The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was formed in New York City in the summer of 1969, shortly after the Stonewall Uprising. When I attended my first meeting in July, the group had not yet decided on its name and was heatedly debating whether or not to align with the antiwar movement. I knew immediately that this was what I had been waiting for, and since then my energies have been spent in the cause of gay liberation, both as a scholar and an activist.
    GLF lasted for only two years, before it fell apart from its lack of structure and inability to make decisions in an orderly and democratic manner. But during its heyday it was an inspiration to gay people around the world.
    No fully satisfactory history of GLF has ever been written. In some ways the earliest books were the best: Don Teal's The Gay Militants (1971) and Toby Marotta's The Politics of Homosexuality (1981).
    GLF deserves its place in history. This section contains material on the crucial first few months of GLF — material in danger of going down the memory hole. I am very busy now on other things, but in time I hope to expand it.   — John Lauritsen

    • ComeOut! was the first publication of the Gay Liberation Movement. For a facsimile reproduction of the first issue, 14 November 1969, click here.

    • Photos of GLF members in 1969 and 1970. To see them click here.

    • Ralph Hall's article, “Gettin' Right Down to the Real Nitty Gritty”, in Gay Power newspaper. To read it click here.

    • Leo Martello's article, “Gay Power in Pay Power”, in Gay Power newspaper. I do not agree with all of Leo's ideas, but his acerbic comments on the hypocritical “militants”  are on-target. To read it click here.

    • The First Gay Liberation Front Demonstration is an article I wrote for Gay Today, an electronic publication that was edited by the late Jack Nichols. It has in HTML form the lead article from the first issue of ComeOut! (which is also in facsimile form above). To read this article click here.

    • A Gay Liberation Front website is maintained by Nikos Diaman. To visit it click here.

    • The Red Butterfly.  For a brief account and documents of GLF's radical cell, click here.

   •  NEW: A silk screen poster by Juan Carlos Vidal for the Christopher Street Liberation Day march, June 1970, the first Gay Pride march.  I bought this from Juan and his friend Nestor in the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop.  It's wrinkled now, but will soon be professionally framed.  To view it full size, click this thumbnail:  


I write books and am proprietor of Pagan Press, a small book publisher.  Each of our books is unique and well produced.  Please check out the Pagan Press BOOKLIST  — John Lauritsen