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 November 10, 1978 and its headline celebrates the defeat of Initiative 13. I-13 would have repealed Seattle’s laws prohibiting discrimination in employment or housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. When I-13 was proposed, the city’s antidiscrimination laws had been in place for five years. Groups both supporting and opposing I-13 expected a close vote, but the final margin was about 63% no and 37% yes. This made Seattle the first US city to confirm support for gay rights by a vote of the people.