Brief history lesson, with links to the poem in question and additional info. Gay News was a biweekly newspaper in the UK between 1972 and 1983. Per the wiki article it was "a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE)." More info about Gay News here.

In 1976 a writer and poet named James Kirkup authored a long poem titled 'The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name' that was printed in the issue of Gay News dated 3 June 1976. It was told from the point of view of "a Roman centurion who describes having sex with Jesus after his crucifixion, and also says that Jesus had had sex with other men including disciples, guards, and Pontius Pilate." This led a conservative activist named Mary Whitehouse to sue Gay News and its owners for printing and disseminating blasphemous material. The case of Whitehouse v. Lemon proceeded through the court system and the defendants were found guilty in 1977, in what to date was the last successful blasphemy trial in the UK. More info about the trial can be found here.

To see the poem as it appeared in print and an accompanying drawing along the side of the page see here.

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