July 18 Toronto David Foreman and […]
When
1977-07-18
Description
July 18 Toronto David Foreman and Bob Schisler, members of GATE (Toronto), were arrested after pasting posters on mailboxes. They were charged with unlawfully distributing handbills, a violation of a municipal by-law. The posters advertised a gay dance and a protest against Anita Bryant. On November 21, 1977, they were found guilty in Ontario Provincial Court of wilful damage and were fined $300 and sentenced to seven days in jail. (At the time of sentencing, Schisler was the president of Gays at Ryerson [GAR].) Members of GATE picketed the courthouse to protest police harassment. Foreman and Schisler appealed their conviction, and on May 10, 1978, County Court Judge Roger Conant refused to drop the charges but did reduce their sentences to a fine of $100 each. Foreman and Schisler appealed their conviction to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which on March 9, 1979, refused permission to appeal the conviction.
All Places
TorontoAll People
Roger ConantAnita BryantBob SchislerDavid ForemanAll Organizations
Ontario Court of AppealToronto Police ServiceRyerson Homophile Foundation, Gays at RyersonProvincial Court of Ontario / Ontario Court of JusticeGay Alliance toward Equality GATEAll Citations
Paul Trollope, "Postering Appeal Refused Hearing," Body Politic, no. 52 (1979), p. 11."There: Quebec Votes Rights But Here: Jailed for Posters," Metro Community News 4 (December 1977): 1"Sentence Too Harsh," Metro Community News 5 (2 June 1978) : 1"Poster-pasters Get Fines, Jail," Toronto Sun, 22 November 1977, p. 37Penny Poole, "GAR President Fined: $300 and Seven Days," Ryersonian (Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto), 22 November 1977, p. 1Robin Hardy, "Two Get Stiff Sentence for Postering," Body Politic, no. 40 (1978), p. 11"Fined, Jailed for Gay Posters!" Gay Rising, December 1977, pp. 1–2"A Day in Court," Gay Rising, 18 March 1978, pp. (2–4)"Court Upholds Conviction of Two for Postering: 'Wilful Damage,'" Gay Rising, 27 May 1978, p. 1"Court Upholds Conviction of Two for Postering," Body Politic, no. 44 (1978), p. 6
