The Seattle Gay News (SGN) was founded in 1976 to provide news coverage focusing on Seattle’s gay community; it is the third oldest LGBTQ+ newspaper in the US. Seattle Gay News started as a newsletter produced by the Gay Community Center. It provided news to a community that was largely ignored by mainstream newspapers and advocated for gay rights in numerous campaigns. Especially during the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, it was an important source of information and helped members of the community to support each other. Since its founding, the SGN has widened its focus to Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community more broadly.

This issue was published in June 1977 and its headline reports on a civil rights march at the beginning of Gay Pride Week. Seattle’s gay community had celebrated Pride Week since 1974, but this was the first year that the city officially supported it. The march called for the passage of a statewide gay rights bill. The other front page story is about KIRO president Lloyd Cooney’s attempts to prevent gay rights legislation across Washington and his efforts to roll back laws protecting gay rights in Seattle.