Faristol at the first demonstration in favor of sexual liberation in the State

Historic memory stand dedicated to the first demonstration in favor of sexual liberation in the State.

On June 26, 1977, a few days after the first democratic elections since the establishment of the dictatorship and eight years after the Stonewall riots in New York, the Gay Liberation Front of Catalonia (FAGC), still underground, called for the first demonstration in favor of sexual liberation in the Spanish state on La Rambla in Barcelona.

This march, held without government authorization, followed the legacy of the American Gay Liberation Front. Thus, under the slogan "For a free sexuality, repeal of the Social Dangerousness Law and Social Rehabilitation," the community's fight began to demand the repeal of the Social Dangerousness Law, amnesty for imprisoned activists, and the legalization of the Gay Liberation Front of Catalonia (FAGC).

During Franco's regime, thousands of people were repressed for their sexual orientation. The Law of Social Dangerousness and Rehabilitation (1970), as had previously been the Vagrancy and Roguery Law (1954), was one of the legal instruments of the regime aimed at the repression and control of people practicing homosexuality, considered "dangerous subjects" and "antisocial elements," with penalties of up to five years of imprisonment or psychiatric internment.

This demonstration, which brought together more than 5,000 people, had the support of activists from the feminist movement, neighborhood movements, workers' movements, student movements, unions, and political parties, as well as heterosexual individuals committed to the anti-Franco and anti-repressive struggle. Among the slogans proclaimed were: "We are not afraid, we are," "My body is mine and I do with it as I please," "Sexual Amnesty!" and "We are not dangerous!"

The march began at the Drassanes and went up La Rambla until it was forcefully repressed by the public order forces just before reaching the Canaletes fountain; mainly targeting, according to witnesses, transsexuals and transvestites. Finally, the demonstration ended with 3 injured protesters and one person detained. This protest march began to show the strength of the LGBT movement, which for the first time felt united and supported by the civilian population.