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.”

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.

1995: For the first time in its history, the United Nations considers lesbian and gay rights abuses at its International Tribunal on Human Rights Violations Against Sexual Minorities. Following testimony from a number of women and men who have suffered abuse ranging from torture to forced institutionalization, the tribunal recommends that the UN document sexual orientation and gender identity issues around the world and integrate them into the organization’s human rights agenda.

1929: In Germany, a Reichstag Committee votes to repeal Paragraph 175, however, the Nazis’ rise to power prevents the implementation of the vote.

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

1986: Roy Cohn dies of AIDS in Bethesda, Maryland, asserting to his last breathe that he has liver cancer. 1995: U.S. President Bill Clinton signs Executive Order 12968,  which bans discrimination based on “sexual orientation” as it establishes uniform policies for allowing government employees access to classified information.