Supreme Court declares same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.Looming rain clouds couldn’t dull the bursting excitement of Burlington’s annual Pride Parade and Festival. Senate votes 65-31 to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Matthew Shepard was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming on Octobecause of his sexual orientation. Federal Hate Crime Law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The Matthew Shepard Act is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on October 28th. The court finds the prohibition of gay marriage is unconstitutional because it denies dignity and equality of all individuals.In the following six years, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa and Washington D.C. Massachusetts becomes the first state to legalize gay marriage. to legalize civil unions and registered partnerships between same-sex couples. Vermont becomes the first state in the U.S. The law defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and that no state is required to recognize a same-sex marriage from out of state. President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act into law. Military from barring applicants from service based on their sexual orientation. The Department of Defense issues a directive prohibiting the U.S. Approximately 107 million brochures are mailed. The CDC mails a brochure, Understanding AIDS, to every household in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of activists take part in the National March on Washington to demand that President Ronald Reagan address the AIDS crisis. state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. At their National Convention on August 11-14, the Democrats become the first major political party to endorse a homosexual rights platform. The Democratic Rules Committee states that it will not discriminate against homosexuals. LGBT people and straight allies demand equal civil rights and urge for the passage of protective civil rights laws. The flag now features six colors with their own meaning red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), indigo (harmony) and violet (spirit).Īn estimated 75,000 people participate in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Kathy Kozachenko becomes the first openly gay American elected to public office when she wins a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council.Īrtist Gilbert Baker, who was an openly gay man and a drag queen, designed the first rainbow flag.
The board of the American Psychiatric Association votes to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. In the following decades, the annual gay pride parade will spread to dozens of countries around the world. Following the event, thousands of members of the LGBT community march through New York into Central Park, in what will be considered America's first gay pride parade. Liberation Day celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The raid sparked violent confrontations between police and gay rights activists, as well as a six-day protest now known as the Stonewall Riots.Ĭhristopher St. Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay night club in Greenwich Village, New York City. The gatherings continued annually for five years. state to decriminalize homosexuality.Īt Independence Hall in Philadelphia, picketers begin staging the first Reminder Day to call public attention to the lack of civil rights for LGBT people. Illinois repeals its sodomy laws, becoming the first U.S. Olesen, the United States Supreme Court rules in favor of the First Amendment rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) magazine "One: The Homosexual Magazine." The Order lists homosexuality as a “security risk.” President Dwight Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450, which banned gay persons from working for the federal government or any of its private contractors.
VERMONT FIRST GAY PRIDE PARADE MANUAL
After the manual was released, many experts in medicine, mental health and social sciences criticized it due to lack of scientific data. The American Psychiatric Association lists homosexuality as a “sociopathic personality disturbance” in its first publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The society is the first gay right organization in the United States. The Society for Human Rights is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago.
Now, a century later, the LGBTQ+ community has achieved significant progress, including the legalization of same-sex marriage and acceptance into the U.S.
At one time, homosexuality was even considered a mental illness. Throughout history, people who identify as gay, transgender or gender-nonconforming had to fight for acceptance in the United States. When speaking about human rights, we must include LGBTQ+ rights.