December 21 in LGBTQ History
1917: In Russia, the Bolsheviks repeal the entire criminal code in favor of “revolutionary justice.” Among the laws nullified are those relating to sex acts between men.
December 14 in LGBTQ History
1988: The film adaptation of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy opens in the United States.
December 7 in LGBTQ History
1993: In Texas, Williamson County commissioners reverse the previous week’s decision to deny Apple Computer tax breaks for a new facility in the county because of its policy of extending benefits to employees’ same-sex domestic partners. Several of the commissioners, however, continue to express condemnation of “the gay lifestyle.”
December 6 in LGBTQ History
2011: Elio Di Rupo becomes Prime Minister of Belgium and, subsequently, the first openly-gay male head of government.
December 3 in LGBTQ History
1968: At the Metropolitan Community Church in Los Angeles, the Reverend Troy Perry officiates at what is probably the first public same-sex union ceremony in the US.
November 30 in LGBTQ History
1624: In the Virginia Colony, Richard Cornish is hanged for allegedly making advances on a ship’s steward. His conviction and execution, angrily contested by his brother and others, is the first to be recorded in the American colonies.
November 2 in LGBTQ History
2010: Voters in El Paso, Texas pass an initiative that strips health insurance benefits from the unmarried partners of city employees. Supporters say that their intention was to target gay city employees and their partners.
October 1 in LGBTQ History
1982: Former Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Glenn Burke comes out in “Inside Sports”, becoming the first professional baseball player to do so.
September 21 in LGBTQ History
1955: In San Francisco, four lesbian couples, including Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, found the Daughters of Bilitis, the first homophile organization exclusively for women. 1982: The Oklahoma Supreme Court awards custody of two boys to their divorced gay father, declaring homosexuality isn’t in itself grounds for ruling a parent unfit. 1993: Married … with Children‘s Amanda Bearse talks…
July 19 in LGBTQ History
1848: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Co-organizer Lucretia Mott invite several hundred women to Seneca Falls, New York, for the first Women’s Rights Convention. About 100 sign a “Declaration of Sentiments” modeled on the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The document marks the beginning of organized feminism in the United States. 1921: The U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee issues…
