Born of Mary

The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) is holding its 20th anniversary weekend gathering in York from 10 to 13 September 1999.

GALHA was founded twenty years ago in the aftermath of the notorious prosecution for blasphemous libel brought against Gay News by Mrs Mary Whitehouse. Whitehouse was a leading light of the homophobic Christian pressure group the Nationwide Festival of Light (now renamed Christian Action, Research and Education). She complained publicly that “everything good and true” that “every decent person believes in” was being undermined by “the humanist gay lobby”. No such lobby existed at the time, but one was born in August 1979 in Brighton.

The keynote speaker at the GALHA gathering, which is being held at a York hotel, is William McIlroy, a former General Secretary of the National Secular Society and former editor of the secular humanist magazine The Freethinker. This is highly appropriate as Mr McIlroy was the speaker at the group’s Brighton launch.

GALHA’s Secretary, George Broadhead, commented: “In terms of longevity, GALHA is a baby compared to its kindred organisations in the Humanist movement, some of which date back to the last century. However, we are now one the longest established national membership lesbian and gay campaigning groups in the UK. Although Mary Whitehouse is long retired, plenty more religious homophobes like Baroness Young have taken her place. GALHA will continue to play a part in trying to counter their malign influence.”