December 6 in LGBTQ History
2011: Elio Di Rupo becomes Prime Minister of Belgium and, subsequently, the first openly-gay male head of government.
Tag: 1994
October 11 in LGBTQ History
1981: In Los Angeles, then twenty-one year old Prince opens for the Rolling Stones. He is booed off the stage with taunts of “Faggot!” and “F*cking queer!” 1987: The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights (aka “The Great March”) takes place in Washington, DC. The march, demonstration, and rally also included … Read More
September 27 in LGBTQ History
1970: Chicago Gay Alliance separates from the local Gay Liberation Front (GLF), declaring in a position statement that GLFs political agenda is too broad to be effective in the struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights. 1974: The National Gay [later: and lesbian] Task Force and other lesbian and gay activists persuade major consumer advertisers … Read More
September 16 in LGBTQ History
1994: At the insistence of the U.S., the United Nations suspends the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) from observer status because of allegations that ILGA’s members include groups that promote pedophilia. 2004: Manitoba becomes the fifth of Canada’s provinces or territories to have legal same-sex marriage. Neither the federal nor provincial governments opposed the … Read More
August 9 in LGBTQ History
1972: The Ohio Secretary of State refuses to grant articles of incorporation to the Greater Cincinnati Gay Society. Two years later, the Ohio Supreme Court upholds the decision, stating that even though homosexual acts are now legal in Ohio, “the promotion of homosexuality as a valid life style is contrary to the public policy of … Read More
June 27 in LGBTQ History
1952: The McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act bars immigrants “afflicted with psychopathic personality,” a phrase that is interpreted to include all homosexuals. 1972: “Gay News”, England’s first national gay newspaper, makes its debut. 1994: Deborah Batts becomes the first openly LGBTQ U.S. federal judge. 2010: Same-sex marriage in Iceland is legalised with Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir … Read More
May 2 in LGBTQ History
1972: Edgar Hoover dies of a heart attack at the age of seventy-seven. The main provision of his will — leaving the bulk of his $551,000 estate to his close companion of more than forty years, Clyde Tolson — renews longtime speculation over his sexuality. “I was in love once when I was young,” Hoover … Read More
April 27 in LGBTQ History
1953: President Dwight Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450, banning homosexuals from working for the federal government or any of its private contractors. The Order lists homosexuals as security risks, along with alcoholics and neurotics. 1972: Testifying before Congress, J. Edgar Hoover assures the House Appropriations Committee that there are no gay activists in the Bureau, … Read More
April 26 in LGBTQ History
1980: CBS broadcasts an hour-long documentary entitled “Gay Power, Gay Politics” that alleges to be about the emergence of gay political clout in San Francisco, but instead focuses obsessively on more lascivious aspects of gay sexuality, making them seem like the focus of the entire gay rights movement. In one segment, close-ups track the arrival … Read More