Ian Campbell Dunn
Encyclopedia
Ian Campbell Dunn was a gay rights campaigner who lived and worked in Scotland
.
, which partially decriminalized homosexual relations between adult men, applied only to England and Wales and not to Scotland.
In July 1967 he wrote to Antony Grey
, who was secretary of the Homosexual Law Reform Society
(HLRS) in London. They met in London in September when Dunn asked about setting up a Scottish branch of the HLRS; Grey was less than enthusiastic, having experienced difficulties with the much more radical and grass-roots-based North-Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee, which was later to become the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
(CHE).
In January 1969 Dunn organised the first meeting which led to the foundation of the Scottish Minorities Group
(SMG), of which Dunn remained the de facto figurehead for many years. SMG's England-and-Wales equivalent, CHE, was getting established at just the same time, and the two organisations often collaborated.
In January 1971 he helped start SMG News and was its editor for many years.
He visited the United States
and Canada
in the summer of 1971 to find out how activism was organised in other countries.
At the first International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh in 1974 he was involved in setting up the International Gay Association.
Also in 1974 he helped to establish the Edinburgh LGBT Centre
, the first such centre in Britain.
He joined the Labour Party
in 1977. He had been active in labour organisations for some time, having worked for lesbian
and gay rights through Edinburgh
City Labour Party and the local government union NALGO.
In 1977 he became involved in the Edinburgh Books Collective, an organisation that opened a bookshop in Edinburgh called the First of May selling left-wing political and lifestyle books.
Dunn was an active Humanist
minister and celebrated ceremonies of affirmation for lesbian and gay couples.
Ian Dunn died in 1998 at the age of 54 of a suspected heart attack
.
awards, the Ian Dunn Memorial Award for Activism, was named in his memory by Outright Scotland.
A meeting room is named after him in the Glasgow LGBT Centre
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Life and career
Dunn began his work in gay rights activism after finding that the Sexual Offences Act 1967Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces...
, which partially decriminalized homosexual relations between adult men, applied only to England and Wales and not to Scotland.
In July 1967 he wrote to Antony Grey
Antony Grey
Antony Grey was a leading English lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights activist. He lived with his partner, Eric Thompson, for 50 years after first meeting in 1960...
, who was secretary of the Homosexual Law Reform Society
Homosexual Law Reform Society
The Homosexual Law Reform Society was an organisation that campaigned in the United Kingdom for changes in the laws that criminalised homosexual relations between men.- History :...
(HLRS) in London. They met in London in September when Dunn asked about setting up a Scottish branch of the HLRS; Grey was less than enthusiastic, having experienced difficulties with the much more radical and grass-roots-based North-Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee, which was later to become the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
Campaign for Homosexual Equality
The Campaign for Homosexual Equality is one of the oldest gay rights organisations in the United Kingdom. It is a membership organisation which aims to promote legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in England and Wales...
(CHE).
In January 1969 Dunn organised the first meeting which led to the foundation of the Scottish Minorities Group
Scottish Minorities Group
The Scottish Minorities Group was a Scottish gay rights group officially founded in Glasgow on 9 May 1969. The group was a self-help organisation working for the rights of homosexual men and women, and had the aims of providing counselling, working for law reform and providing meeting places for...
(SMG), of which Dunn remained the de facto figurehead for many years. SMG's England-and-Wales equivalent, CHE, was getting established at just the same time, and the two organisations often collaborated.
In January 1971 he helped start SMG News and was its editor for many years.
He visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the summer of 1971 to find out how activism was organised in other countries.
At the first International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh in 1974 he was involved in setting up the International Gay Association.
Also in 1974 he helped to establish the Edinburgh LGBT Centre
Edinburgh LGBT Centre
The Edinburgh LGBT Centre is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community centre located at 58a/60 Broughton Street, Edinburgh, Scotland....
, the first such centre in Britain.
He joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 1977. He had been active in labour organisations for some time, having worked for lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and gay rights through Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
City Labour Party and the local government union NALGO.
In 1977 he became involved in the Edinburgh Books Collective, an organisation that opened a bookshop in Edinburgh called the First of May selling left-wing political and lifestyle books.
Dunn was an active Humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
minister and celebrated ceremonies of affirmation for lesbian and gay couples.
Ian Dunn died in 1998 at the age of 54 of a suspected heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Posthumous recognition
One of the Pride ScotiaPride Scotia
Pride Scotia is Scotland's national LGBT pride festival. Since 1995, volunteers have organised a Pride March and a community-based festival in June, alternating between the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow....
awards, the Ian Dunn Memorial Award for Activism, was named in his memory by Outright Scotland.
A meeting room is named after him in the Glasgow LGBT Centre
Glasgow LGBT Centre
The Glasgow LGBT Centre was a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community centre located at 84 Bell Street, Glasgow G1 1LQ. It was fully wheelchair-accessible, with a chairlift. It closed in April 2009, following withdrawal of funding from Glasgow City Council...
.
See also
- Obituary: Ian Dunn, Peter Tatchell, Independent (21 March 1998) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-ian-dunn-1151494.html
External links
- ScotsGay Obituary with photographs.