Let the Record Show: Dick Gayer ’75 Fought for LGBTQ+ Equality

Richard “Dick” Gayer ’75, pictured in a 1975 Class Digest publication, was a trailblazer in the fight for LGBTQ+ legal rights, challenging discrimination with courage and tenacity even before graduating from UC Law SF.

Many students enter law school with ambitious plans to tackle society’s injustices. Richard “Dick” Gayer, a 1975 graduate of UC Law San Francisco, didn’t wait to finish law school before fighting for change through the legal system.

The summer after his first year, Gayer took on the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in a battle that made headlines. His request for a personalized license plate reading “GAY LIB” was denied, with the DMV claiming it was “offensive to good taste and decency.” Gayer disagreed—and sued, asserting that his seven-character message was a political statement protected by the First Amendment.

This wasn’t Gayer’s first fight for LGBTQ+ rights, nor would it be his last.

Even before law school, Gayer was challenging the status quo. In 1971, the Department of Defense revoked his security clearance after learning he was a member of LGBTQ+ organizations like the Society for Individual Rights. As an electrical engineer working on military systems, this decision put his career at risk.

Gayer sued the Department of Defense, taking his case all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. When a judge characterized LGBTQ+ people as conducting “[lives] of sexual perversion” in a footnote to a court opinion, Gayer fired back with a scathing letter.

“[Y]ou, behind the shield of judicial privilege, have seized upon an opportunity to take a swipe at a struggling minority group which is just beginning to gain some respect from political, religious, and medical leaders, as well as a few courageous men on the bench,” Gayer wrote in a 1974 letter to U.S. Circuit Judge Charles Fahy. “Your cowardice apparent in the body of your opinion is confirmed by the content of the footnote.”

Though he lost the case, Gayer regained his clearance in 1975 after answering personal and intimate questions about his sex life that he had previously refused to answer.

Decades later, Gayer again took a federal agency to court, representing former FBI agent Frank Buttino in a class action over the bureau’s de facto ban on LGBTQ+ agents. That fight ended in a 1993 settlement where the FBI vowed to stop discriminating against gay and lesbian agents.

Gayer also represented plaintiffs in a class action against Pacific Telephone Company in 1975, alleging discriminatory hiring and employment practices. The case reached the California Supreme Court, which ruled in 1979 that discriminating against gay employees and job applicants violates the state constitution’s equal protection clause.

Gayer’s activism extended beyond the courtroom. In law school, he served as president of the Gay Law Students Association, earning a cheeky shout-out from legendary San Francisco columnist Herb Caen in his recurring “namephreaks” column, featuring people with names unusually well- or ill-matched to their jobs or activities. Gayer was even featured in a 1973 Hastings Law News article where he drew parallels between the LGBTQ+ and women’s rights movements, citing sexism as a shared enemy.

But it was his license plate dispute that garnered the most media attention in the 1970s. Gayer’s lawsuit was initially dismissed by a superior court judge, who insisted that license plates are meant to identify vehicles and “not a public forum.” But his case was revived in 1974 when an appeals court panel ruled unanimously in his favor, declaring that the DMV’s policy amounted to illegal discrimination against homosexual individuals. The following year, Gayer finally received his plates, which he proudly affixed to his “middle-aged Pontiac,” as documented in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“This is more than just a license plate,” Gayer told reporters at the time. “It’s a statement that gay people do have the right to seek equal rights.”

Decades later, Gayer’s legacy continues to demonstrate the power of using the law to challenge discrimination. As his classmate Ronald Walker ’75 said in a 1973 Hastings Law News article: “Dick came to Hastings because he saw the law as a formidable weapon for change—and himself as a potential agent of that change. Talking to him convinces you he will be no ordinary lawyer.”

Let the Record Show is an occasional series that showcases people, moments, and milestones from UC Law San Francisco’s past.