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.
Tag: Court Rulings
December 18 in LGBTQ History
1982: The Quebec government overwhelmingly approves a measure that gives domestic partners of gays and lesbians legal protection and access to economic benefits previously restricted to straights.
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 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.
October 27 in LGBTQ History
1970: To protest a September 1970 Harper’s cover story entitled “The Struggle for Sexual Identity,” in which editor Joseph Epstein had lamented homosexuals as “an affront to our rationality” and homosexuality as “anathema,” Columbia graduate student Pete Fisher stages a sit-in at the magazine’s Park Avenue offices with 40 other Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) members. Although the sit-in does not elicit an official response from the magazine, it leads to GAA’s national Television debut and has an enormous impact on future media coverage of lesbian and gay issues.
October 21 in LGBTQ History
1983: Through a spokesperson, the Orthodox Eastern Churches in the United States threaten to withdraw from the National Council of Churches if the predominantly gay and lesbian Metropolitan Community Church is allowed to join. In response, the council decides to table the group’s application for membership.
October 13 in LGBTQ History
1970: Bob Mellors and Aubrey Walter host the United Kingdom’s first Gay Liberation Front meeting at the London School of Economics. 1982: Jerry Falwell and National Gay Task Force director Virginia Apuzzo debate gay rights on the Donahue show. 1987: Over 600 lesbians, gay men, and supporters are arrested on the steps of the U.S. … Read More
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
October 10 in LGBTQ History
1987: 2,000 gay and lesbian couples exchange vows in a mass wedding held on the steps of the I.R.S. building in Washington, DC.
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 … Read More