National LGBTQ Task Force began 47 years ago, when anti-sodomy laws and bar raids were common and many health professionals considered gay and bi people ill.
Working to lobby for change in the halls of power, the D.C.-based organization chipped away at discriminatory laws and challenged Democrats to stand by their queer constituency, working to secure rights through the Reagan era and the devastation of AIDS.By the time, Rea Carey began to leave a mark on the Task Force as deputy executive director in 2004, the marriage equality battle was raging and a backlash brewing.