Summary

Chapter 3 opens by describing legal challenges to Koch’s executive order banning discriminatory hiring practices. Religious organizations, led by the Catholic Church, challenged the order in court and the measure was overturned after a weak response from city lawyers. Gay activists were outraged by Koch’s failure. Partially as a response, they organized a new group, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), dedicated to protecting gay and lesbian civil rights. The mayor, in turn, criticized the gay community for refusing to recognize the gains made by his moderate, conciliatory approach. The conflict between Gallo and Montagnier reached an apex when it was revealed that the sample Gallo used to isolate his virus was one taken, perhaps unintentionally, from the French researcher. This was extremely unethical and had allowed Gallo to benefit financially from a patent on the discovery while the...