Home of gay activist Kameny named DC landmark

The Washington, D.C., home regarded as the epicenter of the city's gay rights movement is being designated a historic landmark.

The home belongs to 83-year-old Franklin E. Kameny, who is considered the "father of gay activism" by the Historic Preservation Review Board.

Kameny fought in World War II, earned a doctorate and then moved to D.C. to work as an astronomer. But he was fired by the Army Map Service in 1957 for being gay.

In 1961, Kameny argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that a federal policy calling homosexuals a security risk was "no less odious than discrimination based upon religious or racial grounds." It was the first civil rights claim in a U.S. court based on sexual orientation.

Kameny says he's touched by the recognition.