for Univ. of Tenn., African American. Billie Jean King, Tennis player Jackie Warner, personal trainer

**__Political:__** Krystian Legierski, LGBT activist and club owner, Co-host of radio show in Warsaw, elected official for public office in Warsaw City Council in Poland. Amanda Simpson, born Mitchell Simpson, appointed by President Obama to the Bureau of Industry and Security, Member of Nat’l Center for Transgender Equality Barney Frank, Mass US Representative since 1981 Klaus Wowereit, Mayor of Germany’s capital city, Author Darryl Moore, member of Berkeley City Council district 2, African American Dennis deLeon, former NYC Human Rights Commissioner, AIDS activist, died in 2009 due to heart failure Harvey Milk, city-county supervisor in San Francisco, becoming the third openly gay American elected to public office

References: Gaylife.About.com Guyism.com