Box Turtle Bulletin

Born On This Day, 1987: Sakia Gunn

(d. 2003) If she were alive today, she’d be celebrating her twenty-ninth birthday. Instead, she didn’t quite make it to sweet sixteen. On May 11, 2003, she and her friends were waiting for the #1 New Jersey Transit bus in downtown Newark when they were propositioned by two men. The girls rejected their advances by declaring themselves to be lesbians. The men attacked, and when Gunn fought back, one of the attackers stabbed her in the chest. After both attackers fled, Gunn was rushed to the hospital where she died. The murder became the subject of several protests in Newark, and more than 2,500 people attended her funeral.

One of the attackers, Robert McCullough, was arrested and charged with murder. In a tale that could have come from a bad comedy sketch, McCullough claimed that Gunn died after she ran into his knife. He eventually agreed to a plea bargain in which the murder charges were dropped in exchange for a guilty plea for manslaughter, aggravated assault and bias intimidation. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Marriage Equality Approved In Colima

The Colima State Congress today approved a package of amendments to the state constitution and civil code to provide marriage equality to same-sex couples. The state congress acted on an order by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation to change its local laws to allow same-sex couples to marry in the state. The action today was the culmination of a three-month process of consultations and approvals from the ten municipalities that make up the state. Nine of the ten municipalities approved of the changes.

In 2014, Colima began providing a kind of a registered partnership known as “enlaces conyugales” (conjugal bonds). These partnerships remain valid and can be converted to marriages at the civil registry where they were originally made.

The new marriage equality law goes into effect once it is published in the Official Gazette of the State of Colima.

(Click to enlarge)

Colima becomes either the ninth or tenth state in Mexico to provide marriage equality, depending on how you’re counting. Sonora had been issuing marriage licenses since the first of May, following a series of court orders called amparos. But a Civil Registry official announced on Monday that same-sex marriages cannot be performed because Sonora’s Family Code has not been revised. Until then, he insists that he needs yet another amparo. So while marriage equality had been the law in Sonora, that now appears to be on hold.

Last week, the state of Morelos, located just south of the Federal District (Mexico City) began the process of changing its constitution to allow same-sex marriage. And next Tuesday, the congress for the state of México, which nearly surrounds the Federal District to the north, east and west, will vote on a proposal to allow same-sex marriage.

Texas Eighth-Grader Told To Change Her Pro-Gay T-Shirt Or Go Home

Ali Chaney, 13, wore her shirt to SC Lee Junior High in Copperas Cove, Texas on Monday. The shirt, in rainbow colors, said, “Some people are gay. Get over it.” That message got the eighth-grader, who is gay herself, in trouble.

“I was upset,” she told KCEN-TV. “I mean, when they said that they don’t want that in their school, I was like, you don’t want what in your school? You don’t want gay kids in your school? … The main principal was, like, it’s nothing against you, we just don’t want that so you need to change your shirt.” Ali refused and was sent home.

The Copperas Cove Independent School District released a statement saying: “Our purpose at CCISD is to educate children, first and foremost. According to CCISD’s dress code in the student handbook and code of conduct, clothing that is disruptive to the learning environment based on reactions by other students is prohibited. The student was offered a school shirt to wear and declined.”

“IslamOBAMunist Threatens Your Freedom”

The school claimed it enforces its dress code equally, and provided a photo of another shirt that it asked a student to change. But Ali refuted that by providing a photo of a student wearing a T-shirt which suggested that President Obama was a Muslim Communist who “threatens your freedom.” That student was not asked to change shirts.

Ali’s mother filed a complaint with the district.

Vermont Bans Conversion Therapy

Gov. Peter Shumlin speaking at a signing ceremony on the statehouse steps.

Today, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law a bill which prohibits licensed professionals from practicing sexual orientation change therapy on minors:

Shumlin said the practice was common when he was growing up. It was once taught in prestigious behavioral science programs, including the University of Vermont, though it’s not clear whether it is still used in the state today.

“The practice is not only archaic, but it’s wrong,” Shumlin said, as he signed the bill into law, surrounded by House and Senate leaders.

The ban goes into effect on July 1. Similar bans are in place in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. Last week, the New Hampshire Senate passed a conversion therapy ban. That bill will go back to the House for reconciliation before heading to the Governor for her signature.

Report: ISIS Stones Teen For Allegedly Being Gay

The independent Kurdish press agency ARA News reports:

Jamal Nassir al-Oujan, 15, was arrested by the ISIS-led Islamic Police in the Mayadin city of Deir ez-Zor province earlier on Sunday. The Sharia Court accused him of sodomy and decided to stone the boy to death.

“Al-Oujan was brutally stoned to death by ISIS militants in Jaradiq square in the Mayadin city on Monday afternoon,” an eyewitness told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Also, some civilians were forced to participate in stoning the victim,” the source said. “The brutal scene has shocked all residents of Mayadin.”

Deir ez-Zor governorate is located in eastern Syria. Al-Mayadin is still an ISIS stronghold despite ongoing assaults. With a pre-war population of 44,000, it is the governorate’s second largest city.

CA Police Warn Of Carjackers Using Grindr To Lure Victims

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department issued a statement warning that over the past two weeks, there have been two cases where carjackers have used the gay hook-up app Grindr to lure their victims:

The first carjacking occurred May 15, 2016, near the intersection of Muskrat Avenue and Air Expressway in the City of Adelanto. During this investigation the suspect, identified as Steven Thomas, allegedly used a firearm to steal the victim’s vehicle and wallet. Thomas who had recently been paroled for possession of stolen property, was arrested by the Sheriff’s Specialized Enforcement Division in the City of Desert Hot Springs a few days after theincident.

The second carjacking occurred May 23, 2016, near Yates Rd and Ridgecrest Rd in Victorville. The suspect, identified as Allan Soto, allegedly stole the victim’s vehicle using force. Soto was located a few hours later and arrested with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Departments Aviation Division. Both victim’s vehicles were recovered by deputies and returned to them.

Citizens are encouraged to be diligent and safe when using any type of social media dating applications. Anyone with information about criminal or suspicious activity is encouraged to contact their local Sheriff Station or WE-TIP at 1-800-78CRIME (www.wetip.com) and can remain anonymous.

According to the Los Angeles Times, it’s not yet clear whether Soto and Thomas were working together or whether these crimes are part of a larger operation. Grindr says it is cooperating with law enforcement.

First Same-Sex Couples Are Marrying In Colombia

The Washington Blade explains:

Two men on Tuesday became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Colombia. Fernando Quimbayo and José Ticora, who have been together for two years, exchanged vows before a registrar in the city of Cali. El País, a Colombian newspaper, posted a video of the ceremony on its website.

This wedding comes after the Colombia Constitutional Court ruled late last month that same-sex marriages did not violated family protections within the Colombian Constitution and that “the current definition of the institution of marriage in civil law applies to them in the same way as it does for couples of the same sex.”

The Blade also points out that couples had been entering into “solemn unions,” somewhat akin to registered partnerships, since 2013. Those unions are now considered marriages under Colombian law.

OK Lawmakers Make Last-Minute Effort Move Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill

With a 10-10 tie vote, an Oklahoma House Committee last night failed to move SB-1619, a bill requiring school districts to provide separate bathrooms for students who object to sharing bathrooms with transgender students. With a tie vote, the bill stays in the committee. It should be noted that the committee was recessed, and not adjourned, after the tie vote. The bill remains in committee, and could be heard again at any time during the legislative session, which ends at 5:00 p.m. on May 27. And with Oklahoma being Oklahoma, just about anything is still possible as long as the Legislature is still in session.

Last night’s quickly-called hearing by the House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget came as a surprise to LGBT activists. Earlier that day, Freedom Oklahoma sent out a press release saying “Leadership in the State House of Representatives informed Freedom Oklahoma today that SB 1619 – a bill targeting transgender youth with segregated bathrooms – will not move forward this session. … Freedom Oklahoma will stay vigilant in making sure there are no more 11th hour attempts to harm LGBTQ Oklahomans and it is our hope that the grown ups are back in control under the dome at 23rd and Lincoln.”

Vigilance was warranted. No sooner had that statement gone out when Freedom Oklahoma sent out this tweet:

URGENT UPDATE: Lawmakers abruptly revive #SB1619. The anti-#trans bill will be heard TONIGHT in committee. #lgbt #OKLeg

— Freedom Oklahoma (@FreedomOklahoma) May 24, 2016

Details are scant, but it appears that SB-1619 was added to the agenda at the last minute as an emergency item. The committee, chaired by Rep. Earl Sears (R-Bartlesville) was in a marathon session moving bills to the House floor when suddenly Rep. Dan Fisher (R-Yukon) brought up SB 1619 for consideration:

Rep. Inman expresses concern that this bill has been pulled off of tomorrow's agenda to be heard today.

— JRLegislativeReport (@JRLROK) May 24, 2016

Rep. Inman expresses concern that this bill has been pulled off of tomorrow's agenda to be heard today.

— JRLegislativeReport (@JRLROK) May 24, 2016

Sears: I'm waiving the rule bc this is the last day we can get something out of JCAB and on to the floor.

— JRLegislativeReport (@JRLROK) May 24, 2016

#SB1619 – Dems pushing for one day delay on debate, saying bill is out of order. Repubs say leaders can violate 24hr rule at end of session

— Bill Schammert (@BillSchammert) May 24, 2016

Note a delay of even a day might prevent it being able to get through both chambers. Ex. Budget bill passed today & should be heard Friday.

— JRLegislativeReport (@JRLROK) May 24, 2016

According to tweets from JRLegislativeReport, Fisher pushed hard for the bill’s passage, citing the Obama Administrations recent guidance on Title IX funding stating that issues of transgender discrimination fall under the Title’s gender equality provisions. After what appears to have been a contentious back-and-forth, Sears called for a recess:

"We're taking a recess, whether you like it or not because I'm chairman. We're taking a 23 minute recess." – Rep. Sears, back at 6pm #SB1619

— Bill Schammert (@BillSchammert) May 24, 2016

It’s unclear what happened during that recess, but about an hour after the committee resumed its work, it deadlocked, with Sears join the “nays.”  Vice Chair Dennis Casey (R-Morrison) and Reps. Leslie Osborn (R-Mustang) and Harold Wright (R-Weatherford) also joined the committee’s Democrats to block the measure. The Associated Press reported, “In a letter to lawmakers Monday, the presidents of both the Tulsa Regional Chamber and Greater Oklahoma City Chamber warned of ‘severe economic damage’ that could result from the measure.”

Rep Fisher, who is a pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon, made waves last year when he proposed a bill targeting Advanced Placement U.S. History courses in Oklahoma. “There seems to be a very clear leaning in the new framework to communicate that America is just not a good place. We’re exploiters. We’re abusers. We put down the poor. The rich rule. All those kinds of things,” said Fisher. But after it was pointed out that not just anybody can create an college Advanced Placement course and expect universities to accept them for course credit, the bill failed to make it to the House floor.

Today’s Agenda Is Brought To You By…

From Michael’s Thing, November 11, 1979, page 35.

Irish brewer James Everard opened the Everard Baths in 1888 in an old renovated church building. He had bought it in 1886 and turned it into a music hall known as “The Regent.” It flopped a few months later. It reopened again as “The Fifth Avenue Music Hall,” but that, too, closed soon after. Everard renovated it again, and on May 7, 1888, he opened it as a Turkish bath.

Everard died in 1913, and the property was sold to Meyer Smolowitz, who in 1921 sold it for the princely sum of $175,000 to a lawyer by the name of Abraham Harawitz. Harawitz announced that he would spend another $100,000 on renovations for the “bathhouse and dormitories.  By then, it had already become popular with gay men and picked up the nickname “Everhard.” Police raided the premises in 1919 and arrested nine customers and the manager for lewd behavior, and arrested fifteen more in another raid in 1920. But despite those raids, the Everard Baths remained a major gay venue through the succeeding decades. Well-known patrons over the years included Gore Vidal, Rudolf Nureyev, Lorenz Hart, Truman Capote and Ned Rorem.

In 1977, a fire broke out in the Everard, killing nine customers and injuring ten more (see below). The fire destroyed the top two floors of the four-story building. After the building was rebuilt, the Everard reopened in 1979, and remained open for another seven years. It finally closed for good in April 1986 in a city-wide campaign by New York mayor Ed Koch to shut down all of the city’s bathhouses in response to the AIDS epidemic. The building is still there and houses the Yung Kee Wholesale Center.

Today In History, 1895: Oscar Wilde Convicted of “Gross Indecency”

Author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde was the toast of London. He made his mark in literature in The Picture of Dorian Gray (an annotated edition with some of the more homoerotic themes restored was released in 2011). His essays made him a respected man of letters, while his popular plays (Salome, A Woman of No Importance, and especially The Importance of Being Earnest) burnished his reputation for sophisticated wit.

But the wild success of Earnest, which premiered February 14, 1895, was quickly eclipsed by Wilde’s conviction and sentencing for homosexuality. Four days after the premiere of Earnest, Wilde was denounced as a homosexual by the Marquess of Queensberry (see Feb 18). Wilde, who was involved with the Marquess’s son, Alfred Douglass, ignored the advise of his friends and sued the Marquess for libel. That proved disastrous. During cross-examination, Queensberry’s lawyer asked Wilde whether he had ever kissed a particular young man, Walter Grainger, in greeting. “Oh, dear no,” Wilde replied, “He was a peculiarly plain boy. He was unfortunately extremely ugly. I pitied him for it.” Queesnbury’s lawyer pounced on Wilde’s admssion for not kissing Grainger: it wasn’t that Wilde didn’t like kissing men, but that he didn’t want to kiss this particular “ugly” man.

In short order, Wilde lost the case (see Apr 5). The next day, he was arrested and charged with gross indecency. His first trial began on April 26, with Wilde pleading not guilty. It was during that trial that Wilde uttered these famous lines under cross-examination:

Charles Gill (prosecuting): What is “the love that dare not speak its name”?

Oscar Wilde: “The love that dare not speak its name” in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art, like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as “the love that dare not speak its name,” and on that account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an older and a younger man, when the older man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so, the world does not understand. The world mocks at it, and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it.

Despite that admission, Wilde’s first trial ended in a hung jury. But a second jury on May 25 found him and another friend guilty. Justice Alfred Wills sentenced them to the maximum sentence allowed by law: to two years of hard labor:

Justice Wills: Oscar Wilde and Alfred Taylor, the crime of which you have been convicted is so bad that one has to put stern restraint upon one’s self to prevent one’s self from describing, in language which I would rather not use, the sentiments which must rise in the breast of every man pf honor who has heard the details of these two horrible trials. That the jury has arrived at a correct verdict in this case I cannot persuade myself to entertain a shadow of a doubt; and I hope, at all events, that those who sometimes imagine that a judge is half-hearted in the cause of decency and morality because he takes care no prejudice shall enter into the case, may see that it is consistent at least with the utmost sense of indignation at the horrible charges brought home to both of you.

It is no use for me to address you. People who can do these things must be dead to all sense of shame, and one cannot hope to produce any effect upon them. It is the worst case I have ever tried. that you, Taylor, kept a kind of male brothel it is impossible to doubt. And that you, Wilde, have been the center of a circle of extensive corruption of the most hideous kind among young men, it is equally impossible to doubt.

I shall, under the circumstances, be expected to pass the severest sentence that the law allows. In my judgment it it totally inadequate for a case such as this. The sentence of the Court is that each of you be imprisoned and kept to hard labor for two years.

[Cries of “Oh! Oh!” and “Shame!”]

Oscar Wilde: And I? May I say nothing, my Lord?

The court adjourned.

Today In History, 1913: The Redl Affair

Col. Alfred Redl was a Galician native from a poor family in what is now Ukraine but was then a part of the Austrian Empire. He joined the Austrian army where his keen intelligence and facility with languages outweighed his poverty-stricken background and opened doors into the officer corps. That was a rarity, since officers were nearly uniformly drawn from the rich and the politically well-connected. Redl was appointed to the counter-intelligence service, and his innovations quickly led the way to a series of promotions which led to his becoming the service’s chief in 1907. In 1911, Redl was honored with the Expression of Supreme Satisfaction, which was a personal honor bestowed by Emperor Franz Josef himself.

But while that was happening, Redl was also an spy for Russia, starting probably around 1903 (although the Austrian Empire’s official rendition of events had him starting only in 1912). How he became a spy for the Austria’s arch enemy isn’t clear, but we do know that Russia became aware of Redl’s homosexuality as early as 1901, and it is believed that Redl was blackmailed. Before World War I broke out, Redl handed over Austria’s plan for invading Serbia, revealed the names of Austrian agents in Russia, and underestimated Russia’s military strength to the Austrian military. The results were disastrous for Austria. With Russia and Serbia knowing Austria’s moves ahead of time, it is estimated that Redl may have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Austrian soldiers and civilians.

Ironically, Redl’s innovations in Austria’s counter-intelligence service proved to be his undoing. When Redl was promoted up and out of the counter-intelligence service, his successor and protégé, Major Maximilian Ronge, became aware of some suspicious envelopes, stuffed with cash but no note, being delivered to the Vienna post office for a Herr Nikon Nizetas for General Delivery (in other words, with no address; the post office was to hold the envelopes for Nizetas to pick up). Because of the large sums of money involved and evidence that the envelopes may have come from Russia, Ronge personally led the investigation. To Ronge’s surprise, it was Redl who arrived at the post office to claim the envelopes. When Ronde and a group of officers confronted Redl at the Hotel Klosmer where Redle was staying, Redl cordially invited them into his room and admitted his crimes. Redl then asked to borrow a revolver. Knowing what would come next, Ronge and his men left a Browning pistol and left, waiting outside the hotel for the sound of the gunshot. Redl removed his uniform, wrote one last farewell letter, and shot himself.

At first, Emperor Franz Josef tried to keep the circumstances behind Redl’s suicide under wraps, but Redl’s death soon became a rallying point for a number of factions within the government. Aristocrats pointed to Redl’s humble background to demand that the officer corps be returned to its all-aristocratic foundations. His Galician upbringing brought all Slavs in the officer corps under suspicion, despite the fact that Redl was ethnically German. And a rumor that Redl was Jewish, despite his Roman Catholic upbringing, stoked yet another wave of anti-Semitism in central Europe.

But more crucially, the Redl Affair became a worldwide symbol of the vulnerability of high-level government officials to blackmail, particularly where homosexuality was concerned. During the Cold War, the Redl Affair, along with the 1951 defection to the Soviet Union of British spies Guy Burgess and Don MacLean, reinforced the argument that gay people could not be trusted in government, and during McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade in the 1950s, homosexuality and communism were further linked as twin threats to national security.

Today in History, 1961: Florida Legislative Committee Calls Schools “Veritable Refuge for Practicing Homosexuals”

Rep. William G, O’Neill (D-Ocala), chairman of the Legislative Investigations Committee.

That charge was levied in a report by the Florida Legislative Investigations Committee, which was Florida’s homegrown version of the McCarthy Red and Lavender Scares from a decade earlier. Known popularly as the Johns Committee for its first chairman, state Senator and former acting Governor Charley Johns, it was established in 1956 to investigate alleged communist links to the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1957, the Legislature broadened the committee’s mandate to investigate gays in the state’s colleges and universities. In 1961, just as that mandate was about to expire, the Johns committee issued a biennial report to the Legislature which claimed that it found evidence that eight men in Miami were operating a “call ring” which put teenage boys “through what amounts to a regular course in training in homosexual acts. When properly trained they are made available to older homosexuals the same as female prostitutes.”

The report, filed by Rep. William G, O’Neill (D-Ocala), the committee’s chair, alleged that the men “converted” school boys between 13 and 17 years old to “homosexual practices” by the use of pornography, liquor, and “narcotic drugs.” It also said that three of the eight men had been arrested. This investigation, the report added, was “one of the most important and serious investigations it (the committee) has ever made, but disclosure of details now would destroy the work.” ONE magazine was skeptical of the charges:

It seems to this reporter that there have been entirely too much acceptance of alleged happenings as reported by investigative bodies or individuals who are never required to give absolute and irrefutable proof. We have for years been hearing about supposed homosexual “rings” and “clubs” that serve their memberships play-boy style. I defy anyone to show me one.

ONE was right to be skeptical, as no such case has ever hit Florida’s newspapers as far as I’ve been able to determine.

The report was far from finished however. Under the heading, “Homosexual Conduct on the Part of State Employees, Particularly in the Field of Education,” the report reminded the Legislature that since July 1, 1959, 39 teachers’ certificates had been revoked, and there were another 14 cases pending before the State Board of Education. “The committee is in possession of sworn testimony concerning homosexual conduct in excess of 75 additional public school teachers,” the report said (see Apr 22 for the case of five teachers from St. Petersburg). “Practicing homosexuals,” the report warned, “almost invariably turn to the recruitment of young people as sex partners… Practically all children are susceptible to being recruited into homosexual practices at one stage or another of their development… [and a] homosexual teacher, having direct supervision over numerous children, can and does do tremendous damage to quite a large group of children when the teacher turns to the recruitment of young sex partners.”

The report then scolded school administrators, saying that “with few exceptions, there is an almost uniform inability or unwillingness on the part of the responsible administrators to cope actively, aggressively and effectively with the problem. … The combination of administrators ignoring the problem and his [administrator’s] lenient dealing with the individual when caught makes the public education system in Florida a veritable refuge for practicing homosexuals.”

The committee’s report had its intended effect: the Florida Legislature approved an additional appropriation of $75,000 to the Johns Committee and renewed its charter for another two years and added a mandate  to look into “the extent of infiltration of agencies supported by state funds by practicing homosexuals and the policies of state agencies in dealing therewith.” Now, the Committee was specifically authorized to do what it had been doing all along without legislative authorization. And the following year, 1962, Florida saw the second highest number of teacher investigations on record. In 1963, the Committee said that its work still was not done so the Legislature renewed its charter again for two additional years. In 1964, the fruits of that “exhaustive investigation” were finally made public when the Johns Committee issued its final report, “Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida” (Mar 17). Known as the “purple pamphlet” for the abstract purple cover that was added to obscure the more provocative photos inside, the report was blasted as an exercise in taxpayer-funded pornography. The Legislature responded to the controversy by finally pulling funding for the committee and forcing its disbanding.

[Sources: Karen L. Graves. And They Were Wonderful Teachers: Florida’s Purge of Gay and Lesbian Teachers (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009).

“Del Mcintire” (pseudonym for Don Slater).  “Tangents” column. ONE 9, no. 7 (July 1961): pages 18-19.

Associated Press. “Committee Reports: State School System A Homosexual Refuge?” Ft. Pierce News Tribune (May 25, 1961): page 1.

United Press. “Legislative Probe Group Requests Crackdown on School Homosexuals.” St. Petersburg Times (May 26, 1961): page 10A.

Today In History, 1977: Everard Bathhouse Fire Kills Nine

Fire officials ordered the  Everard to install a sprinkler system in 1976. They were installed by May 1977, but they hadn’t been hooked up to a water supply yet when, during the very early hours of Wednesday morning, a mattress fire broke out. Occupants went through several fire extinguishers trying to put out the flames before finally calling the fire department.

By the time firefighters arrived, about 80 to 100 occupants had managed to flee the building, many of them clad only in towels or robes. Others clung to windows awaiting rescue by the more than 200 firefighters who arrived at the scene. Nine customers didn’t make it.. Seven died from smoke inhalation, one from respiratory burns, and one from injuries sustained after jumping from an upper floor.

Identification of the victims was complicated by the fact that many of them had registered under assumed names. Friends wound up identifying them rather than family. They were: Hillman Wesley Adams, 40, South Plains, NJ; Amado Alamo, 17, Manhattan; Anthony Calarco, age unknown, The Bronx; Kenneth Hill, 38, Manhattan; Brian Duffy, 30, address unknown; Patrick Knott, 38, Manhattan; Ira Landau, 32, Manhattan; Yosef Signovec, 30, a Czech refugee whose address was unknown; and James Charles Stuard, 30, Manhattan, who was a well-known DJ at the club 12 West.

George Ames, manager of the Club Baths in Boston, was on the premises when the fire broke out. He told reporters later that the customers remained calm, although “the young employees… were hysterical. … The management at the Everard showed no regard for the customers. They are just a bunch of straight people coining money at the expense of the gay community.” Ames criticized the club for its lack of sprinklers, fire escapes, and emergency lighting. The National Gay Task Force’s Bruce Voeller (May 12) described the Everard as a “shabby, dreadful place, run down and grubby beyond words.” He pointed out that there had been a fire five years earlier, and there was nothing more than a “cosmetic renovation,” of the facility. The only reason the Everard was still popular, he said, was because of its long history and its location in a safe neighborhood.

(Note: This video of the fire erroneously give the year as 1975.)

The fire destroyed the top two floors. They were rebuilt and the Everard reopened in 1979 — this time with sprinklers — only to close again in 1986 during a campaign by New York mayor Ed Koch to close all of the city’s bathhouses in response to the AIDS epidemic.

Born On This Day, 1939: Ian McKellen

His roots are in theater, mainly Shakespeare, where he continues to perform in a number of state productions in Britain. But beginning in 1969, he branched out in film and television, covering a wide range of genres from drama (And the Band Played On, Gods and Monsters), to mystery (Six Degrees of Separation, The Da Vinci Code), to action and fantasy (X-Men, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, as Gandolf).

McKellen was among the earliest actors to come out publicly as gay. He came out in 1988 during a BBC interview while discussing the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Bill, which stated that local governments “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship” (see May 24). According to a 2003 interview, McKellen said he visited Environment Secretary Michael Howard (who was responsible for local governments) to lobby against the bill. Howard reaffirmed his approval of Section 28, and in a defining moment of chutzpah, asked McKellen to leave an autograph for Howard’s children. He did. It read, “Fuck off, I’m gay.” McKellen remained politically active and co-founded the British gay-rights group Stonewall in 1989. In 2007, he became a patron of The Albert Kennedy Trust, an organization that provides support to homeless and troubled LGBT youth.

McKellen is properly called Sir Ian McKellen. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979, was knighted in 1991 for services to the performing arts. He was also named a Companion of Honour for services to drama and to LGBT equality in 2008.

Born On This Day, 1969: Anne Heche

She got her start on the NBC soap opera Another World, where she won a Daytime Emmy in 1991. Appropriate, given that so much of her life reads like a soap opera. She was the daughter of a Baptist choir director who disclosed his homosexuality to his family just before dying of AIDS in 1983. That same year, her brother died in a car accident. Four years later, Heche launched her acting career with Another World as soon as she got out of high school. From there she took a series of roles in television and film, including If These Walls Could Talk (1996), Walking and Talking (1996), Wag the Dog (1997), and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

It was at about that time that Heche began dating comedian Ellen DeGeneres. They had said they would get a civil union if it became legal in Vermont, but they broke up in August, 2000. Just hours after news broke of their relationship ending, she appeared that the rear door of a house in Fresno County wearing nothing by shorts and a bra, asking if she could take a shower. She had curled up on the couch for a nap when sheriff deputies arrived. She told officers that she was “God, and was going to take everyone back to heaven in a spaceship.” She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, but was released a few hours later.

That episode became the stuff of tabloid headlines and served as a turning point in her 2001 memoir Call Me Crazy (which she wrote in only six weeks), where she described the her sexual abuse by her father, and her subsequent emotional problems and drug abuse. Meanwhile, her mother, Nancy Heche capitalized on her daughter’s fame and became an important speaker at ex-gay conferences where she claimed that her prayers “cured” Anne’s lesbianism. Anne, who is bisexual, says that her mother’s campaign is “a way to keep the pain of the truth out.” In 2011, Anne said that she doubted that she would ever reconcile with her mother.

In 2001, Heche married a cameraman who she met during DeGeneres’s 2000 standup comedy tour, and had a son the following year.  They divorced in 2007. That same year, she moved in with actor James Tupper, who was her co-star in the ABC comedy-drama Men in Trees (2006-2008). She had her second son with Tupper in 2009.