Tag Archives: gross indecency

Klippert Case Officially Recognized as Historic Event in Canada

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

We are happy to report that our application to the National Program of Historical Commemoration was rewarded. The Klippert Case recently got an official nod from the Government of Canada. It is now designated a historic event of national significance. Parks Canada, which administers the program, has an intensive screening and deliberation process—they conducted extensive research before reaching their decision.

Parks Canada wrote a detailed backgrounder on the designation, explaining, “The Klippert Case of 1967 was a pivotal moment in the fight for 2SLGBTQI+ rights in Canada.”

One of the goals of the Calgary Gay History Project is to make our history more visible in the City. With this designation, we will get a bronze plaque in Calgary (in a public location) to finalize the commemoration.

Learn more about the Klippert Case—watch our award-winning short film, directed by Laura O’Grady!

We would like to sincerely thank Mount Royal University history professor Joe Anderson for informing us about the application process to the National Program of Historical Commemoration.

Anyone can submit a nomination to this program!

We believe that there was no queer history represented in the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations before this, but we changed that! Now we need more…

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history, Press Release

Tagged bisexual, Calgary, Everett Klippert, gay, Gay history, Government of Canada, gross indecency, human-rights, Klippert Case, Laura O'Grady, lesbian, National Program of Historical Commemoration, Parks Canada, queer, transgender

Gross Indecency (the film): 5 Years Later

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Our film Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story premiered in 2018. That year, it won the Best of Alberta award at the Calgary International Film Festival and since has had an active online presence (YouTube).

Historian Kevin Allen is grateful that the short film helped elevate Everett’s story into public consciousness, particularly the role his court case played in the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. Since the film launched, there has been a steady stream of people reaching out to the Calgary Gay History Project (particularly educators), who have brought the film into their high school classes and university conferences.

The film’s director, Laura O’Grady from Snapshot Studios, remarked: “What struck me when we were filming Gross Indecency was the power of allies. It became clear that it was Everett’s cis Christian sister who fought for her brother. If it wasn’t for her courage and perseverance the case would probably never have made the Supreme Court, and Everett would have spent his entire adult life in prison. Human rights are hard earned and easily lost. As Canadians who value our way of life, we must always be vigilant and protect those who cannot stand or advocate for themselves.”

Many people who see the film comment on the touching human story at the film’s heart. Furthermore, Calgarians resonate with a tale that takes place in their city. Curiously, distant relatives of Everett have discovered the film and felt a strange connection to that gentle man from across the generations.

One of the most powerful outcomes of the research and the film was meeting Ottawa-based lawyer Brian Crane, who defended Everett at the Supreme Court in 1967. Amazingly, he is still practicing law today (in his 90s).

In early 2020, the Klippert family applied to the Parole Board of Canada for an expungement of their uncle’s criminal record. Mr. Crane assisted the family with the application pro bono. It’s remarkable that Mr. Crane’s career spanned these two ends of Everett’s story.

The expungement order was granted on November 18, 2020, which means Everett was deemed never to have been a criminal. His family is deeply satisfied with the outcome.

*Kevin Allen and Brian Crane in conversation as part of Calgary Pride’s 2020 History Program*

We are thankful we got to participate in the making of Gross Indecency. Our sincere gratitude goes out to Laura O’Grady, the driving force behind this beautiful film.

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Brian Crane, Calgary, Calgary Pride, Everett Klippert, gay, Gay history, gross indecency, human-rights, Laura O'Grady, lesbian, queer, Snapshot Studios, transgender

10 Moments in 10 Years @YYCgayhistory

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

We’ve returned from a three-month hiatus to celebrate both pride month and ten years since the Calgary Gay History Project was founded. We began as a tiny project for Calgary 2012 and have been growing ever since due to an active and engaged community.

*One of Kevin Allen’s first public history presentations in 2013*

In gratitude, Kevin has reflected on a number of special moments from the decade’s deep dive into local queer history.

The blog: www.calgarygayhistory.ca was the information clearing house that started everything. One post that blew up was: Our History with the Police, written during the 2017 debate around police participation in Calgary Pride. The most read blog post continues to be Gay men are smarter than straight men – so says history, written in 2013. It seems every day someone in the world googles “are gay men smart?”
Gay History Walks. Ever since 2013, situating queer history in the Calgary landscape on a warm summer night with enthusiastic walkers is a slice of heaven (although we had a snow squall once that added a decidedly different frisson).
Everett Klippert. His life story has been a focus of the Calgary Gay History Project since its inception. However, everything deepened when his family got involved with the Project in 2015. Together we excavated Everett’s very profound role in changing Canadian history in 1969. His story continues to have posthumous impact, most recently with the expungement of his criminal record in 2020.
Club Carousel. Calgary’s original gay bar founded in 1970 was arguably the most formative queer space the city has ever seen. Our first commemorative Club Carousel Cabaret was held in 2014 at the High Performance Rodeo thanks to Third Street Theatre and our impresario Michael Green (RIP). Our second Cabaret was held in 2015 thanks to One Voice Chorus—sold out each time!
Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story (2018). Saying “yes” to filmmaker Laura O’Grady was one of the best decisions we ever made. Not only did this short film garner festival laurels, but through the process Laura became a good friend. We made another great film in 2021, called Undetectable. Laura has our highest esteem.
Our Past Matters. The book had a difficult birth. It took four years to write—not one year, as planned. However, it was embraced in pre-production by a successful Kickstarter campaign and since has gone on to be a local best-seller as well as on the curriculum for some University of Calgary undergraduate classes. We are ever so grateful both for insightful readers as well as independent bookstores.
Legislating Love. Natalie Meisner’s play about the life of Everett Klippert was history turned into sublime art (I wept). Sage Theatre mounted the world premiere in 2018, and the play continues to gather praise, most recently winning an “Oscar” at this year’s Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival.
HiR. Kevin was honoured to be the inaugural Historian in Residence when the New Central Library opened in 2018. It was a high water mark for the Calgary Gay History Project and a terrific experience. The Library graciously hosted the book launch of Our Past Matters—an incredibly special memory now.
A Queer Map: The Calgary Atlas Project (2019). Kevin collaborated with artist Mark Clintberg on the first published map of the Calgary Atlas Project: an art project by the Calgary Institute for the Humanities at the University of Calgary. It’s beautiful.
Lois Szabo Commons. Last summer the City of Calgary unveiled a new park dedicated to Lois Szabo, the only living founder of Club Carousel. The park is a public and permanent commemoration of queer history in our city. We were honoured to participate in the nomination process and count Lois as one of the dearest people we know.

*Lois Szabo Commons Opens July 21, 2021*

No historian is an island. So many people have contributed to the success of the Calgary Gay History Project. In closing, we would like to give a shout out to project volunteers past and present: Nevena, Del, Rosman, Matt, Ayanna, Sheldon, Laura, Jonathan, Nolan, and Tereasa!

{KA}