National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Historical Overview

The mission of NGLTF, as defined in 1973 and maintained until the present day, states that NGLTF dedicates its activities to building the grassroots political power of the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transsexual (LGBT) community. It addresses its actions toward federal and state politics in order to eradicate discrimination and create full equality. There are three chosen ways to accomplish this: training (provided for the community and the society), organizing social and political campaigns, and (self-) organizing to achieve better effectiveness.

NGLTF quickly became an effective and high-profile organization. It was the first gay organization to be granted an official audience at the White House. In 1975, two other significant events occurred. The first was a change in the law: From that year on, the U.S. Civil Service amended its recruitment policy to allow all gay people to serve in government employment. In the same year, NGLTF successfully managed to convince the National Council of Churches to proclaim a resolution that clearly condemned discrimination based on sexual orientation. The change in recruitment policy and the new resolution, acts that were both practical and symbolic, had an important influence on general attitudes toward gay people. Two years later, in 1977, NGLTF achieved another success, this time in terms of (self-) organization and mobilization. In response to the homophobic crusade “Save Our Children,” organized by former Miss America Anita Bryant, NGLTF managed to collect $1 million for their own campaign, “We Are Your Children.”

In the next decade, the 1980s, NGLTF's activities intensified as new challenges arose for the gay and lesbian community. In response to those needs, NGLTF dedicated itself to fight antigay violence and the broad social backlash, which were connected with the epidemic of HIV and AIDS and intensified during the highly conservative administrations of President Ronald Reagan and President George H. W Bush. In 1995, NGLTF launched one of its current key initiatives, the Policy Institute, responsible for the preparation of information about LGBT civil rights. The series of reports and surveys began with “Capital Gains and Losses: A State-by-State Review of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV/AIDS-Related Legislation.” NGLTF reached the peak of its [Page 597]activity in 2000, building a budget of more than $4 million and having over 30 full-time employees.