The legal drinking age was 18, which made things very convenient for a young gay man who was just coming out.Ī gay kid had many places to choose from in 1974. Not only were there far fewer raids than before, but local laws that made it a crime for “known homosexuals” to be served liquor or congregate in a tavern were overturned. It was also a golden age for Miami-Dade County’s lesbian and gay bar scene. As my fictional alter-ego, Joe Martinez, said in one of his adventures, “Miami was a candy store for a young gay guy just out of the closet.” With no AIDS in sight, and most venereal diseases treated with a simple shot, it was “the golden age of gay sexuality.”
Miami in the 1970's was a great time to be young and gay.
