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 9 in LGBTQ History
1975: The Washington Star begins a series on homosexuality in American Sports. Inspired, Washington Redskins linebacker Dave Kopay agrees to come out to the series’ author, Lynn Rosellini.
December 6 in LGBTQ History
2011: Elio Di Rupo becomes Prime Minister of Belgium and, subsequently, the first openly-gay male head of government.
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 29 in LGBTQ History
1933: Close to bankruptcy after repeated Nazi raids and seizures of his publications and property, Adolf Brand writes a letter to his followers announcing the end of the Homophile movement he has led.
November 5 in LGBTQ History
2008: Strauss v. Horton, a legal challenge to Proposition 8, is filed.
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 29 in LGBTQ History
2004: Germany expands the rights of same-sex couples, allowing registered domestic partners to adopt each other’s children.
September 30 in LGBTQ History
1983: New York State sues a West 12th Street co-op for trying to evict Dr. Joseph Sonnabend for treating AIDS patients. He later receives $10,000 and a new lease. 1985: A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a 2—1 opinion written by Anthony Kennedy, affirms in the case of…
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…
