April 22-28
1996
U.S.: Amnesty International USA organizes a demonstration in front of the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to demand the Tasmanian government repeal its anti-gay legislation. * A Milwaukee lawyer arranges an auction of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s belongings to raise money for the families of some of the 17 young men and boys Dahmer killed. Among the items eligible for auction are a 57 gallon drum, refrigerator, freezer, couch, bed, 80 quart aluminum kettle, four saw blades, a pair of jeans, greeting cards, a sponge, bedsheets, records and tapes, two bicycles, an empty rum bottle, four knives, a sledgehammer, gargoyle figurines, chemical-resistant gloves, a chair and tables. * The Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center in New York City hosts a Town Meeting on President Clinton’s record in office regarding lesbian and gay issues.
1991
U.S.: About 300 University of Maryland students sign a petition asking the Student Government Association to stop funding the Gay and Lesbian Student Union. The petition is sponsored by the College Republicans. * In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, former Deputy Bruce C. Boland says he was fired from the Sheriff’s Department because he’s gay, after an arrestee identified him as gay to his colleagues. * Czechoslovakia: The International Lesbian and Gay Association’s 5th Regional Conference for Eastern and Southeastern Europe is held in Prague.
1986
U.S.: The Oakland City Council votes 7-0 for an ordinance making it illegal to discriminate against PWA’s, and forbidding realtors to disclose to prospective buyers that a former owner had AIDS. * In San Francisco, 900 women and a few men demonstrate for women’s right to freedom from sexual harassment and sexual assault. The demonstration is a revitalization of the Take Back The Night tradition begun in the 1970s, but lapsed in recent years. * The ARC/AIDS Vigil completes its 6th month encamped outside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ San Francisco offices. The protest began with the expectation of immediate arrest in hopes of focussing attention on needs of those with AIDS-Related Complex, and gained community support after being attacked with sticks and bottles by drunken homophobes. * More than 150 gay men picket the National Review offices in protest of William Buckley Jr.’s proposal to tattoo those “detected with AIDS” on the upper forearm for needle users or on the buttocks for gay men. * Italy: In Turin, more than 200 angry mourners drag a Roman Catholic priest out of his church office to the altar and force him to bless the coffin of a murdered gay man. The priest had refused to conduct a funeral mass for Bruno Deiana because he was gay.
1981
U.S.: Former Beverly Hills hairdresser Marilyn Barnett files a multimillion- dollar palimony suit against tennis player Billie Jean King, claiming the two had a lesbian relationship for seven years and that she is entitled to the star’s Malibu beach house as well as half of King’s earnings. * In a landmark gay-rights decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that foreigners may not be denied U.S. citizenship solely on the basis of private, adult, homosexual activity. * Timothy Curran, a gay 19-year-old Eagle Scout, sues the Boy Scouts of America, claiming he was kicked out of the organization because he is gay. The lawsuit is filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the ACLU.