75,000 gays march in Washington for equal rights

By Richard G. Zimmerman

Plain Dealer bureau

WASHINGTON -"Oh my God!" exclaimed the woman tourist, "not from Cleveland, too!"

Yes, from Cleveland, too. And from such small Ohio towns as Troy and Middletown and as far away as Alaska and Hawaii.

The U.S. Park Police estimated that 75,000 gay males and lesbians marched peaceably down Pennsylvania Ave. here yesterday to rally on the grounds of the Washington monument. They were demanding what minorities have been demanding from governments for ages: the right to be treated equally and the right to be left alone.

"We are everywhere," cried a speaker, and for five hours in: Washington that was a very accurate observation.

"Gays are everywhere," echoed another, adding, “even in Columbus, Ohio.'

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The Ohio, contingent, including about 130 from Cleveland marching under their own banner, was one of the larger state groups and certainly one of the most vocal. All along the march route the chant of “Gimme an O, gimme an H, gimme an I, gimme an O," could be heard.

The rally, the first of its kind here, was officially called "the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.” And, as many lavender banners noted, this year also is the 10th anniversary of the police raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a gay bar. The patrons of the bar rioted against police harassment for the first time and the militant gay movement was born.

"Stonewall means fight back," proclaimed many banners.

Organizers of the march had hoped to turn out 100,000 demonstrators and doubly hoped that the crowd would be representative of ̈ all elements of the homosexual community rather than only of the more bizarre factions.

While the crowd was not as large as hoped, it was impressive, orderly and rather sedate compared to similar marches in such gay capitals as San Francisco.

Except for much hand-holding and other signs of affection between members of the same sex, the mostly youthful marchers could have been drawn from the ranks of those who protested against the Vietnam War in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

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Participants in a march sponsored by the National Gay Task Force file

past the White House.

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