Editing Harry Hay (section)

===After Mattachine: 1953 to 1969===

Hay's relationship with Kamgren was strained, and he was bored by a life of domesticity and annoyed with Kamgren's controlling and regimented nature. They had little in common, with Kamgren not sharing Hay's interest in political activism, instead being conservative and, in Hay's words, "[[petty bourgeois]]".{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=181, 191}} Kamgren permitted Hay to spend three nights a week in study, which the latter spent reading anthropological and historical texts to learn more about the role of gay people in society, becoming particularly interested in the ''[[Two-Spirit#Berdache|berdache]]'' of Native American communities.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=193–197}} In doing so, Hay was annoyed that Marxist scholars like [[V. Gordon Childe]] and [[George Derwent Thomson]] evaded the subject in their works.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|p=197}} Although his writing style was widely deemed difficult to read, he published articles on many of his findings in the gay press, namely ''[[ONE, Inc.|ONE Institute Quarterly]]'' and ''[[ONE, Inc.|ONE Confidential]]'', also giving lectures on the subject at ONE's Mid-Winter Institute.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|p=196}} Meanwhile, in May 1955 Hay was called to testify before a subcommittee of the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] that was investigating Communist Party activity in Southern California. The subcommittee was aware that Hay was a Marxist, and as such he struggled to find legal representation, fearing that he would lose his job and worrying that his sexuality would be used to smear the Party.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=183–190}}

Feeling that he was being restrained by the relationship, Hay left Kamgren, in 1963 beginning a brief relationship with [[Jim Kepner]]. Together they mooted the idea of starting a new Mattachine Society; this came to nothing.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=203–207}} Influenced by the growing counter-culture, Hay ceased to wear suits, instead favouring brightly colored clothing, earrings and necklaces, also growing his hair long. In doing so, he stated that "I never again wanted to be mistaken for a hetero."{{sfn|Timmons|1990|p=208}} At a subsequent ONE event, Hay met the inventor [[John Burnside (inventor)|John Burnside]], who became his life partner. Burnside left his wife for Hay, with the latter becoming the manager for Burnside's [[kaleidoscope]] factory. As the pair became increasingly interested in the counter-culture, many individuals belonging to the movement came to work for them.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=208, 224}} Moving to downtown Los Angeles, together the pair created a gay brotherhood called the Circle of Loving Friends in 1965, although they would frequently be the only members of it.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|p=214}} As the Circle they participated in early homophile demonstrations throughout the 1960s and helped establish the [[North American Conference of Homophile Organizations]] (NACHO) in 1966.<ref>Shively, from Bronski, p. 175</ref>

Fascinated by spirituality, they regularly attended events of the [[Council on Religion and the Homosexual]],{{sfn|Timmons|1990|p=223}} and despite his anti-military stance, Hay became Chairman of the Los Angeles Committee to Fight Exclusion of Homosexuals from the Armed Forces, taking part in the group's motorcade protest through the city.{{Sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=220–221}} Attempting to gain greater visibility for the gay rights cause, he made appearances on local media, such as ''[[Joe Pyne|The Joe Pyne Show]]''.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=222–223}} Hay and Burnside also took part in research and fundraising for the Committee for Traditional Indian Land and Life, attending the first North American Traditional Indian conference at [[Tonawanda Reservation|Tonawanda]], [[New York state]], in 1967.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=225–227}} In June 1969, the [[Stonewall riots]] in [[New York City]] marked a move toward a more radical and militant approach among gay rights activists; Hay however stated that "I wasn't impressed by Stonewall, because of all the open gay projects we had done throughout the sixties in Los Angeles. As far as we were concerned, Stonewall meant that the East Coast was catching up."{{sfn|Timmons|1990|pp=228–229}} The riot led to the emergence of the [[Gay Liberation Front]] (GLF), with Hay and Burnside involving themselves in the early development of its Los Angeles chapter in December 1969. Hay was elected its first chairperson, organising pickets of homophobic establishments, holding a one-day "Gay-In" in [[Griffith Park]] and "funky dances" at Troupers Hall to challenge the legal restrictions on same-sex dancing.{{sfn|Timmons|1990|p=230}}<ref>Hay/Roscoe, p. 361</ref>