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The Journey composed & performed by LAURICE (my partner)

A BIO OF LARRY D. NORTON

Composed Nov. 20, 2016

Larry D. Norton was born in Bakersfield, California in 1948. . He has long been actively promoting gay and civil rights within his family, Christian church, and in school and college. Larry credits these experiences as contributing to the development of his gifts of leadership and his expressions of visionary concepts in many different situations and human groupings.

In the California city of Fresno, he is one of thirteen founding members of the first Metropolitan Community Church in Fresno in 1971.

At Fresno State College in 1974-75, he was the founder of the GAY PEOPLES UNION, the first openly gay group on the campus.

And he spent a year 1974-75 as Manager of Fresno’s only and first gay bath house called Glen’s For Men Turkish Bath.

He is the first student of Social Work to be placed by CSUF School of Social Work, earning credits working in the Peer Counseling Program at the first Fresno Gay Community Center on Belmont. (1975-76)

In 1977, he was a founding member of the Fresno Human Rights Coalition—to first contribute education and understanding to help defeat the Briggs initiative that would have caused unfounded discrimination and firing of school teachers over the matter of homosexuality. Then the Coalition, Larry says, “was to take actions promoting Human Rights for Fresno County citizens of any sexual orientation. However, the group disbanded in early 1980’s”.

To add to his stunning achievements, Larry was the originator, editor and distributor of the first out-of-the-closet Gay Liberation publications in Fresno. Those were the MCC Grape Vine Newsletter, the Gay People’s Union Newsletter, and the Fresno Human Rights Coalition’s FRESNO INFORMER.

He also was one of the founders of Fresno’s first gay Democrat club, The Wilde-Stein Democrat Club. (1977-78)

Larry Norton had the unenviable experience in 1976 of being the first openly gay person to be discriminated against by the Fresno County Welfare Department employment procedures. He filed a claim of discrimination with the Civil Service Commission of Fresno County and was denied even a full hearing because the County Attorney interpreted State Law on sex discrimination only applied to sexual gender, not “orientation”. Furthermore, Larry says, “lawyers at the time (including ACLU and National Lawyers Guild), as well as today in Fresno, are petrified taking these kinds of cases, as the politics of the profession will get them branded and affect their bottom line, their pocketbook.”

In the 1980’s Larry moved to and worked in Los Angeles earning money to send to various gay organizations. Then he returned and did the same in Fresno in the 1990’s.

He has had many Letters to the Editor published in The Fresno Bee involving gay and human rights causes, and has the distinction of having had his own Valley Voices column printed in The Fresno Bee speaking out against the military discriminatory policy against gays.

Larry is very passionate about his beliefs and his vision for the Democrat Party. He served as Secretary of Fresno Stonewall Democratic Club.

Since 1993, he has a partner, Laurence Marshall A.K.A. “LAURICE” (singer/songwriter). Larry and Laurence hope to serve the gay community as a useful and effective voice for many years to come.

To earn a living wage as an employee he has worked:

3 years Fresno County Welfare Department Eligibility Worker

1 year San Diego County Welfare Department Eligibility Worker

1 year Valley Medical Center (Fresno) File Clerk

1 year Fresno County Sheriff Department Records Clerk

half year: Internal Revenue Service (Fresno) Data Transcriber

4 years Charles G. SPILO (Los Angeles) Warehouse Manager

3 years Charles G. SPILO (Los Angeles) Customer Service Manager

3 years Charles G. SPILO (Los Angeles) Administrative Assistant

7 years Johnstone Supply (Fresno) Administrative Assistant

3 years Bedrosians Tile (Fresno) Accounts Payable Clerk

1 year United Carpet (Clovis) Accounting Clerk