Boston Marriages to Same-Sex Marriage’s Legalization: LGBTQ+ Rights

The fight for LGBTQ+ Rights is often associated with the Stonewall era, which took place during the late-1960s into the 1970s. The Stonewall riots of 1969 began with a police raid on a popular Greenwich Village Gay Bar, the Stonewall Inn. Six days of riots and protests followed this violent raid, sparking the modern-day LGBTQ+ right’s movement.^[1] History.com Editors, “Stonewall Riots,” History, A&E Television Networks, last updated June 26, 2020, https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots However, queer people have lived in Boston since the city’s establishment in 1630. For most of that time, oppressive legal conduct and social persecution forced queer people to hide their sexuality from society. After years of discrimination, in the 1970s Boston’s LGBTQ+ community launched itself into the fight for equity. Using literary, demonstrative, and legal strategies, the LGBTQ+ community became fierce advocates for their civil rights, fighting for equity in the historic streets of the “Revolutionary Corridor”.

Before the Stonewall Era

Though LGBTQ+ relationships went against heteronormative society, there were spaces in which they were, if not socially accepted, at least not considered deviant. For example, Boston Marriages—two women of means living together in companionship—were common throughout the 19th-century, becoming a socially acceptable way for queer women to cohabitate with their partners. For example, the Boston Marriage between Alice James and Katharine Peabody Loring was lauded for their devotion to one another, eventually becoming models for the characters in Henry James’ novel The Bostonians.^[2] John D’Emilio and Estelle B Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997), 192, … Continue reading.

It was also common in the 19th century for young men to engage in strong friendships with another male. This was sometimes known as having a “special friendship,” a concept that was based on the Greek stories of Pythias and Damon. The existence of “special friendships” made it possible for young men to create loving and deep relationships with other young men without disturbing societal norms. Several famous Bostonians did just this, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Singer Sargent and Nathaniel Hawthorne. However, these arrangements were also attached to class and race. Though LGBTQ+ relationships existed long before the 20th century, for the most part, only people in privileged positions were able to find spaces safe enough for their existence.^[3] The History Project, Improper Bostonians, 19, 42.

Scollay Square, Boston’s entertainment district, in the 1940s. Scollay Square was the entertainment district of Boston up until it was demolished in the 1960s to create City Hall. This area was home to several LGBTQ+ bars, which were often raided by the police to terrorize the LGBTQ+ community.

Courtesy Boston Public Library: The Leslie Jones Collection

During the early-20th century the persecution of the LGBTQ+ community skyrocketed with the popularization of medical analyses of “non-normative sexual relationships.” With the medicalization of sexuality and gender, the desire for same-sex relationships became considered a mental abnormality, not just proof of deviance. Famous physicians and psychologists studied what they called “homosexuality” or “inverted tendencies,” and began to prescribe medical treatments to cure people of this perceived ailment. These bigoted and biased experiments led to an uptick in the number of bar raids, imprisonments, and an overall ostracization of the LGBTQ community.^[4] The History Project, Improper Bostonians, 98, 101, 154.

Harnessing the Power of the Press

In the wake of the Stonewall Riots in New York City, Boston’s LGBTQ+ community stepped up their self-advocacy. In this initial step, they turned to media to advocate for their rights. In 1973, organizers launched Gay Community News (GCN) at the Charles Street Meeting House as the “Gay Community Newsletter”.^[5] Northeastern University, “Bromfield Street Educational Foundation records,” Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids, Northeastern University, accessed March 1, 2021,  … Continue reading Initially the GCN published a calendar of weekly events within the LGBTQ+ community, but by the second publication there was a shift in the tone of the newsletter, including news such as a local bar raid and promising more content about any news that would affect the LGBTQ+ community. They signaled this change in their second issue:

This will be the last issue of GCN that will have the appearance of a PTA bulletin. . .Our purpose is to report on all events with as much objectivity as possible.^[6] Gay Community News, “Gay Community News, 1973 July 5 (Vol 1, No. 2),” Documented | Digital Collections of The History Project, accessed March 22, 2021, … Continue reading

The first page of the Gay Community Newsletter’s first issue. The publication would soon grow much larger and explore the complex topics of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other problems of the time.

Courtesy The History Project: Gay Community News (Publication) Collection

Within a year the publication moved to 22 Bromfield Street, between Washington and Tremont Streets, an address quite close to the center of revolutionary activity in the 18th century. The organization changed its name to the Bromfield Street Educational Foundation of Boston in 1982, reflecting their identity as an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights. The GCN also took up issues related to other political, social, and civil rights issues such as nuclear warfare, sexism, feminism, racism, and reproductive rights. This multi-vocal advocacy was also seen in other LGBTQ+ groups during this era. By 1978, the newspaper was distributed nationally and had widened its focus beyond the northeast region. The GCN stayed in this location until a suspicious fire burned down the location in 1982. It ceased publication in 1999.^[7] Amy Hoffman, An Army of Ex-Lovers: My Life at the Gay Community News (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007); “Boston & Stonewall 50: Remembering, Celebrating, and Honoring Our … Continue reading

This is the damage done at 22 Bromfield Street, the location of the Gay Community News, after it burned down in 1982. The fire was suspicious and is thought to be the result of arson.

Courtesy The History Project: Gay Community News Photograph Collection

GCN writers were a group of passionate people whose concerns spread beyond solely LGBTQ+ rights. Amy Hoffman, the former managing editor and director of the GCN, spent most of her teenage years protesting against the Vietnam War, speaking out against the draft through peaceful protests and at local city council meetings. Thus, GCN covered a variety of topics throughout its decades of publication, often using their platform to criticize acts of discrimination while calling attention to acts of advocacy. In a 1980 edition of the GCN, for example, the headlines highlighted both advocacy and discrimination, printing “Californians March on Sacramento” and “Anti-Lesbian Film Opens in N.Y.C” in bold, black ink. The prominent location of these words asserted bold moves in the fight for equality while also keeping readers informed of discriminatory acts occurring throughout the nation. Both topics provided a way for readers to keep up to date with a wide variety of national and local issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.^[8] Amy Hoffman, An Army of Ex-Lovers, 10, 12.

The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation also facilitated and supported other advocacy efforts, including those extending support to marginalized groups. The Prisoner Project, started in 1975 by GCN staff member Mike Riegle, provided books, legal reference, and LGBTQ+ newspapers to queer prisoners, while also publishing letters from these prisoners about homophobia, sexism, and racism within the prison system.^[9] Northeastern University, “Bromfield Street Educational Foundation records,” Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids, Northeastern University, accessed March 1, 2021, … Continue reading The GCN also continuously posted ads for penpals for imprisoned members of the LGBTQ+ community. They solicited donations to pay for these ads on the behalf of prisoners: A 1978 classified ad noted:

A classifieds ad from the April 29, 1978 edition of the GCN looking for monetary support for the Prisoner Project.

Courtesy Northeastern University Libraries

We get many requests from gays in prison to put pen pal ads in for them. Limited space prevents us from printing as many of these ads as we would like to, since the prisoners do not have the funds to pay for their ads. We will print more if anyone out there is willing to contribute. For each $3 we receive we can print one more pen pal ad.”^[10] Gay Community News, vol. 5, no. 41, April, 29, 1978. Northeastern University Archive. https://archive.org/details/gaycommunitynews0541gayc/mode/2up

Ads such as these demonstrate that the plight of incarcerated LGBTQ+ members was a great concern to the writers of the GCN, and that the written word was a powerful advocacy tool in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. 

Town Meetings For A New Revolution

The fight for LGBTQ+ rights also instigated the annual Gay and Lesbian Town Meeting, a tradition reminiscent of the town hall forums that took place during other revolutions, from the American Revolution to abolition and women’s suffrage. The first of these annual meetings took place in Faneuil Hall starting in June, 1977 and continued throughout the late 1990s.^[11] “Gay and Lesbian Town Meeting (U.S. National Park Service),” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Accessed March 1, 2021, … Continue reading During these forum-style events, a representative from a local LGBTQ+ group spoke about issues within the community; these ranged from lobbying for legislation that championed LGBTQ+ civil rights, to the electoral process that would enact such legislation. Unfortunately, not many transcripts remain of the conversations held within those historic walls. However, one famous and controversial speech given by Larry Kramer remains. In a speech concerning the AIDS epidemic, the playwright and activist said, “Politicians understand only one thing: pressure. You don’t apply it—you don’t get anything. . .which is what is happening to us.”^[12] Larry Kramer, “I Can’t Believe You Want to Die,” in Documenting Intimate Matters: Primary Sources for a History of Sexuality in America, ed. Thomas A. Foster (Chicago: University of Chicago, … Continue reading Speeches and conversations, such as Larry Kramer’s, held within that space kindled a social and political consciousness that led to further advocacy efforts by the LGBTQ+ community.

The revolutionary spirit kindled in Faneuil Hall and in the pages of the GCN extended to queer people both young and old. In 1980, the Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (BAGLY) was the first organization initiated and managed by LGBTQ+ youth in the United States. BAGLY, which has since changed it’s name to Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth, was committed to “social justice and creating, sustaining and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ+ youth community.”^[13] “Where We Came From,” BAGLY, Inc, Accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.bagly.org/where-we-came-from. Originally located at 128a Tremont Street—within Boston’s revolutionary corridor and near the GCN—this group of young people ages 22 and under created a community and support system for LGBTQ+ youths.

Since the time of its formation, BAGLY has used peaceful demonstrations and community meetings to fight against gender and sexual discrimination. In 1981, the City of Boston rejected the permit necessary to hold the annual march for LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Instead of holding their regularly scheduled programming, BAGLY held a meeting with local LGBTQ+ activists to organize a response to the discriminatory act. Due to their organizing, the decision was overturned and the Pride march happened as planned. ^[14] “Where We Came From,” BAGLY, Inc. That same year, the organization established the LGBTQ+ youth prom. BAGLY was the first organization to institute this event, and others soon followed suit. Both the actions taken by BAGLY and the advocates at Faneuil Hall showed the power that demonstrations could have in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Legal Battles for Justice

This spirit of advocacy also took form in legal cases fought in courtrooms. GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), was established in 1978 and is currently located at 18 Tremont Street. Here, they continue in the work that reflects their mission to provide legal services to queer people in cases concerning gender and sexual discrimination. Their first case was Doe vs. McNiff in 1978, a response to an increase in police surveillance specifically targeting gay patrons of the Boston Public Library (BPL). In a span of two weeks, police made 103 arrests on flimsy claims of indecency that upon further examination could not be proved. All but one of the accused parties were acquitted of the charges. With the help of GLAD, one of these men sued the Boston Public Library and the police for violating the civil liberties of the man who was arrested and later acquitted.^[15]  “History,” GLAD, October 8, 2020, https://www.glad.org/about/history/.

GLAD also filed and won several landmark cases, such as winning the right for a Rhode Island high schooler to take his boyfriend to prom. More recently, GLAD has been a major player in the legalization of same-sex marriage. In 2003, GLAD won a landmark case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court at the John Adams Courthouse located in Pemberton Square. This case determined that couples of the same-sex have the right to marry. This led to the first legal same-sex marriages in the United States. By winning this case, GLAD started the fight for national recognition of same-sex marriage in 2016.^[16]  “History,” GLAD, October 8, 2020, https://www.glad.org/about/history/.

“Same-sex supporters celebrated after the state Legislature voted against a ballot question to ban gay marriage in 2007.” Supporters of gay marriage celebrate outside of the Massachusetts State House after the Legislature voted against an amendment banning gay marriage, which had been legalized in Massachusetts in 2004.

Courtesy The Boston Globe: David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Though some of these groups no longer exist, their contributions to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights led to where we stand today. Using the power of the press, demonstrations, and the law, these brave people have advanced change and equity. Those changes continue today both in the heart of downtown Boston and around the globe.

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Further Reading

“Boston & Stonewall 50: Remembering, Celebrating, and Honoring Our Past.” StorymapJS: Boston Stonewall 50 Commemoration Locations. The History Project and Boston Pride. Accessed March 1 2021, https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/72526841f2384b2f30c3b514a37d4887/boston-stonewall-50-commemoration-locations/index.html. 

D’Emilio, John and Estelle B Freedman. Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. https://archive.org/details/intimatematter1997demi/page/n1/mode/2up?q=Boston+. 

“Gay and Lesbian Town Meeting (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed March 1 2021, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/gay-and-lesbian-town-meeting.htm.

The History Project. Improper Bostonians: lesbian and gay history from the Puritans to Playland. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. https://archive.org/details/improperbostonia00barn/page/n7/mode/2up. 

Hoffman, Amy. An Army of Ex-Lovers: My Life at the Gay Community News. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007.