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Buy Frank Kameny A Drink

By Lynne DeVenny

The Washington Blade reports that a new Facebook page ?Buy Frank a Drink? (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buy-Frank-A-Drink/154981487882949) has been set up to benefit 85-year old Frank Kameny, best known for his work with the gay rights movement.

Kameny, a World War II combat veteran, has been credited with starting a paralegal service to help gay and lesbian service members under investigation for their sexual orientation in the 1970s, becoming the first known gay-run effort to stop gays from being discharged from the military. The paralegal service was one of many Kameny initiatives and advocacy campaigns he organized over the years on behalf of LGBT rights.

Ben Carver, the Helping Our Brothers and Sisters (HOBS) volunteer responsible for creating the page, asks supporters to donate $10, ?the price of a nice cocktail,? to toast and thank Kameny for his work over his lifetime. The group says Kameny is struggling to make ends meet on a small pension and has had difficulty managing his finances. To date, HOBS has paid his utility bills and provided for his basic needs.

Kameny made history by filing the first civil rights claim based on sexual orientation, after the U.S. Civil Service Commission fired him in 1957 from his job as an astronomer in the Army Map Service, for being homosexual. According to Wikipedia:

On June 29, 2009, John Berry (Director of the Office of Personnel Management) formally apologized to Kameny on behalf of the United States government. Berry, who is openly gay, presented Kameny with the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the department?s most prestigious award.

If you?d like to buy Frank Kameny a drink, go to http://www.helpingourbrothersandsisters.com/donate.html

Source: Washington Blade

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on January 02, 2011 (boomark / email).