DOMA and Proposition 18 Struck Down by the Supreme Court

We used to dance at BOB'S BISTRO A-GO-GO near Old Town on Wells Avenue.  One would go down a dark alley having to know which door to knock on since there was no entrance area and no sign. The door would open a crack and if you looked "right" you were let in. This was the late 1960's and 70s.

The bar was a large, open, unattractive, not necessarily clean room with a juke box in one corner and a makeshift plywood bar. The club was rumored to be owned and protected by the Maffia but we were grateful to have a place we could call our own. The place would be populated with wall to wall gay men and women trying to enjoy an evening with friends, drinking, dancing, and yes listening to Donna Summers, doing "Poppers," and possibly smoking "Weed." 

The fear of the bar's being raided was always in the air and in glances over one's shoulder towards the door. The unspoken word was that if "RAID" was announced, each "faggot" would grab the nearest "dyke" as a dancing partner. The "boy/girl" approach would save you from being herded off to the waiting paddy wagons, taken to the Chicago Avenue lockup, photographed, and identified. If you were "clean" charges would not be pressed and you would be released.

If you were underage, had drugs on your person, or fought back physically or verbally against the police you were in big trouble. If you were not in big trouble you WERE in big trouble anyways because your name was published in the "GAY BAR RAID" article in the Chicago Sun Times or Tribune,  your family might find out, and if your employers sound out, most likely you would be fired. 

Those were the days. The Supreme Court's striking down of Proposition 18 and DOMA is cause for celebration. We've come a long way baby but there is still a lot of change necessary. There are many parts of the country (world) where being gay still means discrimination, abuse (verbal and physical,) and possibly death.

Then again Jews, Blacks, Muslims, Latinos, various other ethnic groups and minorities, etc etc etc also continue to long for freedom, equality, and peace. This doesn't even begin to take into account the continuing fight for Women's Rights! There will always be differences and disagreement between people of the various religions, cultures, races, sexes, sexual preferences, etc. 

There will always be fanatics with whom we will have to deal, but slowly if each one of us tries to be tolerant of others, and learns to live with individual differences -- we will get closer and closer to being able to be who we are or need to be. By respecting other's rights, we will gain respect from others for ours.

So many of us are saying, "Who would have believed that in our life time...." Maybe we should be optimistic and hope for more and continued, bigger and better.

Michael and Gregory