Move over Valentine’s Day! Sat, Feb 14 marks the 30th anniversary of Pink Triangle Day, the queer holiday declared in 1979 to mark the first major legal victory for Canada’s gay rights movement.
On Feb 14 of that year three officers of Pink Triangle Press (PTP, the nonprofit company that publishes Xtra) were acquitted of indecency charges stemming from the article “Men Loving Boys Loving Men,” published in the Dec 1977/Jan 1978 issue of The Body Politic.
At the 1979 annual meeting of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Rights Coalition, delegates unamiously passed a resolution declaring Feb 14 as Pink Triangle Day.
“It was — and is — our gift, not just to our own communities but to every other Canadian, demonstrating that we can fight back and win against the powerful forces that seek to limit what we say and what we see,” writes PTP executive director Ken Popert of the historic win in a recent message to PTP staff.
“That this slap in the face of censorious authority was delivered on Valentine’s Day, a day devoted in recent times to love and more anciently to carnality, makes it all the sweeter.”
To help queer Canadians celebrate Xtra has three Pink Triangle Day cards available online for your mailing and emailing pleasure. Just print out the paper card version, fold and add your message or email the .jpeg version to friends and lovers.
Happy Pink Triangle Day from all of us at Pink Triangle Press!
Read more: pinktriangleday.com
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