The GLF’s first major demonstration was a picket line against The Village Voice, which had published an antigay article about Stonewall and which refused ads for the GLF dance on the grounds that “gay” was a dirty word. Our demonstration was a resounding success. The Voice, humiliated by this challenge to its vaunted liberalism, agreed to all of our demands.
My main efforts in these first few months were spent on Come Out!, the first newspaper of Gay Liberation. I was editor under Roslyn Bramms, who had formerly been managing editor of Screw magazine. The first issue was published on November 14, 1969.
John Lauritsen is co-author of The Early Homosexual Rights Movement (1864-1935). A section on Gay Liberation can be found on his website at paganpressbooks.com.
