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Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Leonard Chambers (1929-1956), Part 1


This Physique Pictorial cover was the lead-in for an editorial piece published by 
Bob Mizer of AMG at a time when he knew the authorities were watching everything he did.  
Some of you young folks today probably can't know how unimaginably brave that act was.  
Rather than retell the story, I am going to post Bob Mizer's essay here unedited, and then move
 on to an homage for a great model whose life was stolen.  Please read on:

This issue of Physique Pictorial is dedicated to LEONARD CHAMBERS pictured here, who was SHOT AND KILLED by an off duty POLICEMAN who was in private hire at the time! See page 3. 

He continues on page 3 -- "WAS THE KILLING OF LEONARD CHAMBERS  BY TWO OFF-DUTY POLICEMEN "JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE"? Acting in the employment of a private bail bondsman, two Southern California policemen forced Leonard Chambers to get in their private car for allegedly failing to appear on some traffic charges. They testified that Leonard pulled a gun on them even though they had previously searched him and had him handcuffed. In desparate [sic] "self-defense" they shot him twice in the back of the head. Leonard of course didn't live to tell his side of the story. The coroner's jurors dutifully declared this murder "justifiable homicide."  




 

7 comments:

  1. Same old story...police literally getting away with murder.

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    1. Bob Mizer was quite brave to call them out in this instance.

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  2. If the pigs had pulled that stunt a decade later, they would have had riots on their hands. Now they guard the gay discos in my part of London as public servants should - against the predations of fanatical Christians in this very fundamentalist part of Town, and who seem to be the last people to understand that you don't treat people like that.

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    1. It took the Stonewall Riots in 1969 to start real change in the USA. And yes, there are still more than a few people in a lot of countries who don't get the message on human rights for everyone.

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  3. There are documented news reports from the mid 60's about violent confrontations between crowds of gays and police in both SF and LA. The mainstream media (MSM) chose to give "the small incident" maybe 2 paragraphs, if they covered it at all. I can remember most of the MSM barely covering the Stonewall riots, again, portraying them as another "small incident". It wasn't until nearly a decade later that most of us heard what actually happened. The crowd of gays grew and really bashed back at the police, overturning police cars and setting them on fire. It was a real riot that even The New York Times barely acknowledged the extent of the violence and damage.

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    1. Historians often overlook those incidents in SF and LA that you mention. Stonewall became iconic at a later point, but it wasn't the only pivotal moment.

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  4. Leonard Chambers, his life like the 1958 song by Thomas Wayne anf the Delons
    Tragedy.

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