Tag: 1976

May 14 in LGBTQ History

1897: In Germany, Magnus Hirschfeld founds the Scientific Humanitarian Committee to organize for homosexual rights and the repeal of Paragraph 175. 1969: Canada decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults with the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69. 1974: The first federal gay civil rights bill, extending antidiscrimination protection to gay men and lesbians under the … Read More

May 1 in LGBTQ History

1974: “Studio One” opens in West Hollywood. The labyrinthine establishment, one of the biggest of its kind (it has four bars, a dinner theater, a jewelry concession, and a game room), quickly establishes itself as L.A.’s premier gay nightclub, the disco to end all discos, drawing such celebrity regulars as Richard Chamberlain, Bette Midler, Elton John, and … Read More

April 18 in LGBTQ History

1965: Following the previous day’s protest in Washington, D.C., twenty-nine ECHO (East Coast Homophile Organization) demonstrators picket the United Nations in New York City. 1973: The Minnesota State House of Representatives votes 69 to 46 to retain the state’s sodomy laws. 1976: Michael Bennett’s “A Chorus Line” sweeps the Tony Awards, winning nine in all, including one for Best … Read More

April 17 in LGBTQ History

1965: Ten gay and lesbian demonstrators picket the White House in Washington, D.C., the first in a series of demonstrations staged this year by the East Coast Homophile Organization (ECHO) 1976: The Lavender World’s Fair – the first all-gay world’s fair, featuring a “Spectacular Grandstand Concert,” “Special Lesbian Guest Stars,” “The World’s Largest Outdoor Disco” … Read More

April 10 in LGBTQ History

1967: Loving v. Virginia is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.  A Virginia law against interracial marriages would be struck down, with the Supreme Court declaring that marriage is a “fundamental civil right” and that decisions in this arena are not those with which the State can interfere unless they have good cause. 1972: The Missouri Supreme … Read More

April 7 in LGBTQ History

1970: Midnight Cowboy wins the Oscar for Best Picture, becoming the first (and only) X-rated film to do so.  It is also the first major Hollywood film to feature an onscreen sexual encounter between two men.  The film’s director, John Schlesinger, also gay, wins for Best Director. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnFoaj8utio] 1976: Civil rights crusader and U.S. Congresswoman Barbara … Read More

April 4 in LGBTQ History

1971: Four “reformed” homosexuals go on The David Susskind Show to tout their conversions to heterosexuality and praise the therapy of sometime poet and literary critic Eli Siegel, whose doctrine of “Aesthetic Realism” teaches that homosexuality is the result of a distorted philosophical view of the world. Aesthetic Realists-who never use the word “homosexuality” but … Read More

April 2 in LGBTQ History

1976: The owner of a Hoboken, NJ dinner theater, the Clam Broth House, cancels an upcoming production of The Boys in the Band after learning that the play is about homosexuality. “The Clam Broth House is a family restaurant,” says manager Arthur Pelaez, “and I do not feel that this kind of play is the type … Read More

March 29 in LGBTQ History

1976: By a vote of 6 to 3, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Virginia’s sodomy laws. 1985: The Los Angeles Times comes out in favor of gay rights and urges the U.S. Supreme Court to take a stand on more gay-related issues. 1988: Georgetown University, the nation’s oldest Roman Catholic university, loses … Read More

March 12 in LGBTQ History

1976: At a campaign stop in Los Angeles, Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter tells an audience that, if elected, he would be willing to issue an executive order banning discrimination against gay people in housing, employment, immigration and the military. 2004: The Wisconsin State Senate approves of an amendment to the state constitution (20-13) that would ban … Read More

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