Graph Legend
4 Events
4 Places
2 People
2 Orgs
9 Titles
January 17 Windsor, Ont. Gail […]
When
1979-01-17
Description
January 17 Windsor, Ont. Gail (Gayle) Bezaire, a lesbian mother, was granted custody of her two children. This was allowed only under strict guidelines that would prevent "any open and avowed lesbian or homosexual relationships in the home," and despite the stated disapproval of her lesbianism by Judge Joseph McMahon of the Essex County Court. On April 23, 1979, Judge McMahon reversed his decision after Bezaire moved to Toronto to live with her female lover. On May 1, 1979, twenty-five lesbians and gay men picketed the Family Court in Toronto to protest the reversed decision. In May 1979, Bezaire moved to Calgary where she established the Gay Parents' Defence Fund (GPDF). A separate Gayle Bezaire Defence Committee was also established to help raise funds to appeal her case. (See also March 15, 1980, and September 18, 1980.)