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LAGPAC ceased operations in 2002, but Equality Louisiana is considered a successor of the organization. At its peak, LAGPAC also had chapters in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Acadiana, and influenced numerous elections. Meanwhile, it aimed to sway the larger Louisiana population to support equality for the state's gender and sexual minorities. Based in Alexandria, LAGPAC was a political organization that investigated the beliefs and stances of candidates running for public office and, through mailing lists, editorials (The Voter's Guide and The Lagniappe), and phone banking, encouraged its members to vote for candidates that were supportive of the LGBTQIA community. In 1980, the Louisiana Lesbian and Gay Political Action Caucus (LAGPAC) was created by a group of activists committed to attaining legal and social equality for Louisiana's gender and sexual minorities. The organization was active for approximately 3 years.
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In 1978, several Tulane Law students, along with other Tulane students, created a group known as “The Lambda Forum.” While primarily a social group, the organization did hold a sanctioned forum at the Law School, discussing Gay issues. The IMPACT newspaper (first issue, 1977) and the Faubourg Marigny Bookstore were also established in this decade. In 1975, the Gertrude Stein Society was established, becoming a local nexus for future gay rights activism in Louisiana. The attack, which was never officially solved by New Orleans police, was a historical marker for LGBT people in Louisiana, as memorialization of the victims by local clergy proved just as difficult as finding proper burials for the dead.
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However, on June 24, 1973, an arson attack on the club which provided room for the congregation to meet ended in 32 deaths from burning and smoke inhalation. Members of the Front also organized a local chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis as well as the first local LGBT-affirming Christian congregation, an informal meeting of the Big Easy Metropolitan Community Church, which began to meet at the UpStairs Lounge in the French Quarter. However, few remember that Decadence began with a group of straight and gay friends in the Faubourg Tremé neighborhood to celebrate the end of the long hot summers. Although it came from these modest beginnings, the Southern Decadence festival now covers an entire week of events, culminating with the annual parade in the French Quarter, generating millions of dollars for the city's economy. Īlso in 1972, the first celebrations of Southern Decadence began with several parties encouraging guests to "Come As Your Favorite Southern Decadent." Next year began the costumed walking parade, which became the focus in 1974 with the selection of a grand marshal. In 1972, the Tulane University Gay Students Union was established. It would not become openly known as a "gay pride" event until 1978, when the pride events became the annual Gay Pride New Orleans. In 1971, members of the Front presented a "Gay In" picnic in February in City Park. In 1970, the Gay Liberation Front of New Orleans was formed. In 1967, District Attorney Jim Garrison arrested Clay Shaw, a local openly homosexual businessman, and charged Shaw with conspiring to assassinate John F. Īfter the closure of a bar at the Lafitte Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon Street, gay patrons moved to a bar around the corner, known as the Café Lafitte in Exile, and turned the bar into the oldest gay bar in New Orleans. Other krewes formed despite the oppressive atmosphere, such as the Krewes of Amon-Ra, Ganymede, Armeinius, Apollo, Ishtar (the first lesbian krewe), and Olympus. The Krewe of Yuga disbanded after a police raid on their fifth ball in 1962, but the Krewe of Petronius continued to hold balls. The Krewe of Yuga was the first gay Carnival club in 1958, followed by the Krewe of Petronius in 1961. In 1949, the Fat Monday Luncheon, a private event for local gay men, was first held in New Orleans.