34 Years Ago in TIME

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The prospect of legal marriage between same-sex couples took a hit last week when President Bush asserted his opposition, but in the late 1960s, HOMOSEXUALS were fighting for more modest legal victories, which TIME chronicled in a cover story:

Last week's report to the National Institute of Mental Health urged legalization of private homosexual acts between adults who agree to them. It was the latest sign that the militants are finding grudging tolerance and some support in the "straight" community. The Federal Appeals Court in Washington, for example, has responded to a recent case by declaring that a governmental agency could not dismiss an employee without first proving that his homosexuality would palpably interfere with the efficiency of the agency's operations. The New York Times, which for years shied from the word homosexual, in June permitted a homosexual writing under his own name to contribute an article on "gay" themes in theater. In large cities, homosexuals have reached tacit agreements with police that give them the de facto right to their own social life.
--TIME, Oct. 31, 1969