William Everett Woods (October 9, 1949 – September 28, 2008) was an American gay rights activist. He advocated for better treatment of gay people through his political organizing and public commentary. In 1990, he took three same-sex couples to fill out marriage licenses, one of a series of events that eventually culminated in the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.
Woods was born in Decatur, Illinois, and attended Millikin University before transferring to the University of Hawaiʻi. Upon graduating in 1971, he secured a job in the Hawaii Department of Health before founding a social services organization for gay people called the Sexual Identity Center. The organization held panels on gay issues and organized petition campaigns; in his capacity as executive director, Woods critiqued media treatment of homosexuals and advocated for their civil rights. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the Hawaii Senate in 1974, the first of many failed attempts to be elected to a state-level political position. With three other delegates, he represented Hawaii on the steering committee for the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
In 1980, Woods unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Hawaii Board of Education. The following year he led a group in disrupting Jerry Falwell's visit to Hawaii by registering an organization called "Moral Majority of Hawaii". After another unsuccessful campaign for the Board of Education in 1984, Woods was named to the Mayor's Advisory Committee on AIDS in 1985, and also served as president of a University of Hawaiʻi alumni group from 1985 to 1987. By 1990 he was directing and managing the Gay Community News, resulting in his election to the national board of the Gay and Lesbian Press Association.
In 1990, Woods brought three same-sex couples to the Hawaii Department of Health's main office in Honolulu to fill out marriage licenses. When the licenses were not issued, the couples filed a lawsuit with Woods's support, initiating Baehr v. Miike, an important case in the development of legal same-sex marriage in the United States. He continued his advocacy on gay issues for the rest of his life, founding the Gay and Lesbian Education and Advocacy Foundation in 1990 and mounting an unsuccessful campaign to be Governor of Hawaii in 1994. Woods himself traveled to Vancouver to marry another man in 2003; he died in September 2008 after a long illness.
Early life and education
William Everett Woods was born on October 9, 1949, in Decatur, Illinois. He attended high school in Arthur, Illinois, before attending Millikin University, from which he transferred in 1969 to attend the University of Hawaiʻi (UH). At UH, Woods earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, graduating in 1971; he later received a master's degree in public health from the university.
Career Love and Peace Together (1970s) After graduating from UH, Woods worked at the Hawaii State Hospital before securing a job as a research statistician for the Hawaii Department of Health, which stationed him at the Kalihi-Palama Mental Health Center. In 1972, he founded a social services organization called the Sexual Identity Center; it was intended to serve gay people specifically, but the name did not contain a reference to homosexuality because he did not want to deter straight experts from being involved. Located in Pauoa Valley, the center was operated by a nonprofit called Love and Peace Together, which was also founded by Woods. He continued his work for the health department while running the new organization.
In 1974, Woods was present at Hawaii's first pride parade. The same year, his nonprofit Love and Peace Together organized a panel discussion about sex at Hawaii state prisons, titled "Sexuality and the Prison", which was the first in a series of twelve programs put on by the organization with a focus on "Sexuality at Work"; Woods served as moderator of the discussion. Also in 1974, he wrote a letter to the editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in his capacity as director of the Sexual Identity Center, criticizing an article about Windward Community College that included "homosexuals" in a list of "misfits" that also included prostitutes, alcoholics, and people addicted to drugs.
In July 1974, Woods announced a campaign for Hawaii Senate, running for a seat in the fifth district (west Honolulu). He was one of eight Democrats campaigning for the four available seats in the district. Woods campaigned on a platform of increased regulation for social service organizations, better controls on the conduct of government officials, and stricter rules for expenditure of public funds. He called for legalization of marijuana in Hawaii, describing the amount of government resources expended on marijuana-related prosecutions as "appalling" and arguing that legalization would free up that money to be put toward more important causes. He additionally expressed an intent to grant civil rights "to those still discriminated against"; The Honolulu Advertiser noted his status as a member of Gay Liberation Hawaii and the Hawaii Council of Gay Organizations along with Pauoa Community Association and the Metropolitan Community Church. At the time, Woods described his campaign as "very low key", and stated that he was seeking the support of groups rather than canvassing because of a lack of funding. The campaign was unsuccessful.
Love and Peace Together initiated a petition campaign in early 1975 to set aside a portion of Diamond Head Beach Park as a nude beach. Woods noted that the only existing option for nude swimmers was a private naturist camp, which cost money to enter, and stated that nude sunbathers had previously been arrested for "lewd and lascivious conduct, which is a totally interpretive judgement by the police". The petitions gathered nearly 1,000 signatures. In March 1975, a committee of the Hawaii House of Representatives recommended revising the state's indecent exposure laws to include any exposure of genitalia in a public space where it was likely to offend others; Woods criticized the proposal, arguing that it was "ludicrous that anyone feels so ashamed of one's own body that nudity becomes offensive".
In July 1977, the Sexual Identity Center hosted a presentation by two members of the National Association of Evangelicals, who were invited to present their views on homosexuality in a panel moderated by Woods. A front-page article in the Star-Bulletin noted the evangelicals' assertions that homosexuality was abnormal and sinful, and that gay people could be converted to heterosexuality, as well as the respectful and skeptical responses of the gay people present. The following month, the Star-Bulletin published an article written by Woods in which he agreed that "homosexuals are made, not born" and that "individuals who desire, may change to heterosexual activities". Woods argued against typical criticisms of homosexuality and stated that because homosexuality was legal, "society has the same obligation to the gay offender as the straight". He concluded that the responsibility of all minorities was "to present themselves to the world as responsible individuals seeking to preserve the dignity of 'mankind'" while defending "their individual right to live their chosen lifestyle without oppression". In October 1977, another panel at the Sexual Identity Center hosted an officer from the vice squad of the Honolulu Police Department; Woods expressed a desire to help gay people better understand the function of the squad and improve their relations with police.
After a history teacher at Kalani High School stated that he would support shooting all gay people in October 1978, Woods called a press conference in his capacity as director of the Sexual Identity Center and demanded that the teacher be reprimanded. In 1979, Woods was one of Hawaii's four representatives on the steering committee for the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. He was 29 years old at the time. The four delegates were elected from a list of 41 people; of the four, three including Woods were openly gay. A contingent of ten people from Hawaii, including Woods and the other delegates, travelled to the march and were among its 25,000 participants. They held signs with slogans including "Hawaii Supports Gay Rights" and met with Hawaii's congressional delegation after the march.
Further activism (1980s)
Woods announced a campaign for an Oahu at-large seat on the Hawaii Board of Education in 1980. At the time he was vice president of the Volunteer, Information and Referral Service (a suicide and crisis support center) in addition to his position as executive director of the Sexual Identity Center. He campaigned with the theme "Education Is for Everyone", aiming to increase literacy and promote equity in curriculum. He additionally expressed support for increased sex education in schools and improved cooperation between the Board and the state legislature. The campaign was unsuccessful.
In May 1981, when Jerry Falwell came to Hawaii to open a state chapter of Moral Majority, Woods led a group to register the name before Falwell could. The resulting organization, Moral Majority of Hawaii, ran newspaper advertisements proclaiming support for "family planning, civil rights for all people, pro-choice in abortion, child care programs, freedom of speech and religion, and the separation of church and state." The group sued Falwell in the Hawaii state circuit court to restrain him from using the name "Moral Majority", causing speaking venues he had reserved to cancel his appearances. Falwell described Moral Majority of Hawaii as "illegal" and stated that he "would prefer not to have a moral majority run by homosexuals". He returned to Virginia after delivering a farewell speech in which it was noted that the only two names mentioned were those of Jesus Christ and William Woods. Moral Majority of Hawaii voluntarily cancelled its trademark registration the following month, with Woods stating that the organization had achieved its goal of demonstrating "that Falwell and his Moral Majority was not moral and not a majority".
Woods hosted a talk show in the early 1980s called Lambda Line. Broadcast by KIOE, the radio show focused on gay issues. In response to a petition by conservative Christians including the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition to cancel the show in June 1981, Woods stated that Lambda Line was the only radio program in Hawaii that presented "the many diverse and realistic perspectives of gay people", and the Sexual Identity Center announced plans for a counter-petition in support of the show. The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii (ACLU of Hawaii) and the Social Concerns Committee of the Hawaii Council of Churches both publicly expressed support for the continued broadcast of Lambda Line, with the ACLU stating that "the goal of private groups [...] to gain control over what we all can see, hear, and read is a frightening prospect – and in a free society, a repugnant one".
After Hawaii's superintendent was fired and asserted that the firing was motivated by her refusal to include an anti-abortion film in the public school curriculum, the film was shown at a meeting of the Hawaii Board of Education in June 1984. While about 15 of the 30-odd attendees spoke in support of the film's inclusion in the curriculum, Woods was the only dissenter, describing it as unhealthy and anti-American. He commended the former superintendent for her decision to reject it. By September 1984, Woods had again filed to campaign for a seat on the Board of Education, his third political campaign and his second for this particular position. Woods received over 32,000 votes, placing near the top of the list of candidates but failing to secure a seat.