WASHINGTON (AP) - Documents from gay rights history are on display for the first time at the Library of Congress as part of an exhibit on the nation's constitutional history.

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The documents come from gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, who was fired as a government astronomer in 1957 because he was gay.

The library is showing Kameny's 1961 petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, contesting his firing. Though it was denied, Kameny's was the first petition to the high court for a violation of civil rights based on sexual orientation.

The library also is displaying a 1966 letter from the head of the U.S. Civil Service Commission justifying the firing based on the "revulsion of other employees." It was introduced last year as evidence in the battle over gay rights in California.