A Different Fiftieth Anniversary

On 14 December 1969, mere months after Stonewall, Grace Cathedral once again became the site of acrimonious controversy over the gay community’s demands for recognition and visibility. During Sunday morning worship, Richard Daller, an acolyte at the Cathedral, presented a gay rights manifesto from the Church's lectern, calling for it to take a more forceful stance against state-sanctioned homophobia. Delivered in lieu of the liturgy, and without pretext or warning, Daller’s address critiqued the Church’s ambivalent attitude towards gay rights: "I have seen and heard too many injustices done to the homosexual in my days, coming in contact with them in the U.S. Navy and also while living in the cities of New York and San Francisco. I am appalled that it has lasted this long without the church doing something constructive about it".