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'Queer' hall of fame inducts Pierre Trudeauhttp://thestar.com/article/698317VANCOUVER–Pierre Trudeau's flamboyance and tendency to provoke debate often landed him in controversy and those traits have now landed him in the Queer Hall of Fame.
Trudeau is one of five inaugural inductees into the newly established hall, along with Olympic gold-medal swimmer Mark Tewksbury and three other long-time activists in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.
The former prime minister was a key figure in decriminalizing homosexuality and his famous partial quote – "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation" – helped convince Parliament to pass the law in 1969.
Trudeau's son, Justin, said he is incredibly honoured that the work his father did is being acknowledged.
"I know that the decriminalization of homosexuality 40 years ago was something that my father was very proud of," Trudeau said.
"He'd be touched," he said, of his father, who died almost nine years ago.
The former prime minister's fellow Queer Hall inductee ted northe, 72, called Trudeau his "gay hero," for the work he did to change the lives of homosexuals in Canada.
Northe, who has trademarked his name with the small t and n, said he was also very proud to be inducted into the hall along with Tewksbury.
"Because when he came out he knew his career was finished in sports," northe said.
Paul Therien, chairman of the Queer Hall of Fame, said the hall was started after his group decided they wanted to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality.
"For lack of better terminology, Trudeau was the wrench that turned the nut," Therien laughed.
"There's not a lot of acknowledgment in the queer community of these people. They really are heroes."
Janine Fuller, an author and manager of the Little Sisters Book Store in Vancouver, and Robert Kaiser, also known as drag queen Joan-E, round out the list of this year's inductees.
Fuller has been a long-time activist for freedom of speech and equality.
Kaiser, an entertainer and activist, was the first drag queen ever awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, for his volunteering and fundraising efforts in support of people with HIV and AIDS.
Therien said Tewksbury was a natural choice because he changed the thinking about sports.
"It broke down some barriers because there was always this stigma that you couldn't be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and be into sports," said Therien.
Tewksbury won a gold medal for Canada in 1992 after setting an Olympic record in the men's 100-metre backstroke in Barcelona, Spain.
Six years later he publicly stated he was homosexual, saying that being gay shouldn't be an issue, but it still is.
Therien said Tewksbury's work afterwards, in the community and with sports, furthered the general acceptance of the gay community in society.
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