form at all. This disposes, I think, of the rather fatuous comments on drag, leather, camp, smut, and sophistication and, more subtly, of the comments on lack of leadership.

Our demonstrations have been sober, serious, dignified, orderly, highlydisciplined, fully lawful ones, by conservatively-dressed (suits, white shirts, ties for men; dresses for women), well-groomed men and

women.

When we picketed to protest Federal employment policies, for example, we saw to it that we looked employable— by employers' standards, which is what is relevant here. The signs carried, the press releases and leaflets distributed, etc., have presented our case, our philosophy, our position in carefullyworded, non-sensational terms.

However, our primary purpose, in picketing, apparently totally missed by Mr. Conger, was to attempt to correct the abuses against which we picketed. Our purposes in picketing at the Civil Service Commission building, was to bring an end to the Federal Government's disqualification of homosexuals; at the Pentagon, to change the policies of the Armed Services toward the homosexual citizen and the homosexual serviceman; etc. We have very good reason to believe that we were not totally without success in this.

It should be pointed out that almost every demonstration was preceded by at least two months of correspondence (up to three years, in several cases) in which our grievances were pointed out, conferences and meetings were requested, advance notice of the demonstration was given, with the clearlymade statement that "we prefer negotiations and discussion to demonstration; but it takes two to negotiate and discuss; we are always ready."

Surely Mr. Conger does not expect us, having tried every door, and having traversed every other avenue of recourse, to accept the second-class status, the total dismissal of us as citizens,

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and as worthwhile human beings, and the implied contempt-to accept these with no response other than to crawl away, silently. Homosexuals have been doing far too much of this for far too many years. We feel that, all other possible avenues for redress of grievance being exhausted, we have the same right, in propriety, as have all other citizens and human beings, to make public protest in this fashionand that such protest is fully in order and tactfully advisable.

We feel that our demonstrations have shown careful and responsible leadership, by responsible leaders, of responsible people and responsible organizations. We feel that our demonstrations do, indeed, show the utmost of social responsibility. We know what leadership truly is, what the goals of the homophile movement are, and how responsible persons should best go about attaining those goals. We are doing so. We know what sensible and considered action is; we are taking it. We know, also, what mature reflection and trained observation are. Our demonstrations are the result of them. We have not undertaken picketing lightly or casually, either in consideration of the principles and possible consequences involved, or in formulation of the details of the actual performance. Reactions have been good, whether from the public, from the news media, from the police, from members of other non-homophile organizations (such as the ACLU), or elsewhere.

—

For too long, too much of the efforts of the homophile movement have been devoted to homosexuals talking with and to homosexuals about homosexuality or heterosexuals talking with and to homosexuals about homosexuality. It is about time that homosexuals talked to heterosexuals about homosexuality-and "talking" included radio and TV appearances and picketing.

Now, for what Mr. Conger does not