1962: The United States Supreme Court rules in MANual Enterprises v. Day that photographs of nude or semi-nude men designed to appeal to homosexuals are not obscene and may be sent through the mail.

1972: The United Church of Christ becomes the first mainstream U.S. denomination to ordain an openly gay man, William Johnson.

1978: San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker debuts the first Rainbow Flag design. Thirty volunteers have dyed and sewn two gigantic banners featuring his design for the city’s annual Gay Freedom Day Parade, which this year draws a record 350,000 participants.

1978: Spurred on by the recent spate of gay rights defeats across the country and by the new threat from California’s Proposition 6, San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade draws an estimated three hundred fifty thousand marchers. The parade culminates in a rally at City Hall, where Harvey Milk delivers his now famous “Hope” speech.

1987: In San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. United States Olympic Committee the United States Supreme Court rules that the Gay Games may not use the word “Olympic” in its name because of the trademark held by the USOC.

1989: The US Postal Service becomes the first federal agency to extend official recognition of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement by “Lesbian and Gay Pride” stamp in suing al1 commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.