ABSTRACT
Unlike many contemporary civil rights activists, José did not directly defy unjust laws. He always had a strong respect for law. Neither did he bow to such laws. Instead, he often looked for ways to circumvent the laws legally. In San Francisco in the early years, as in many places, there was a law forbidding men to dress in women's clothing. The City made an exception one night a year, on Halloween; however, any man caught in drag one minute after midnight on November 1, would be hauled off to jail.
