1976-1977
1976
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a street theater group founded in Iowa City in 1976 as the Sugar Plum Fairies, finds fame and fortune after moving to San Francisco in 1979. The Sisters become a Castro legend, raising political awareness and funds to assist people with AIDs. They reunite in Iowa City in June 1987, pictured here in a Daily Iowan article.
Grace & Rubies Restaurant, a private club and meeting place for women, opens at 209 N. Linn Street and remains in business until 1978.
In June, two men from Iowa City, Kenneth Bunch and Tracy Bjorgum, try unsuccessfully to obtain a marriage license at the Johnson County Court House.
The Iowa Legislature enacts a comprehensive criminal code revision which repeals the consensual sodomy law and establishes an age of consent of 16. The law takes effect January 1, 1978, 25 years before the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Texas’ sodomy law as unconstitutional.
1977
Iowa City’s city council passes the state’s first anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual preference. The law prohibits such discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations.
After operating out of a suitcase for about two years, Plainswoman Bookstore opens in October at the second level of 529 S. Gilbert Street, former location of New Pioneer Coop. The building also houses Iowa City Women’s Press at this time.
Richard MacCann, a graduate student in American Studies, teaches a course on the history and literature of homosexuality in America at the University of Iowa.