The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus

​By the mid-1970s, Pennsylvania had a large number of LGBTQ+ organizations located in small cities and towns and on college campuses. Governor Milton Shapp was a strong supporter of gay rights and he established one of the first government organizations whose goal was to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. “The Governor’s Task Force on Sexual Minorities” was formed in 1974 by Shapp and was comprised of government officials and members of LGBTQ+ communities across Pennsylvania who would advise state agencies on improving public policy for the LGBTQ+ population. ​It soon became clear that the concerns and needs of LGBTQ+ communities in large urban areas (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) were much different than those living in rural areas (anywhere outside Philadelphia or Allegheny County). Thus, in 1975, the Rural Gay Caucus was formed. Its purpose was to inform the committee on issues LGBTQ+ people faced in rural areas in Pennsylvania. 

The title of the television documentary and this 1966 primary brochure heralded Shapp as “The Man Against the Machine.” Pennsylvania State Archives/MG-309

"LE-HI-HO (Lehigh Valley Homophile Organization, Bethlehem/Allentown): One of the oldest LGBTQ+ organizations in Pennsylvania, first convening in June 1969. The goal of the group was to provide social engagement for LGBTQ+ people, outside of gay bars, in the Lehigh Valley region. They published monthly newspapers announcing social gatherings and field trips, activist opportunities, national news on the Gay Liberation Movement, and eventually HIV/AIDS information. It was part of the Caucus until October 1976, due to a breakdown of productivity because of infighting amongst the groups; and rejoined in April 1977. 

Susquehanna Valley Gays United (SVGU, Northumberland): Founded in 1976 by Sam Edmiston and Sam Deetz. The SVGU was pivotal in organizing the first Gay Education Day.

Gay Coordinating Society of Berks County (G. C. S., Reading): Founded in December of 1974 and was a LGBTQ+ organization in the Berks County area and a fundamental part of the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus. They published a newsletter which informed community members of state-wide and local LGBTQ+ issues.

Gay League of Lebanon: was an LGBTQ+ organization located mainly in Lebanon, PA. It was founded in 1976, and was a member organization of the PA Rural Gay Caucus. 

Gays United of Lancaster (GUL, Lancaster): Founded in the mid-1970s by a beautician named Bari Weaver. One of the major LGBTQ+ groups in Pennsylvania at the time, and a founding member unit of the Caucus. 

Gay Students at Shippensburg (Shippensburg State College): The Gay Students at Shippensburg had extremely high interest in the Rural Gay Caucus. Because of this at Shippensburg State College they were able to host some of the Rural Gay Caucus meetings. They were able to host them in the Student Union Building.  When the Caucus was being threatened of its existence. It is because of the “high interest” of this group and the determination that the Caucus would be able to continue that the Caucus was able to meet in Shippensburg in order to “heal wounds”. And to continue the missions of the Caucus. The Gay Students at Shippensburg State College passed a nondiscriminatory clause which was passed by the Student Senate and supported by the Commonwealth Association of Students. What the nondiscriminatory clause said specifically was not stated.  

Gay League of Edinboro (Edinboro State College): Small LGBTQ+ organization located on Edinboro State College campus.

Gay League of Indiana (Indiana University of Pennsylvania): Small LGBTQ+ organization located on Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus.

Gay Students at West Chester (West Chester State College): West Chester State University was the first of the 14 state-owned campuses to include "sexual orientation" in its official antidiscrimination policy, thanks to the efforts of Gay Students of West Chester. Drawing from both students and the surrounding local community, group members lobbied for inclusion and LGBT rights. The group established a small telephone counseling and referral line staffed by members during their evening meetings. Members particularly emphasized the importance of education in the form of easily accessible resources for gay students and inclusion in the curriculum. The group is still active today under the name LGBTQIA+ Caucus.

Dignity, Central Pennsylvania (for gay Catholics, Harrisburg): Dignity/USA was and still is an organization LGBTQ+ Catholics and friends that aims to provide a safe space for people of all sexual and gender identities in the eyes of God and the Church. The Central Pennsylvania chapter of Dignity was chartered in 1975, though the members began meeting in 1974. Dignity/Central PA is now considered “the oldest continually operating LGBT organization in Central Pennsylvania.”

Metropolitan Community Church, Harrisburg (non-denominational): Founded in 1980 by Reverend Bruce Hughes and Gary Norton. The aims of the church were to create a space that included everybody– LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and people of all races. They strive to use inclusive language in all of their spiritual work and deeply value diversity.

Gay Community Services (GCS, Harrisburg): Formed in 1973 by activist Jerry Brennan when he became discontented with the centrality of bars to the social life of the gay community in Harrisburg. No records from the group itself have survived, but its goal was to provide an opportunity for socializing and politically organizing outside of the gay bar scene. Comprised of around 10-15 members, the group discussed unmet needs among the gay community in Harrisburg, coming up with two major areas that were lacking: spiritual and social-emotional needs. To help fill these needs, the group recommended the establishment of a crisis hotline, a spiritual and social venue where gay members could worship, and an informational organization to point individuals to LGBT resources.

Gay Switchboard of Harrisburg: Later renamed the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg, was established in April 1975 by the GCS. A hotline for crisis situations and information about the local gay community, it was initially located in the garage of a house belonging to a gay couple at Verbeke and Penn streets. It would move several times over its existence until settling into its final location in a building at North and Verbeke Streets. Though the volunteers that staffed it were not social workers, they were trained in handling crisis situations by CONTACT, a social service organization. Throughout the years, the Switchboard provided invaluable services to the community and connected gay individuals throughout Harrisburg by referring them to appropriate resources, community events, or just providing someone to talk to. The Switchboard shut down shortly after the turn of the century, as the Internet began taking over the role of such services.

North Eastern Pennsylvania Gay Association (NEPGA, Wilkesbarre): Founded in the early 1970s, the North Eastern Pennsylvania Gay Association was a major LGBT+ organization serving the north-east of Pennsylvania. Publishing a monthly newsletter, the group connected LGBT individuals in the area, organized many local activities and educational outreach, and reportedly formed a singing group that performed locally.

Homophiles of Penn State (HOPS, State College): Officially titled “The Other Vision: Homophiles of Penn State” but commonly shortened to HOPS, was the first gay student organization on the Penn State campus. It emerged out of a "free university" course entitled Homosexuality: A Growing Subculture, when a group of students attending the class had the idea to create a campus group for the community. On April 20, 1971, the Penn State Undergraduate Student Supreme Court awarded the group its official charter. Yet weeks after receiving this charter, Raymond O. Murphy, acting vice president for Student Affairs suspended the group’s privileges and tore down all its promotional material as the “legality” of the group was under investigation. Despite pushback from prominent homophile leaders Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny, Murphy revoked the group’s charter. HOPS would not be deterred, however, continuing to host meetings on and off campus and growing to over 60 members. They filed a suit against the administration in February 1972, regaining their charter. Although records of its activities are sporadic after its reinstatement, it continued to host gay events on campus, including a 1972 Gay Awareness Festival. It ceased operation in the early 80s, but was succeeded by the numerous campus gay organizations that it led the way for in the years following.

Source:

 "PA Rural Gay Caucus 'Identifying the Rural Gay Caucus' Flier", LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection, Archives and Special Collections at Dickinson College.
"​PA Rural Gay Caucus Report", LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection, Archives and Special Collections at Dickinson College.  

"You might ask, ‘Who were these lobbyists?' Well, they were teachers, laborers, coal miners (female), counselors, ministers, shipping foremen, computer analysts, sociologists, accountants, and many more. They were women and men, young and old, single and married, parents and children. Most importantly, they were all people with a mission and a willingness to work for it.”​ -Gay Lobby Day Report, 1976 

Unfortunately, senate bill 743 was overwhelmingly passed in the Senate, and would pass easily in the House. The reason is clear: votes. The post-event report found that many Senators voted ‘yes’ without thinking or reading the bill. However, the lobbyists raised the consciousness of Senators and lawmakers, so that the next time they would think first. Some legislators even said that they had changed their viewpoints after talking with lobbyists. 

Image: "Gay Lobby Day Report," April 11, 1976, LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection, Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections. 

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was made up of passionate activists whose work built the foundation for its successes. These individuals' stories tell us the broader narrative of the Caucus, and we gain a better understanding of the organization's challenges and triumphs through their experiences. Here are some of the key players that worked to advance LGBT rights in Central PA through and with the Caucus (and we recognize that this list is by no means exhaustive and many more were influential in the fight for gay rights in Pennsylvania).

Samuel Deetz was born in Quakertown, Pennsylvania in 1951. He became a strong advocate in the Susquehanna Valley Gays United (SGVU), and also instrumental in organizing and arranging meetings in order for other gay and lesbians groups to blossom within their own communities. He was one of the founding members of the PA Rural Gay Caucus and was instrumental in organizing the first Gay Education Day in Harrisburg.  

Joe Burns has been active in LGBTQ+ marches, organizations, and protests from the 60s through to the 80s and 90s. Through his involvement in such Rural Gay Caucus groups as the Gay Coordinating Society of Berks County and Le-Hi-Ho, he participated in an attempt to pass a gay rights ordinance for the Lehigh Valley area through the Human Rights Commission. Unfortunately, it appeared that the area was not yet ready for such a measure, and this attempt failed. As Burns recalls, the city solicitor made a judgment that gay rights were “not legal in the state” and “exceed[ed] the authority” of the Human Rights Commission.

He emphasizes the importance of intersectionality within the LGBTQ+​ movement and respecting the voices of women and people of color, and speaks at length about how his experiences in central Rural Gay Caucus activism, especially in the Gay Coordinating Society of Berks County, deepened his admiration for female leaders in the community. He recalls being guided by a maxim repeated by Dixie White, president of Pennsylvania NOW: “Don’t put in today’s world what you don’t want in tomorrow’s world.” As for the Coordinating Society of Berks County, Burns notes that it was unusually gender-balanced for its time, observing that “at times, there were more women than there were men, and that was pretty rare, in those days.” His memories reveal that although there was an awkwardness produced by the differences between gay men and lesbians, including lesbians’ more pronounced differentiation into the categories “butch” or “femme,” but ultimately it appears that these differences were productive, leading to learning opportunities for both groups.

​​LGBT Oral History 12A: Joseph W. Burns. LGBT History Project, Archives & Special Collections at Waidner-Spahr Library, Dickinson College.

Image: Bari Weaver (left), Sam Deetz (middle), and Joseph W. Burns (right) at dinner - circa 1988. LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection. LGBT History Project, Archives & Special Collections at Waidner-Spahr Library, Dickinson College.

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was actively involved in protests against Anita Bryant. Bryant, who was an American singer and anti-gay activist, led a campaign in 1977 called "Save Our Children," in which she advocated for the repeal of an ordinance instituted in Florida which restricted discrimination against one's sexual orientation.