April 29-May 5
1996
U.S.: The Olympic torch begins to travel by relay through 42 states on its way to the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games. But on its 15,000-mile, 84-day journey, it does not pass through the Atlanta suburb of Cobb County, because the county has refused to repeal its 1993 resolution condemning the homosexual “life style.” * Valerie Solanas, the lesbian who founded SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men), is profiled in the new film I Shot Andy Warhol.
1991
U.S.: Gay activists in San Francisco march on the set of the controversial thriller Basic Instinct, but fail to stop filming of the movie they say negatively portrays lesbians and women. * Same-sex couples and others registered with the city as domestic partners are now eligible to rent apartments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison family housing complexes. * A 68-year-old security guard has his hand blown off when he picks up a homemade bomb that was tossed from a passing car outside Ceasar’s Show Bar, a gay club. * Several veteran activists launch a new organization called the Victory Fund to raise money for gay/lesbian candidates. * Switzerland: “Superhappyprotectilisticextrasafepreventious” is the stamp of approval placed on Swiss rubbers by the Association Label of Quality for condoms. * Britain: According to a survey by Dr. Ben Fletcher, head of the Psychology Department of Hatfield Polytechnic, 1 in 7 Church of England clergymen are gay. The results are based on questionnaires sent to 390 clergy who are members of gay support groups. * A plaque commemorating the birth of the Gay Liberation Front in 1970 is unveiled at the London School of Economics. * France: Several hundred demonstrators march on the National Senate to protest legislation that would criminalize knowing transmission of HIV.
1986
U.S.: Lesbian adventurer Ann Bancroft becomes the first woman to reach the North Pole by dogsled. * Armisted Maupin’s Tales of the City moves from the San Francisco Chronicle to the San Francisco Examiner. * When Elizabeth Taylor speaks before a senate subcommittee to request more funding for AIDS the hearing draws more spectators than the previous 30 days of testimony on the same issue. * Japan: The 1st Asian Gay Conference takes place in Tokyo.
1981
U.S.: A new report in the Annals of Emergency Medicine shows that inhaling poppers can lead to certain kinds of anemia. * After customs officials at New York JFK Airport find a gay love letter in his luggage, British tourist, Philip Fothingham, is denied entry into the United States and forced to return home to London. * The Rev. Jack Hyles, a Baptist preacher, has a new book out, Jesus Had Short Hair, which advises parents that sweating will help boys to avoid homosexual tendencies. * In a dramatic public statement, tennis player Billie Jean King confirms allegations of a lesbian affair with Marilyn Barnett. The controversy stems from a palimony suit against King by Bartlett. * Jack Gregorio, the president of Taxpaying Parents Against Kiddie Smut, is charged with sexual battery of a 17-year-old boy and lewd and lascivious behavior involving an 8-year-old girl. * Turkey: Istanbul police raid the Beyoglu district of the city and close down 11 “places of entertainment” for illegally employing gay men. Those arrested included transvestite singers and other performers.