The largest wave of lesbian and gay
activism in Montreal since 1977 took place
this July, as the community coalesced to
protest police violence against lesbians and
gay men.

Early in the morning of July 15th,
police arrived at the scene of a private loft
party attended by hundreds of lesbians and
gay men. In dispersing the crowd, the po-
licebecame violent, swinging clubs, hitting
and punching, and shoving members of the
crowd to the ground. Many of the police
officers shouted anti-gay epithets while
attacking the crowd, and several removed
their badges to avoid identification.

The attack prompted a series of dem-
onstrations that dominated much of the
Montreal news over the next two weeks.
The next evening a large non-violent dem-
onstration blocked traffic in the middle of
the gay "village" in Montreal's East End.

But the following day Montreal was
shocked when a demonstration at Police
Station 25 turned violent. Forty-eight pro-
testers were arrested as police forcibly
broke up the crowd. In front of TV cameras,
the police beat demonstrators without

 

 

Mayhem inntreal

provocation. Many of the officers wore la-
tex gloves and removed their badges before
attacking the crowd. Several by-standers
were also injured, and one protester was
sent to the hospital after being kicked and
hit in the groin repeatedly with a club.
Several protesters reported both verbal and
physical harassment while being held in
police vans, and both male and female
arrestees had their breasts and genitals
fondled by police officers.

The outcry over these events forced
the police to acknowledge the demonstra-
tors’ demands for an investigation of the
police behaviour, lesbian and gay represen-
tation on the police/community relations
commission, and educational efforts for the
officers. Another peaceful demonstration
produced assurances from the Chief of po-
lice and city government officials that these
demands would be negotiated.

Finally, on July 29, a crowd of more
than 2,000 staged a march and rally to
protest the events and bring the community
together. Demonstrations also took place in
cities across Canada, and at Quebec gov-
emment offices in London and New York.

September 1990

 
 

The events marked "an end of the
complacency that lesbian and gay Montre-
alers have lived with since 1977" (when
police bar raids prompted street riots and
the passage of civil rights legislation) said
Ken Monteith, an activist who was among
those harassed at the party and later beaten
at Station 25. "The police riot woke up a lot
of people who never thought about their
own oppression before...and by all early
signs, they aren't going to quietly forget it."

Ed  (frompage 2)

we do exist. We need to do this so that
education in this country doesn't exclude
our experiences, so that young people see
that there are a vast number of options and
possibilities to being gay, lesbian or bisex-
ual. This is why we need to fightcensorship
wherever it may occur, and especially
within ourselves. Our experiences as hu-
man beings are as valid and important as
those of anyone else. We need to remind
oursclves of that fact, and act on it con-
stantly as we define ourselves and, in so
doing, redefine the society around us.

lNNKEEPERS:_ BOARDWG

Peter and
Ron

Sty/e

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Warmth
Charm

ANIMAL INN

Tranquil
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RD #1,

CLAUDIA COOK

BOX 1980, FAIRFAX, VT 05454
802-524-4574

CAROL SKON

‘Vermont

802 2548263

Centegor C)
Tsyc osyntfiesis
Counseling and Education

Michael Gigante, Ph.D.

P. O. Box 195, Marlboro, Vermont 05344

FAMI
THE

 

Susan Franz, M.A.
Kate O'Brien, M.S.
Psychotherapists

lndlvldual
Couples
Family
Group

15 Pincecrest Drive Essex Jupction, VT 05452 802/878-4399

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