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 October 13, 1978 and its headline celebrates the victory of Sandra Schuster and Madeleine Isaacson in their court case to maintain custody of their children. After they began a relationship with each other, Schuster and Isaacson’s former husbands tried to take custody on the grounds of their sexual orientation. The other front-page story reports on Dan Callahan and Wayne Angevine pressing charges against the Seattle police and the FBI over a raid on the couple’s home during an alleged murder investigation.