Threatened with a dishonorable discharge and even time in the brig, the man wrote to the Mattachine Society seeking help, not wanting to face discipline for 'being the way I am.' “I hope you can help me,” one Marine Corps private wrote in early 1969, “I told my commanding officer that I am gay.” Kameny, as president of the Mattachine Society of Washington, an early gay rights organization, fielded letters, offered advice and helped workers appeal their dismissals or mount a legal challenge.
They wrote to him seeking help after having been interrogated or fired, denied a security clearance or threatened with dishonorable discharge. (Photo by Kay Tobin, courtesy New York Public Library Digital Collections)īy the late 1960s, Frank Kameny was receiving regular letters from men and women around the country, all employed in the federal civil service or the United States military. Organzing public protests was one of many steps Kameny took to fight for the rights of LGBT Americans. Frank Kameny marches during a protest outside Independence Hall in 1965.
