Tuckahoe NY Pride

Jim Egan was a Canadian gay-rights activist and writer whose early advocacy helped lay groundwork for LGBTQ equality in Canada. Beginning in the 1940s and 1950s, he wrote letters and articles challenging media stereotypes and urging fair treatment of homosexual people. In the 1980s he became a central figure in Egan v. Canada, a constitutional case seeking recognition of same-sex couples in federal benefits. Although he did not win the benefit claim, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized sexual orientation as protected under equality rights, a landmark step that influenced later reforms. He lived with his partner, Jack Nesbit.

In the 1950s Egan fought back against gay slurs in the press: “I simply let [the press] know that there was at least one person out there who was not going to sit by and let them get away with what I considered to be gross inaccuracies and libels.”

Photo credit Ali Kazimi