Come Out! (GLF newspaper/pamphlet, 1969)

The Come Out newspaper and pamphlet was first published in 1969 by the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), emerging shortly after the Stonewall Inn riots. The GLF utilized this seminal publication as a crucial organizing tool to unite and mobilize the newly forming, radical gay rights movement.

The primary purpose of Come Out was to serve as a powerful political voice and organizing tool for the emerging gay rights movement following the Stonewall Uprising. It provided a platform for radical activists to distribute meeting times, outline their political ideologies, and encourage others to publicly come out of the closet.

Although commonly referred to as a newsletter or pamphlet, Come Out operated as a periodical and was published on a roughly monthly to bimonthly schedule by the Gay Liberation Front. It ran for only a few years starting in 1969 before internal political fractures led to its eventual dissolution.

The paper was written and distributed entirely by Gay Liberation Front volunteers, including notable activists like Karla Jay and Martha Shelley. These writers focused heavily on anti-capitalist and anti-war messages, actively aligning the gay liberation struggle with other marginalized groups like the Black Panther Party.