User:Wcubias/Frank Kameny

Timeline:

On August 26, 1956, Kameny was away from his home in Boston, attending the meeting for American Astronomical Society in San Francisco. Following the conclusion of the meeting, Kameny was seen at a Key Terminal, a location labeled a hotspot for homosexual encounters by police. Staking out bathrooms marked for sexual encounters was common practice for vice squads. Two police officers were waiting behind a ventilation grille in the terminal men's bathroom, and witnessed Kameny and another man engaging in a sexual encounter. Kameny was detained and accused of "lewd and indecent acts." The San Francisco municipal court offered Kameny the option to plead guilty and accept a $55 fine and 6-months probation, to which Kameny obliged.

In late 1961, Frank Kameny co-founded the Washington D.C. branch of the national gay rights organization the Mattachine Society. In the year following the group's founding, Kameny headed up an initiative to publicly declare the existence of the Mattachine Society of Washington (MSW). The group sent letters to every government branch, including the entirety of Congress. The content of the letters included harsh criticism government's treatment of homosexuals, assertations that there were over three hundred members of the group, and signed off on by the presdient of the Mattachine Society of Washington, Franklin E. Kameny.

The Mattachine Society of Washington discussed the prospect of public protest in 1963. The FBI and J. Edgar Hoover had made advancements to ban the Washington branch and had been threatened with the prospect of a march on behalf of the organization. Although supportive of the idea, Kameny himself did not consider taking part in a march due to the threat of damaging his public image. In the year 1965, after his tenure as MSW president came to a close, Kameny organized the first demonstration by a homophile organization. The 10-person protest took place outside the white house. Signs included the organization's demands: "WE WANT FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT, HONORABLE DISCHARGES, SECURITY CLEARANCES." Kameny had strict standards for those participating in his organizations. His requirements for picketers included men wearing suits and women wearing dresses, each sign measuring twenty-two by twenty-eight inches, and the message on the sign being the same on both sides. These efforts contributed to portraying a nonviolent and respectful protest.

In the 1968 election, three years after the end of his first term, Kameny was elected as president of the Mattachine Society of Washington.

Frank Kameny also contributed to homosexual activism by serving as an amateur attorney, defending government employees who had their securitiy clearances revoked or suspended, due to allegations of "pervision" or "immoral acts." He served as a plaintiff in his first case in 1967 alongside Barbara Gittings in defense of Donald Crawford's Department of Defense Hearing. Kameny and Gittings would serve as plaintiffs in another case later that year.

The Baltimore Vice Squad conducted a night raid on a homosexual bath house, on March 14, 1969. They encountered Frank Kameny along with twenty-seven other men engaging in "homosexual acitivty," and arrested them, cited for particpating in a "disorderly house." Kameny hired an attorney recommeded by the NCACLU, and would serve no time for the arrest.(292,93)

January 27, 1961 | kameny files petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court

"It was also a historic move, marking the first such petition advocating for the recognition of homosexuals as a minority group suffering from government-sanctioned discrimination." pp. 13

Early life and firing
On August 26, 1956, Kameny was away from his home in Boston, attending the meeting for American Astronomical Society in San Francisco. Following the conclusion of the meeting, Kameny was seen at a Key Terminal, a location labeled a hotspot for homosexual encounters. Staking out bathrooms marked for sexual encounters was common practice for vice squads. Two police officers were waiting behind a ventilation grille in the terminal men's bathroom, and witnessed Kameny and another man engaging in a sexual encounter. Kameny was detained and accused charged with lewd conduct and loitering. The San Francisco municipal court offered Kameny the option to plead guilty and accept a $55 fine and 6-months probation, to which Kameny obliged.

Kameny's pushback against the U.S. Government's policy on homosexual employees was the first of its kind from a gay man. He argued through written letters and eventually through the courts that the government's discrimination on the basis of sexuality is akin to discrimination based on race or religion.

1960-1970
In late 1961, Frank Kameny co-founded the Washington D.C. branch of the national gay rights organization, Mattachine Society. In the year following the group's founding, Kameny led an initiative to declare the existence of the Mattachine Society of Washington publicly. The group sent letters to every government branch, including the entirety of Congress. The content of the letters included harsh criticism government's treatment of homosexuals and asserted that there were over three hundred members of the group. The letter was signed by the president of the Mattachine Society of Washington, Franklin E. Kameny.

The Mattachine Society of Washington discussed the prospect of public protest in 1963. The FBI and J. Edgar Hoover had made advancements to ban the Washington branch and had been threatened with the prospect of a march on behalf of the organization. Although supportive of the idea, Kameny restrained from taking part in a march due to the threat of damaging his public image.

In 1965, after his tenure as MSW president came to a close, Kameny organized the first demonstration by a homophile organization. The 10-person protest took place outside the white house. Signs included the organization's demands: "WE WANT FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT, HONORABLE DISCHARGES, SECURITY CLEARANCES." Kameny had strict standards for those participating in his organizations. His requirements for picketers included men wearing suits and women wearing dresses, each sign measuring twenty-two by twenty-eight inches, and the message on the sign being the same on both sides. These efforts contributed to portraying a nonviolent and respectful protest.

In the 1968 election, three years after the end of his first term, Kameny was elected as president of the Mattachine Society of Washington.

Frank Kameny also contributed to homosexual activism by serving as an amateur attorney, defending government employees who had their security clearances revoked or suspended, due to allegations of "perversion" or "immoral acts." He served as a plaintiff in his first case in 1967 alongside Barbara Gittings in defense of Donald Crawford's Department of Defense Hearing. Kameny and Gittings would serve as plaintiffs in another case later that year.

Kameny's activism in the legal system consisted of attacking the discriminatory hiring practices of the U.S. Government through court hearings. He made court hearings public and put on a spectacle to draw attention to his cases.

The Baltimore Vice Squad conducted a night raid on a homosexual bath house, on March 14, 1969. They encountered Frank Kameny along with twenty-seven other men engaging in "homosexual activity," and arrested them, cited for participating in a "disorderly house." Kameny hired an attorney recommeded by the NCACLU and would serve no time for the arrest.