Lambda Services Bureau, Inc.
Founded: March 1975
Founders: Dorothy Bell, Malachi Truman Harris, Donaciano Martinez, Jan Harris
Purpose: To provide counseling, referrals, and education that benefits gays and lesbians in Colorado.
Lambda Services Bureau, Inc. was a nonprofit community program founded in March 1975 as a continuation to the work of the Gay Liberation Front of Colorado Springs. The founding members combined their knowledge and skills into a resource hub for the gay and lesbian community. It provided services around counseling, referrals, and education for lesbians and gay men in Colorado, with the eventual goal of becoming a community center. [1] It's worth noting that the Pikes Peak Gay Community Center would not exist for a few more years.
Lambda Services Bureau, Inc. vs. the U.S. Government
"However, no sooner had we started the good works of Lambda, the IRS butts its bureaucratic nose into the organization and for 2 years used every tactic it could dredge up from its pits of stupidity to destroy Lambda."
[2]
Soon after being incorporated and being granted their tax exempt status, on the organization received a form from the IRS, requesting a confirmation that when members of the organization's Speaker's Bureau was speaking to the public, they would not state that gays and lesbians are on par with straight people. This was a form that gay and lesbian groups throughout the country would be required to sign to continue operating. Lambda Services Bureau refused. [3]
As a result, on March 6, 1976,the IRS revoked the organization's tax exempt status, but that did not stop Lambda from continuing the work, despite the added challenge of balancing an ongoing legal battle.[3:1]
Lambda chose to fight this decision in court. They argued on the grounds that the IRS decision violated the First Amendment. A hearing was held at the IRS National Office in Washington, D.C. in July of 1976, and the ruling was delivered in August, 1977, reinstating the organization's tax-exempt status.[1:1] [4]
"I hope this is part of a formation of a new policy by the IRS to give gay groups the same benefits that non-gay groups have been receiving for years...All nonprofit gay educational groups should thank the people at Lambda for their persistence in opposing the old homophobic ruling thay they could not promote the gay lifestyle as equal to the heterosexual lifestyle."
Lambda Dissolves
Despite winning the legal case against the IRS, the organization dissolved in November, 1977.
"We could have gone ahead and kept the organization alive, but the work was always left up to 3 or 4 people who, in addition, had to deal with their own personal lives. It's just too much for a handful of people to handle."
Key Dates
- March, 1975: The Lambda Services Bureau is founded by Dorothy Bell, Donaciano Martinez, and Malachi Truman Harris.
- March 6, 1976: The IRS revokes the Lambda Services Bureau's 501(c)3 status because the organization refused to state that homosexuality was a "sickness, disturbance, or a diseased pathology."
- July, 1976: Hearing is held at the IRS National Office regarding the IRS' decision.
- August, 1977: The 501(c)3 status of the Lambda Services Bureau is reinstated.
- November, 1977: The Lambda Services Bureau dissolves.
References
“IRS.” OUT FRONT, 11 June 1976, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, p. 6, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=OTF19760611-01.2.10. INFORM. ↩︎ ↩︎
Harris, Truman, and Dorothy Bell. “OUT FRONT INTERVIEWS LAMBDA.” Interview by Don Collier. 1 Oct. 1977, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=OTF19771001-01.2.12. ↩︎ ↩︎
Donaciano Martinez. “Interview with Donaciano Martinez Part 3.” Interview by David Duffield. [Denver Public Library], 10 Mar. 2015, https://lgbtqcolorado.cvlcollections.org/files/original/fbafc5a2a303d919a8600c5ace7c05b5.WMA. ↩︎ ↩︎
“Lambda Regains Tax-Exempt Status.” OUT FRONT, 9 Sept. 1977, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, p. 8, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=OTF19770909-01.2.15. News. ↩︎
Big Mama Rag. “Lambda Wins!” October 1, 1977. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=BMR19771001-01.2.16. ↩︎
“Lambda Inc., Dissolved.” OUT FRONT, 4 Nov. 1977, Colorado Historic Newspapers, p. 8, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=OTF19771104-01.2.8. ↩︎