The Early 1990s
1990
The overt tension between balloons or picket signs finally began to settle down for the next several years and the Pride Parade/March and Freedom Rally rolled out smoothly as celebration and protest co-existed more compatibly, perhaps because the movement was still under serious attack despite making rapid progress.
“Gays Celebrate in a Militant Mood” proclaimed the June 25 headline in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The article attributed the feisty attitude of the parade/march to a failed bombing attempt at Neighbours Nightclub and Lounge, a popular queer dance club in Seattle’s vibrant Capitol Hill.
In 1990, the lesbian/gay community was fighting many issues: conservative politician Jesse Helms’s attempt to censor creativity through massive funding cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts; the bitter defeat of human rights protections in Tacoma following an ugly rightwing antigay campaign; and attempts by fundamentalists to destroy Seattle’s new domestic partners ordinance which allowed non-married partners of city employees to receive the same range of benefits afforded married city employees.
The poster proclaimed, “Unite for Freedom! Lesbian and Gay Rights NOW!”
Police estimated participants at 3,000. The FDC counted the crowd at over 25,000.
1991
In coverage following the 1991 parade/march, the Seattle Times writes, “While some committee members believe the group is inordinately swayed by a feisty far-left faction, the committee certainly reflects the gay community . . .” The Times goes on to say administrative assistant for the Freedom Socialist Party Chris Smith’s overriding concern is that the event does not lose its political edge. The Times adds that the pride march has become the city’s second largest behind the Seafair Torchlight Parade. All attendance records were broken as over 50,000 people participated in “Hands Together in Peace and Pride.”
African American Sergeant 1st Class Perry Watkins opened the rally with an announcement of his victory against the U.S. Army which had dishonorably thrown him out for being gay. Journalist Sandy Nelson, with the Freedom Socialist Party, spoke about her lawsuit against the Tacoma News Tribune which removed her from her reporting job because of her off-duty activism in support of gay rights. Musicians Laura Love and Lisa Koch energized the crowd with an angry song about death and destruction from AIDS.
1992
The words Bisexual and Transgender were added to the official name of the annual event. This could have been a split issue, but FDC called a queer community meeting and 300 people showed up. In keeping with the FDC’s commitment to diversity, the organizers proposed the name change and it was vigorously debated. When the vote was taken adding the two words, bisexual and transgender, it passed with a large majority.
Marchers paraded under the 1992 theme “Honoring Our Past, Reaching for Our Future! Equal Rights and Liberation!”
Two new contingents in the parade/march drew unusual attention: a Seattle fire truck decked out with lesbian firefighters, and the humorous and very handsome group of “Women Often Mistaken for Men in Public Restrooms.”
The rally featured powerful speeches from three prominent lesbians: Urvashi Vaid, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Merle Woo, fired from her teaching position at U.C. Berkeley for her outspoken support for lesbian/gay rights and her radical Freedom Socialist Party politics; and U.S. Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer recently drummed out of the National Guard for being a lesbian. Local politicians Cal Anderson and City Council Woman Sherry Harris joined them on the rally stage. A gay Filipino dance troupe entertained with a flamboyant version of a traditional wedding dance.
The Seattle Gay News estimated the crowd at 60,000. The Seattle Police Department claimed it was 35,000.
1993
On April 25, 1 million people descended on Washington, D.C., for the 3rd March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Closer to home, the rightwing Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA), headed by Lon Mabon, threatened to extend its rapidly growing anti-gay ballot box campaign to Washington State. But the lesbian/gay movement met the challenge head-on.
In response to the OCA’s plans, the newly formed group Hands Off Washington indicated its intention to stop them at the state’s southern border. Bigot Busters, initiated by the Portland Radical Women chapter, started organizing to ask voters not to sign the OCA’s discriminatory petitions.
The Freedom Day Committee, with Trish Throop as an even-handed and hardworking co-chair, announced it was “A Simple Matter of Justice” and the marchers danced, some with picket signs, down Broadway.
Washington State Governor Mike Lowery addressed the rally and declared, “If one person’s civil rights are abused, then everyone’s civil rights are endangered.” Chris Smith of the Freedom Socialist Party called for the release of Steve Farmer, fighting for his life, imprisoned for seven years, and suffering from AIDS. Tony award-winning actor Harvey Fierstein joined the Seattle Men’s Chorus to assure the crowd that everyone was loved.
A record 70,000 people attended the event. The police estimate was 15,000.
1994
Two rightwing initiatives--608 and 610--dominated the political landscape during 1994, drawing many people into the fight. Bigot Busters and Hands Off Washington succeeded in preventing both anti-gay measures from gathering enough signatures to qualify for the general election.
At the same time, Seattle held its most successful event ever, with an attendance comparable to that of the previous year. For the first time the march included Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, whose presence launched a storm of criticism from rightwing bigots.