GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society

As of 2023, GALAS' Board of Directors, which is the governing body for the organization, includes:[4]

• Erik Adamian
• Shant Jaltorossian
• Natalia Sookias
• Marina

In 1998, GALAS was founded in Los Angeles County, California.[5]

In 2001, members of GALAS joined members of Q-Hye in San Francisco to form the first Armenian contingency ever to march in the San Francisco Pride parade. In total, 25 members of both organizations carried banners and Armenian flags down Market Street.[6]

In 2002, GALAS participated for the first time in Los Angeles Pride, where the organization hosted an information booth featuring Armenian music, pictures, and maps of Armenia. Volunteers handed out informative brochures about GALAS, Armenian history, and gay Armenian life.[7]

In 2007, following the assassination of journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, GALAS hosted a panel discussion featuring reexamining the social and political environment in Turkey. Participants included Armenian National Committee of America Community Relations Director Haig Hovsepian. During the question and answer session, the audience discussed their concerns regarding Armenian Genocide recognition.[8]

In 2008, Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California planned a Day of Silence commemoration to recognize how LGBT+ youth have been "silenced" by harassment and bullying in schools. In response to an ensuing local campaign to keep children out of school on that day, Haig Boyadjian, then the President of GALAS, wrote a letter to the editor of the Glendale News-Press, stating

We want to state unequivocally that the handful of Armenian parents who were vitriolic in their opposition to the Day of Silence do not represent the entire Armenian community. Homosexuality not only exists, it exists within the Armenian community. The members of gay and lesbian society are the children and grandchildren of the Armenian community. We are lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender and there is nothing wrong with us.

[9]

Official "Vote NO on Prop 8" placard.

In 2009, GALAS hosted a conference at West Hollywood's Plummer Park, entitled "The Road to Equality: The Past, Present and Future of the Gay Rights Movement," which concentrated on the aftermath of California Proposition 8 — which banned same-sex marriage in California — and ongoing cases in the California Supreme Court. The guest panel included attorneys from Lambda Legal, representatives from the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and managers of Vote for Equality Campaign, who discussed the various aspects of Proposition 8, including social, cultural and legal. The success of Proposition 8 was contrasted with the failure of the 1976 Briggs Initiative, which sought to ban gays and lesbians from working in California's public schools. Also discussed was GALAS' future, and its role in protecting LGBT+ civil rights.[10]

In 2010, GALAS again held a conference at Plummer Park, this time entitled "Breaking Through: Legally, Politically, Culturally." Speakers from Lambda Legal and Equality California discussed the current status of efforts to overturn Proposition 8, SB 906 (Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act).[11]

The Armenian National Committee of America's Raffi Hamparian stated:

The Armenian American community is a broad and diverse entity and one where all voices should be welcomed and heard. The political activism needed to advance justice with respect to the Armenian Genocide and Artsakh is needed from all segments of our community. That means we need the involvement of everyone in our community; young and old, rich and poor, those with a college degree and those with none, those who are gay and those who are straight, or those who were born in America or those who came to this country as immigrants. The rainbow of diversity in our community is a strength, not a weakness. We need to seize our diversity to advance our common cause for justice. This I believe.[11]

In 2010, GALAS raised over $5,000 for AIDS Walk, benefitting APLA Health, an AIDS service organization dedicated to improving lives of people affected by HIV, reducing HIV infection and advocating for fair and effective HIV-related public policy. [12]

During the early morning hours on 8 May 2012, Yerevan LGBT+ bar DIY was fire-bombed. On 15 May, a second attack occurred.[13] GALAS responded shortly thereafter, stating

The response by members of the Armenian Parliament has been equally atrocious. Artsvik Minasyan, who represents the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), posted bail for one of the suspects who were charged with the fire-bombing. Afterwards, Minasyan said to Panorama news agency that the suspects '…acted the right way, in context of our societal and national ideals.' We reject his actions and call upon the Armenian Parliament and Dashnaktsutyun to reprimand Minasyan and condemn his actions. Furthermore, we seek his immediate resignation or removal from office for his incitement of homophobia, and his endorsement of hate crimes. We further request a statement from the Armenian Parliament and the Dashnaktsutyun stating that neither organization will stand by those who foster hate and intolerance. Let not those who have faced the reality of intolerance and hatred inflict it upon others, no matter what the 'context of our societal and national ideals.'

[14]

In 2017, Los Angeles Pride replaced its traditional parade festivities with a protest against then-President Donald Trump's anti-LGBTQ+ policies.[15] GALAS participated, declaring "We must rise together and be heard loud and clear - we will resist, we will win." This multi-ethnic and multi-religious coalition included organizations such as API Equality, Bienestar, Equality California, It Gets Better Project, JQ International, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, PFLAG, Satrang, Somos Familia Valle, and The Trevor Project.[16]

GALAS denounced Fresno Unified School District President Brooke Ashjian's 2017 comments regarding the LGBTQ+ education requirements of the Healthy Young Act, which equated the LGBTQ+ community to the Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide.[17] Also in 2017, GALAS authored an op-ed applauding Arpa International Film Festival’s screening of the films "Listen to Me: Untold Stories Beyond Hatred" and "Apricot Groves" after the two films, which contain LGBT+ themes, were slashed from the 2017 program for the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival.[18]

In 2018, GALAS celebrated its twentieth anniversary at a gala hosted by comedians Lory Tatoulian, Mary Basmadjian, and Movses Shakarian. For GALAS, 2018 marked a renewed pledge to building bridges between GALAS and other LGBTQ+ and Armenian community organizations, and the organization considered the creation of affiliate chapters to raise awareness in both Armenia and across the Armenian diaspora. Among those honored at the event were comedian James Adomian and Mamikon Hovsepyan, executive director of Pink Armenia, an organization with which GALAS has closely partnered. Performances included Element Band, known for their distinctive musical arrangements that preserve and popularize traditional Armenian songs.[5]

Following the August 2018 attack on nine LGBT+ activists at a private home in the Armenian town of Shurnukh, Haig Boyadjian, then the President of GALAS, stated: "The Armenian government must once and for all take immediate steps to address the recent epidemic of violence targeting its LGBTQ citizens. We are deeply alarmed with the mysterious closing of criminal case regarding the violent attacks against 9 LGBTQ individuals last summer in the village of Shurnukh. The lack of action essentially condones and justifies future hate crimes against Armenia’s LGBTQ community. We are patiently waiting for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to defend LGBTQ rights in the ‘New Armenia’ being forged and hope these senseless violent attacks will cease or at least be met with consequences under the law."[19] GALAS joined over 100 Armenian organizations and prominent individuals in issuing a public letter to the Armenian government as well as Armenian political parties, international organizations and churches calling on them to condemn the attack and to promote legislative and policy changes to grant equality and end discrimination against LGBT persons in Armenia.[20]

In November 2018, GALAS and the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department co-sponsored "Beyond Borders: Queer Pop-up Cafe," a moderated roundtable discussion intended to uncover common ground among various LGBTQ+ communities.[21]

In response to several hate incidents targeting Armenian and Jewish institutions in the San Fernando Valley in early 2019, GALAS attended a meeting, hosted by California Assemblymembers Adrin Nazarian and Jesse Gabriel, of religious and lay leaders from the Armenian and Jewish communities for an inter-community dialogue. The discussion focused on efforts to combat hate and discrimination of all forms.[22]

"For GALAS to be celebrating LGBTQ pride in Glendale — the heart of the Armenian diaspora — is a profound marker of the progress the LGBTQ Armenian community has made." – GALAS Boardmember Lousine Shamamian (2021)

In the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, GALAS was invited to speak at the November 2020 launch of Kamee Abrahamian, Nancy Baker Cahill, Mashinka Firunts Hakopian, and Nelli Sargsyan's "Monument to the Autonomous Republic of Artsakh," an augmented reality monument geolocated at the intersection of Artsakh Avenue and East Broadway in Glendale, California.[23]

In March 2022, YWCA Glendale and Pasadena, glendaleOUT and Glendale Unified School District social sciences teacher Patrick Davarhanian hosted a digital panel entitled "Improving Allyship For Armenian LGBTQIA+ Communities". Panelists included Yerevan State University professor Vahan Bournazian; Pink Armenia director Mamikon Hovsepyan; Right Side NGO founder Lilit Martirosyan; Charachchi member Perch Melikyan; and Erik Adamian of GALAS, ONE Archives Foundation and Charachchi. Panelists relayed observations on human rights violations of LGBTQIA+ community members in Armenia, as depicted in the 2016 documentary "Listen to Me: Untold Stories Beyond Hatred". Panelists also highlighted responses from youth and advocates and presented a call to action to improve allyship for LGBTQIA+ youth and adults in both Armenia and the United States.[24]

In a June 2022 Pride Month article in the Armenian Weekly, GALAS President Erik Adamian stated that "The humans of GALAS affirm and accept each other, amidst hatred and division. We recognize that our journeys are also bigger than one person. When one of us is able to show up in the world authentic in our multiple identities, that makes it possible for others like us to do the same. The organization continues to provide invaluable tools for queer Armenians to invest in their own paths toward dignity and self-actualization."[25]

In January 2023, GALAS co-sponsored the Glendale Peace Walk, a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. The event gathered a coalition of local organizations dedicated to equality, including Black in Glendale, glendaleOUT, the Glendale Environmental Coalition, the Glendale Teachers Association, and the Glendale Tenants Union.[26]

In March 2023, GALAS hosted Right Side NGO founder Lilit Martirosyan at Glendale Central Library for a public discussion on the situation of LGBTQ+ people in Armenia, discrimination and human rights violations, and how supporters living in the United States can support LGBTQ+ people living in Armenia.[27]

In April 2023, GALAS participated in Glendale Library, Arts & Culture's Armenian History Month celebration,[28] part of the library's Be the Change Series, a program "to build collective understanding of systemic racism, elevate the voices and stories of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)".[29]

GALAS strives to connect with communities to learn their needs, and to collaborate on supportive programming for LGBTQ+ Armenians.

In March 2023, GALAS submitted a supportive letter in response to the Office of Management and Budget's request for public comments on the initial proposals from the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards for adding a Middle Eastern or North African category to the United States census.[30] In the letter, GALAS maintains the following:

• Armenian-Americans are a sizable and important community that currently is not counted by the United States and must no longer be excluded;
• Armenian-Americans are among the top 3 largest MENA communities in terms of population size and must have that reflected with an Armenian checkbox on the new census form;
• Armenians are a transnational group in the MENA region and like other populations must be counted as a transnational group;
• Armenian-Americans overwhelmingly support Census classification that includes their community.

In an interview with The 19th, GALAS President Erik Adamian stated, "If you think about the number of Armenians here, and how many of us are queer, we are certain that with proper data gathering and census information we would be able to have access to a different level of information in terms of how large our community actually is, and how far and wide it reaches."[31]

GALAS has provided assistance to the researchers at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's Armenian Diaspora Survey in collecting data pertaining to LGBTQI Armenians in the United States. The report, published in May 2023, suggests that Armenian Americans, particularly under the age of 35, are supportive of LGBTQI inclusion in the Armenian community.[32]

[T]he study suggests that Armenians in the [United States] tend to be open-minded about wider societal issues. For instance, a question (Q25) in the survey is related to views on LGBTQI. The large majority of the respondents in the US (73%)... say, "Yes, one can be LGBTQI and be a part of an Armenian community." A higher percent (84%) of the 25-34 years old in the US were in the affirmative. About two in ten (US 16%) of the respondents said they do not have an opinion on the issue or "Don't know". Only about one in ten (US 11%) said, "No, one cannot be LGBTQI and be a part of Armenian community."

GALAS hosts safe spaces for discussion and understanding amongst LGBTQ+ Armenians and their communities.

Since 2018, GALAS has hosted its ongoing "Soorj Session" events, which are guided roundtable conversations between LGBTQ+ Armenians, their parents, families and friends to explore understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities and individuals. These conversations are facilitated by mental health and social work professionals through the sharing of coffee (Armenian: սուրճ, romanized: soorj). Due to significant demand, Soorj Sessions are now a regular GALAS program, held every other month.[33] While the event was initially envisioned as youth-focused, organizers soon realized that parents and allies were also in need of the program.[34]

GALAS educates the community about LGBTQ+ issues for advancement and safety through presentation, collaborations, and expertise.

GALAS provides annual scholarships for LGBTQ+ Armenian and opportunities to for leadership advancement.

For nearly all of the organization's history, GALAS has offered academic scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students.[35]

GALAS hosts cultural events to celebrate Armenian heritage and to engage with the greater Armenian community.

In 2018, GALAS, Abril Books, the Roslin Art Gallery, and ACE/121 Gallery collaborated to organize a series of LGBTQ-themed events, including an art show entitled "The Many Faces of Armenians: A Celebration of Queer-Armenian Art," in Glendale, California. Among the nearly 20 participating artists, most were Los Angeles-based. Their mixed-media work incorporated Armenian history and iconic symbols — such as the Armenian Genocide, Mount Ararat, and pomegranates — confronting duality of two cultures, but of being a gay immigrant, a minority within a minority.[36] GALAS Boardmember Lousine Shamamian was quoted as saying "For GALAS to be celebrating LGBTQ pride in Glendale — the heart of the Armenian diaspora — is a profound marker of the progress the LGBTQ Armenian community has made."[37]

In 2016, GALAS held a sold-out screening of the Armenian Genocide film The Promise at the Cinerama Dome on its opening night.[38]

Also in 2016, GALAS partnered with the Armenian Youth Federation to host a screening of "Listen to Me: Untold Stories Beyond Hatred," a documentary about Armenia's LGBT+ community. The screening served as a part of the official launch of the Armenian Youth Federation's United Human Rights Council's "Project Ser," a campaign to raise awareness about gender issues, sexuality, and LGBT issues.[39]

Since 2021, GALAS has hosted Queernissage, a yearly open-air market inspired by Yerevan's Vernissage market, and featuring LGBTQ+ creatives of Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) descent.[40] Through this event, GALAS aims to create a space for its community members to express and share their creativity with each other and with the public.[41]

At the 2021 event, then-Boardmember Lousine Shamamian was quoted as saying "One of the things that I noticed with all of the general action that was happening around Artsakh was that a lot of LGBTQ Armenians were actively engaging with the broader Armenian community. Prior to that, there was a separation of Armenian queer folks…they didn’t feel a sense of belonging to the bigger community.” A number of the vendors at the event began making their items as fundraisers for relief efforts in Artsakh.[42]

Armenian digital media platform Miaseen featured the 2021 event in a series of videos named "Queernissage Profiles," which featured vendors at the event.[43]

Items for sale at the 2022 event included spices, jewelry, pottery, posters, books, and even food. Among the attendees was Glendale mayor Ardy Kassakhian, who stated "If someone’s going to threaten this group of people, I’m going stand there with them and make sure I’m there and present and show myself as a mayor of a large Armenian community — saying that I am here to serve every Armenian."[44]