1970: “Homosexuals in Revolt” is a front-page story in The New York Times. The article reports “a new mood now taking hold among the nation’s homosexuals. In growing numbers they are publicly identifying themselves as homosexuals, taking a measure of pride in that identity and seeking militantly to end what they see as society’s persecution … Read More
1954: Charles Busch, actor and playwright, is born.
1983: Organizers of a Washington march marking the 20th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech announce that no representatives from gay or lesbian rights groups will be allowed to speak. A group of lesbians and gay men stage a sit-in at the organizers’ office in response.
1970: Huey Newton, leader of the Black Panthers, expresses his support of the Gay Liberation movement. 1983: La Cage aux Folles opens on Broadway to rave reviews and $4 million in advance ticket sales. 2008: The Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon legalizes same-sex marriage. The state of Oregon does not recognize same-sex marriage but, as … Read More
1979: At Sarnia, Ontario / Port Huron, Michigan international bridge, lesbians on their way to the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival are harassed or turned back by US Immigration officials. Formal complaints are laid on behalf of Canadian women by American gay organization, the National Gay Task Force.
1867: In Munich, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs is jeered when he attempts to persuade a conclave of jurists that same-sex love should be tolerated rather than persecuted. He is probably the first to come Out publicly in defense of what he calls “Uranism” (homosexuality). 1992: In Germany, some 250 lesbian and gay couples all over the … Read More
1990: President George H. W. Bush signs the Ryan White Care Act, a federally funded program for people living with AIDS. Ryan White, an Indiana teenager, contracted AIDS in 1984 through a tainted hemophilia treatment. After being barred from attending school because of his HIV-positive status, Ryan White becomes a well-known activist for AIDS research … Read More
1982: United States district court Judge Jerry Buchmeyer rules in Baker v. Wade that the sodomy law of the state of Texas violates the right to privacy and due process. 2004: Indiana Governor Joseph Kernan issues an executive order banning gender identity discrimination in the public sector.
1991: New Jersey governor James Florio issues an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the public sector.
1920: Officials at the Boise City Traction Company catch two men having sex in a restroom, having installed a spy hole from above. The men are convicted of sodomy. Officials had tried to cover the glory hole with wood or metal, but the coverings always ‘came off.’