1973: “An American Family“, a documentary series focusing on the Loud family of Santa Barbara, CA, premieres on PBS.  Not only does it presage the era of reality TV, son Lance Loud comes out publicly on the show, characterizing himself as “Homo of the Year.”

1984: The Wall Street Journal allows staff writers to now use the word “gay” as a synonym for “homosexual” in article and headlines.

2007: The Mexican northern state of Coahuila passes a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions, under the name Pacto Civil de Solidaridad (Civil Union Pact).