The Long Beach Gay Trials: A History of Injustice

How Long Beach caused the death of John A. Lamb.

Immediately after his 1914 election as mayor of Long Beach, Louis Napoleon Whealton fired the chief of police and raided the city treasury. To replenish the funds, Mayor Whealton concocted a scheme to collect fines from any male “who made advances toward other men.” Two special police officers entrapped and arrested thirty-one men, dragging them before a judge to pay up or risk a public trial. When one victim refused to play along, newspapers were quick to publish the names of everyone accused, including local pharmacist and popular churchman John A. Lamb. His suicide made headlines, but the city continued to target gay men well into this century.

Author and historian Gerrie Schipske uncovers the story of a tragic death with far-reaching consequences in Long Beach.

Gerrie Schipske is passionate about the history of her hometown, Long Beach, California. Born in the U.S. Naval Hospital, she later earned degrees and pursued careers in law, health care, teaching and politics. She worked as an intelligence clerk with the CIA, staffed for a member of Congress and is the first lesbian to be elected to public office in Long Beach. She and her spouse, Flo Pickett, have been together since 1980, raising three children and a granddaughter and spoiling their dog, English.