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Philadelphia Plans for Huge LGBT Rights 50th Anniversary Celebration Next Year

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Leaders in Philadelphia's LGBT community joined Mayor Nutter today to announce plans for the 50th anniversary celebration of the LGBT civil rights movement.

It was July 4, 1965 when 40 gay and lesbian protesters stood outside Independence Hall in what is believed to be the nation's first protest for LGBT civil rights.

Malcolm Lazin, chair of the 50th anniversary celebration (at lectern in photo), notes that it was an act of tremendous courage at the time.

"The homophobia was just toxic, and it certainly prevented people from being out in the open at the time," he said today at the Independence Visitors' Center, at Sixth and Market Streets.  He says gay pioneers rallied each Independence Day near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, from 1965 to 1969.

"At the time  it was a crime to engage in same-sex intimacy, even the privacy of their own home," says Lazin.  "We were, without any scientific basis, declared mentally ill.  And the federal government would not hire any person who was openly gay or lesbian."

Fifty years later, so much has changed.  Same-sex marriage is legal in most states, LGBT couples have access to spousal health and related benefits, and many states have laws that ban discrimination against LGBT people.

Mayor Michael Nutter says Fourth of July is the perfect time and Philadelphia the perfect place to celebrate all of these achievements.

"We own the 4th of July," Nutter said today.  "It happened here, and this is the place where everyone will want to be." He  notes that Philadelphia has been named one of the most LGBT-friendly cities in America.

Tens of thousands are expected to attend the 2015 festivities.

"It'll mean more people, more spending, and more focus on civil rights," says Nutter.  "This city is about tolerance."

The LGBT 50th anniversary celebration will take place July 2nd through 4th, and will include panel discussions, receptions, and a one-hour salute on Independence Day. Details at LGBT50th.org

 

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