Joel Dorius, one of three gay men who were charged with possession of pornography in obscenity raids under Eisenhower in 1960, has died in San Francisco at 87. This is one story that wakes you up to the advances we have achieved, for this was a career-buster then: “What they found _ pictures of men in their underwear and diaries of the closeted gay life _ were mild by today's standards but considered illegal pornography then.”
The three professors involved were suspended from their jobs at Smith College. Said Dorius' friend: “Younger folks can't imagine how different the world was not so long ago, and the price people paid. Joel and his generation suffered ignominies, but have made life easier for those who follow after them.”
Seven-week, nationwide campaign by gay and lesbian Vets to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” kicks off today at Harvard.
