February 27, 2009
Home of gay activist Kameny named DC landmark
David Foucher READ TIME: 1 MIN.
The Washington, D.C., home regarded as the epicenter of the city's gay rights movement is being designated a historic landmark.
The home belongs to 83-year-old Franklin E. Kameny, who is considered the "father of gay activism" by the Historic Preservation Review Board.
Kameny fought in World War II, earned a doctorate and then moved to D.C. to work as an astronomer. But he was fired by the Army Map Service in 1957 for being gay.
In 1961, Kameny argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that a federal policy calling homosexuals a security risk was "no less odious than discrimination based upon religious or racial grounds." It was the first civil rights claim in a U.S. court based on sexual orientation.
Kameny says he's touched by the recognition.
David Foucher is the CEO of the EDGE Media Network and Pride Labs LLC, is a member of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association, and is accredited with the Online Society of Film Critics. David lives with his daughter in Dedham MA.
