See how a powerless gay community in 1972 fought the police and City Hall protesting Vice Squad round-ups of gay men and harassment of the gay and lesbian community—and won!
Hear the 1973 voices of the community at City Council refuse to back down from threats of arrest, and eventually win over a majority of City Council—during those times of extreme homophobia and heterosexism.
Watch how a few began to bring gay liberation to Denver and quickly built, from the grass roots, a broad based, highly developed gay community with its own supportive institutions.
Learn how this strong foundation was the essential first step that led to several stunning gay rights landmarks, such as the 1990 Colorado case, Romer v. Evans, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. (Lambda Legal: “…the single most positive Supreme Court ruling in the history of the gay rights movement…”) and cited 7 times in support by Judge Vaughn Walker in his right-to-marry ruling striking down Proposition 8. The decision was also cited in the Ninth Circuit’s affirmation of Judge Walker’s ruling.
The documentary is available for viewing and purchase at DenverGayRevolt.com.
About Gerald Gerash, who made the documentary:
Attorney Gerald Gerash could be appropriately be called one of the founding fathers of Denver’s gay community. Whenever he saw a gap, he tried to fill it. When we had no community center, he made sure we got one. When gay groups were splintered and unorganized in the early 1970s, he brought them together under one roof. When laws were used to discriminate against gays, he helped put an end to it.
In 1975 he helped form UNITY, the first-ever umbrella oranization for gay groups to share information and work towards common goals. Out of that group sprang the Gay Community Center of Colorado—an organization of which Gerash is credited as being the founder.
—From the April 11, 1986 article in Out Front (10th anniversary issue) by Phil Price,
editor and publisher, “The Ten Most Influential People In Our Community”
In 2010, Gerash was honored as a Grand Marshal of Denver’s 35th annual PrideFest.