From
the
height
of
HIV
activism
in
the
early
’80s
to
the
fights
over
gay
relationship
recognition
since
2000,
the
front
pages
of
Southern
Voice
highlight
two
decades
of
lesbian
and
gay
people
fighting
to
survive
and
thrive
in
a
sometimes
hostile
world.
Along
the
way,
we’ve
told
countless
stories
of
people
who
battled
back
against
discrimination
through
the
courts,
in
the
streets,
or
at
the
ballot
box;
more
and
more
often,
these
inspiring
stories
have
happy
endings.
Take
a
look
back
at
some
of
the
biggest
front
page
news
from
the
last
20
years:
June
9,
1988
From
its
very
beginning,
Southern
Voice
devoted
extensive
coverage
to
the
AIDS
epidemic
and
continues
to
do
so
today.
More
than
20,000
people
visited
the
Names
Project
Foundation’s
AIDS
Memorial
Quilt
in
1988
when
it
came
to
Atlanta
over
Memorial
Day
weekend.
At
the
time,
it
had
about
2,000
panels.
Today,
the
Names
Quilt
makes
it
home
in
Atlanta
and
has
some
40,000
panels.
A
story
about
community
anger
over
a
police
crackdown
at
the
corner
of
Cypress
and
8th
Streets,
where
male
prostitutes
allegedly
gathered,
is
also
covered
in
this
issue.
Sept.
1,
1988
The
AIDS
Coalition
to
Unleash
Power,
or
ACT
UP,
was
very
active
in
Atlanta
in
the
late
1980s
and
early
1990s.
With
grassroots
chapters
around
the
country,
ACT
UP
made
headlines
for
its
direct
actions
and
acts
of
civil
disobedience.
At
this
demonstration,
ACT
UP
protested
former
store
Circle
K
for
policies
that
included
AIDS
among
a
list
of
problems
arising
from
“personal
lifestyle”
decisions.
May
11,
1989
The
Georgia
Department
of
Human
Resources
issued
a
special
recruitment
drive
to
attract
gay
and
lesbian
foster
parents
for
children
who
have
AIDS.
The
new
program,
Foster
Love,
ran
into
criticism
during
its
debut
presentation
before
the
Metropolitan
Atlanta
Council
of
Gay
&
Lesbian
Organizations
(MACGLO)
when
Foster
Love
representatives
indicated
the
removal
of
the
child
from
a
gay/lesbian
home
would
be
among
the
first
moves
the
agency
would
take
if
the
public
took
issue
with
the
sexual
orientation
of
the
foster
parents.
In
2008,
there
is
no
law
prohibiting
gay
Georgians
from
adopting
or
serving
as
foster
parents,
but
gay
activists
continue
to
worry
about
a
bill
one
day
being
proposed
to
ban
gay
foster
parents.
June
8,
1989
Gay
parents
lived
in
real
fear
of
losing
their
children
when
they
divorced
from
heterosexual
spouses.
Lesbian
mother
Leigh
VanderEls,
a
founder
of
Southern
Voice,
awaited
a
court
ruling
from
Clayton
County
Superior
Court
in
her
attempt
to
regain
custody
of
her
9-year
old
son.
VanderEls
appealed
a
1987
decision
by
a
judge
to
have
her
son
removed
from
her
care
because
she
is
gay.
VanderEls
finally
regained
custody
of
her
son
in
1996.
Jan.
4,
1990
Using
an
illustration
as
its
cover,
Southern
Voice
touted
the
“National
Demonstration
to
Repeal
the
Sodomy
Law”
planned
by
ACT
UP/Atlanta
to
demand
Georgia
lawmakers
repeal
the
state’s
sodomy
law.
A
rally
was
planned
at
the
Gold
Dome
as
well
as
at
the
Centers
for
Disease
Control.
In
1986,
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court
upheld
Georgia’s
anti-sodomy
law
in
Bowers
v.
Hardwick.
The
5-4
decision
in
made
it
illegal
to
be
a
sexually
active
gay
man
or
lesbian
in
Georgia,
until
the
Georgia
Supreme
Court
struck
down
the
state
sodomy
law
12
years
later.
June
21,
1990
Gay
visibility
was
a
key
issue
in
the
early
days
of
Southern
Voice.
Activist
Jay
McDonald
was
behind
the
plan
that
put
a
billboard
on
Interstate
75/85
that
proclaimed
“Gay
America
Loves
You”
as
part
of
Gay
Pride
month.
Aug.
1,
1991
ACT
UP/Atlanta
protested
at
the
CDC
where
two
people
were
arrested
after
handcuffing
themselves
to
the
front
doors.
ACT
UP
was
demanding
the
CDC
properly
educate
the
public
about
HIV
transmission.
Four
members
of
ACT
UP/Atlanta
also
broke
off
from
a
guided
tour
of
CNN
studios
and
disrupted
a
portion
of
a
live
Headline
News
broadcast
on
July
26.
Oct.
23,
1991
Georgia
Attorney
General
Michael
Bowers,
who
successfully
argued
to
keep
the
state’s
sodomy
laws
in
the
landmark
Bowers
v.
Hardwick
case,
became
a
defendant
when
sued
by
Robin
Shahar
on
Oct.
2.
Bowers
withdrew
his
job
offer
to
Shahar
after
learning
she
was
a
lesbian
and
planned
to
marry
her
partner.
Shahar
said
Bowers
violated
her
equal
...
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