New Board, New Year, New Opportunities to Volunteer! See back cover for contact info!
CHALLENGE The Newsletter of the Gay Activist Alliance in Morris County – Serving New Jersey’s GLBTI Communities Since 1972
Volume 37, Issue 1, February 2011
Are We There Yet? by Mickey Suiter
Every now and then someone asks me why GAAMC is still around. Nearly all of the other organizations like GAAMC that started in the 70's and 80's have closed their doors over the years. Why hasn't GAAMC? Is there still a need for this type of organization? Right from the start, the ultimate goal of GAAMC was to go out of business, for the position of GLBTI people in society to improve to such a point that an organization like ours was no longer necessary. When one looks at where we were in 1972 compared to 2011, the change is profound. When GAAMC started, gay bars had been legal in New Jersey for less than five years. All sex acts between two men were illegal. There were no protections from discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations. Domestic partnership, civil unions, and marriage equality weren't even Save far-off dreams.
Far more people are out now, with many young people coming out in high school . There are dozens of Gay/Straight Alliances in New Jersey's high schools, something not thought possible even twenty years ago. Gay men and lesbians are everywhere on television, in the movies, and on the news. So maybe it's time to ask, are we there yet? Have we reached a point where an organization like GAAMC is no longer needed?
Things are tremendously better now, but there are still problems. Many people still have a the hard time coming out. There remains Febr Date uar y ! some prejudice towards our 7, 20 community and our political battles Stat 11 e Se are not over. Ra na
And that was just our legal status. Socially, almost no one was completely out. In fact, the idea of being out tor ymo publicly was only a few years old and nd w Lesn ill b only a few activists in large cities were iak e at willing to take that step. When asked, For GAA m the overwhelming majority of ore MC! GAA deta Americans said they knew no one who MC i ls, s Eve was gay. The medical community still ee nts, considered homosexuality an illness. pag So the GLBTI community has made significant progress over the years, especially in New Jersey. We have made tremendous legal strides — a non-discrimination law, a domestic partnership law, and then a civil union law. Society views us much differently than it did just a few decades ago.
Inside Challenge Challenge Information............. page 2 GAAMC Events........................page 2 Cell Phone Fundraiser at GAAMC... page 2 The Bulletin Board................... page 3 Gleanings.............................. page 4 Many Happy Returns!................ page 5 DADT III................................ page 5 Calendar ............................... page 7 Hey, Kids! GAAMC Has Ads! ........ page 9 Gay Inmates' Options: Whore, Hermit, Punching Bag, or Body Bag? .... page 11 Want Employment Rights? Buy Them! ...... page 11 Good Eats!........................... page 13 This Month's Contributors......... page 13 Dancing to Architecture........... page 14 GAAMC Information................. page 16
While politics has never been GAAMC's primary focus, we have been involved in all legal efforts to secure our rights, from working to stop the re-criminalization of sodomy in the 70's to providing manpower and funding to the New Jersey Lesbian and e 2! Gay Coalition's efforts, to amending New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination in the 80's and 90's, to hosting Garden State Equality's first town hall meeting on marriage equality just a few years ago. A few years ago, when we disbanded GALY due to a lack of interest on the part of the young people who had been attending, we assumed that problems were over for the younger generation. We learned differently in the recent media attention to bullying and teen suicide. GAAMC has responded to that with a new program of outreach and support to our youth. The turnout for our discussion groups — Open Talk, Circles, and Mature Men — has shown that there is still interest in a place for men and women in our community to gather, talk, and share with each other. So my answer to the question "Are we there yet?" is "Not quite." We've come so far and things are vastly better for so many GLBTI people, but we haven't achieved all of our legal protections and many of us of all ages are still having problems coming out and facing discrimination. And so, as long as there is a need for a safe space for men and women in our community to meet, talk, and work on our issues, GAAMC has a purpose and will continue to be here.