ONE, Inc. published and distributed ONE: The Homosexual Magazine starting in 1953, an early pro-gay publication. The US Post Office and the FBI began a campaign of harassment and LA Postmaster Otto Olesen declared the October 1954 issue "obscene, lewd, lascivious, and filthy" and refused to mail it citing the Comstock Act of 1873.
Attorney Eric Julber filed a suit against the postmaster in US District Court, seeking an injunction. In March 1956 US District Judge Thurmond Clarke ruled for the Olesen, stating that homosexuals should not be granted special privileges.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision in February 1957. Julber filed a petition with the US Supreme Court on June 13, 1957. On January 13, 1958, the Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit's decision. It was the first Supreme Court ruling to deal with homosexuality and the first to address free speech rights with respect to homosexuality.
No comments:
Post a Comment