Turns out today, Sunday June 24th, 2012, is the 39th anniversary of the largest mass-murder of gay men in the history of the United States. Back on this day in 1973, someone firebombed the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans that was holding church services for the Metropolitan Community Church – one of the only open and accepting churches in the United States for gay people. And because the exists weren’t marked well, and many of the windows were boarded up (the area was also a bar), 32 men lost their lives, including the preacher.
Shows that we haven’t come that far, and we still have so much farther to go.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there was no-one ever charged, nor convicted of the crime.
Toweleroad has the info, and links to more.