Spotlight On Sobriety 02/08/2026
- GaL-AA Newsletter Committee
- 1 day ago
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Updated: 19 hours ago
In this week's publication:
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Origin of GaL-AA
Quest Roundup 40th Anniversary
1980's Letters to the Editor
Spotlight On Sobriety 02/08/2026
Join GaL-AA (It's Free) Click Here
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Origin of GaL-AA
How the IAC and GaL-AA Took Root: A Personal Look at the Origins of LGBTQ+ Advocacy in AA
In 1972, Nancy T., a member of the Gay Group in Washington, D.C., newly sober and driven
by purpose, unknowingly planted the seeds for what would become the International Advisory Council (IAC), which eventually became GaL-AA. The Washington DC group and one in New Jersey were cooperating in printing and distributing a pamphlet titled The Homosexual Alcoholic–AA’s Message of Hope to Gay Men and Women. Their desire to connect LGBTQ+ alcoholics grew into something much larger.
While on a business trip to the west coast, Nancy contacted local AA intergroups and discovered a growing network of gay and lesbian AA meetings across the U.S. in cities like Dallas, Los Angeles and Denver. She, along with a lesbian Metropolitan Community Church minister in Los Angeles and a gay man who worked for a halfway house for gay alcoholics in San Francisco, began collecting their information and compiling a grassroots directory of LGBTQ+ AA groups nationwide—a project fueled by determination, a sense of responsibility and a compulsive collector’s spirit.
This effort became self-sustaining. Pamphlets sold for a dime, directories for a dollar—just enough to fund more printing and distribution. These simple materials became lifelines for many. Despite lacking AA Conference approval, AA’s General Service Office (GSO) supported these efforts informally, distributing the materials to those who reached out for help and referring them back to Nancy, her cohorts and other members of their respective home groups.
In 1974 the AA General Service Conference unanimously passed an advisory action allowing groups that catered to special interest to be published in AA’s World Directories, and at AA’s International Convention in Denver during 1975, there was an officially recognized gay and lesbian Hospitality Suite organized by the Living Sober groups from California. By 1980, after seven years of mostly solo work, Nancy T. was asked to assist with planning gay and lesbian workshops for the International Convention in New Orleans. There, recognizing the need for a more representative and structured group, the groundwork for IAC was laid.
Following the convention, the first informal meeting of what would become IAC was held during the Capital Roundup in Washington, D.C. To everyone’s surprise, over 20 people attended. The movement gained traction. By early 1981, inspired by ICYPAA (the International Conference of Young People in AA), the AA LGBTQ+ structure began forming—complete with bylaws, temporary officers and regional outreach teams.
A pivotal moment came in May 1981 at the Boston Roundup where the group chose its name and drafted a charter. After much debate—reflecting the diverse and growing identities in the LGBTQ+ community—they settled on the name: The International Advisory Council for Homosexual Men and Women in Alcoholics Anonymous. Though "homosexual" was disliked by almost everyone, it was a compromise they all could live with.
Eventually, publishing responsibilities transitioned to Hazelden, which agreed to distribute The Homosexual Alcoholic after hearing 10,000 copies had already circulated. True to their AA principles, Nancy T. refused royalties, instead donating the symbolic $1 payment back to her group, feeling that its members had done most of the writing.
Although she stepped back from a leadership role, Nancy remained active with IAC in an advisory capacity into the early 1990s. The early work of Nancy T. and her associates in Washington D.C, New Jersey, Texas, Los Angeles and San Francisco laid the foundation for GaL-AA's ongoing mission: to support LGBTQ+ people in Alcoholics Anonymous and ensure visibility, connection and service within the fellowship. Their legacy remains a testament to how one person’s service can ripple across decades.
GaL-AA Today: A Thriving Community of Support and Inclusion
Since its inception, GaL-AA has grown into a vibrant community dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ groups and individuals in AA. The organization continually adapts to meet the needs of its members, emphasizing inclusivity, representation and transparency. In 2013, reflecting a broader embrace of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, IAC officially adopted the name Gays and Lesbians in Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc., doing business as GaL-AA. In 2016, GaL-AA clarified its Statement of Inclusion to affirm its commitment to serving all LGBTQ+ members of AA, regardless of how they identify themselves.
Engage and Support GaL-AA
GaL-AA's mission thrives on community involvement. We encourage members and allies to participate in events, volunteer and contribute to fundraising efforts. Opportunities include attending the upcoming convention events, supporting fundraisers and spreading the word within local AA communities.
For more information on GaL-AA's initiatives and how to get involved, visit our official website: www.gal-aa.org.
GaL-AA's journey from a grassroots effort to a cornerstone of support within AA exemplifies the power of community and the importance of inclusivity in recovery. As the organization looks to the future, it remains steadfast in its commitment to serving LGBTQ+ individuals in their journey toward sobriety.
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GaL-AA Newsletter Committee
Quest Roundup 40th Anniversary
The Power of Pride and Recovery
We hope to see you all at Quest 2026 - February 20-22! - Myrtle Beach, SC
The 2026 Quest committee is hard at work planning a fun-filled, action-packed, recovery weekend at the beach and we can’t wait to see all of your beautiful faces!
For $65.00 you get an action-packed weekend of recovery and fellowship!! Among the activities, we have three speakers, a wide variety of workshops, dinner on Friday evening, and lunch on Saturday. There will also be a hospitality suite that promises to be amazing where you can socialize and have a snack with old friends and meet new ones! We also have entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights following the speaker meetings and we will finish the weekend with our traditional Gratitude Meeting on Sunday morning! See you at the beach!!!
1980's Letters to the Editor
Letters That Still Speak
As we continue preserving and digitizing our newsletters from earlier years, something remarkable happens, when we slow down and read them—not as artifacts, but as conversations.
Long before email lists, websites, or social media, members of our fellowship reached across cities, countries, and decades through typed pages and mailed newsletters. What they shared still speaks with clarity today.
Below are excerpts and reflections drawn from several 1980s editions of IACtivity, capturing voices that helped shape LGBTQ+ Alcoholics Anonymous as we know it.
“The Only Question We Have Any Right to Ask…”
In a 1988 historical reflection, Rey A. recounts early moments that defined inclusion in AA:
“The only requirement for membership in A.A. is a desire to stop drinking.”— Bill W., quoted in IACtivity, February 1988
This reminder wasn’t academic—it was survival. At a time when many LGBTQ+ alcoholics arrived carrying deep shame and fear of rejection, these words weren’t just policy. They were permission to live.
Service as a Lifeline
In a personal reflection woven into a historical timeline, Rey A. describes how sobriety and service became inseparable:
“Sobering up, I realized how simple it had been for me to come into A.A., and that it had been set up to be that way—simple. Still later, I began to appreciate the time and effort those men and women had devoted to the Third Legacy of Service.”
The writer goes on to express gratitude for those who built the structure that made that simplicity possible. Even then, the message was clear: we stay sober by making it easier for the next person.
“We Need Each Other”
A 1988 Message from the Chair reflects a tone that feels strikingly current:
“Let’s all work together toward a successful and closer relationship between IAC and the local gay and lesbian groups of A.A. We need each other!”
That sentence could run in today’s newsletter without a single word being changed. The tools have evolved—but the truth has not.
Belonging on a World Stage
By 1989, excitement was building around the 1990 AA International Convention in Seattle. One newsletter matter-of-factly announces hospitality suites, dances, and meetings for gay and lesbian members—without apology, without explanation.
Presence itself was the message.
“IAC will sponsor a hospitality suite, dance, and three meetings of interest to gay and lesbian members of A.A.”
What once required courage now feels expected—and that progress is built on their shoulders.
Why These Voices Matter Now
These aren’t simply historical notes. They are reminders:
That inclusion was claimed before it was comfortable
That service has always been central to our recovery
That connection—quiet, persistent, human—builds legacies
We share these voices to honor the past, not to romanticize it— to remember that our experience, strength and hope of today will, in future, be someone else’s archive and history lesson.
GaL-AA Newsletter Committee
Spotlight On Sobriety 02/08/2026
The Spotlight On Sobriety 02/08/2026 features personal stories, articles, and reflections submitted by members and friends of the fellowship. The views expressed are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of Alcoholics Anonymous or GaL-AA.
Statement of Inclusion
GaL-AA exists to serve lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, queers and others in Alcoholics Anonymous regardless of how they self-identify. GaL-AA embraces all members of the AA Fellowship.
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