(West Hollywood. California) Leroy Walker who fought tirelessly for gay rights for more than 20 years has died at his home in West Hollywood. He was 63.
Known to his myriad of friends as Lee, Walker devoted most of his law practice to gay and lesbian issues. In 1979 he was instrumental in getting then-Gov. Jerry Brown to issue an executive order barring discrimination against gay state employees.
Several years later, in 1984, he helped write an amendment to the state's hate crimes law to include gays and lesbians under its protections.
Walker was the lead attorney in the first California court case to affirm that employers could not discriminate against workers with AIDS.
He successfully represented three gay men who alleged that Disneyland violated their civil rights when a security guard told them touch dancing was reserved for heterosexuals. The men dropped their lawsuit in 1989 after Disneyland officials pledged not to discriminate against same-sex couples.
Born in Washington, D.C., Walker graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 and the New York University School of Law in 1966.
In 1975 he moved to California to become dean of student affairs at the San Fernando Valley College of Law. Four years later he joined the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing as a consultant and organized the Gay and Lesbian State Employees Association. In 1983 he entered private practice law. He was a founding member of the California Employment Lawyers Association and the Los Angeles-area Legal Eagles, a forum for employment rights lawyers.
Gay Activist Leroy Walker Dies
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