1982: Voters in Lincoln, Nebraska, go to the polls to decide whether or not to accept a proposed gay rights ordinance for the city. Leading the fight against the initiative is local psychologist Paul Cameron who has asserted, among other things, that gay and lesbian teachers are forty-three times more likely to molest a child than … Read More
1970: Ingrid Montano, a teacher in Phoenix, Arizona, resigns after being condemned by community Ieadcrs for having invited a homosexual to come and speak to one of her high school sociology classes. Although she has the support of her principal, she submits her letter of resignation, declaring, “I refuse to compromise on certain issues, and … Read More
1955: In the wake of a moral panic brought on by the sexual assault and murder of a boy in 1954, Iowa enacts a “sexual psycopath” law, allowing for the involuntary commitment of anyone charged with a public offense who possessed “criminal propensities toward the commission of sex offenses”. Twenty gay men from the Sioux … Read More
1975: The Arizona State House of Representatives votes 37 to 3 to pass an “emergency measure” specifically banning same-sex marriages. Two weeks later, the Colorado Attorney General also rules that gay and lesbian marriages are illegal and orders Clela Rorex, the Boulder, Colorado county clerk who had issued a marriage license to two gay men … Read More
1967: Loving v. Virginia is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. A Virginia law against interracial marriages would be struck down, with the Supreme Court declaring that marriage is a “fundamental civil right” and that decisions in this arena are not those with which the State can interfere unless they have good cause. 1972: The Missouri Supreme … Read More
1982: An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association claims that gay men who take the passive role in anal intercourse may have a twenty-five to fifty times greater risk of anal cancer than heterosexual men. 1986: Georgia outlaws gay bathhouses. 2009: Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signs a domestic partner benefits bill effective … Read More
1970: Midnight Cowboy wins the Oscar for Best Picture, becoming the first (and only) X-rated film to do so. It is also the first major Hollywood film to feature an onscreen sexual encounter between two men. The film’s director, John Schlesinger, also gay, wins for Best Director. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnFoaj8utio] 1976: Civil rights crusader and U.S. Congresswoman Barbara … Read More
2005: Kansas voters approve an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriages and civil unions.
1972: The U.S. Supreme Court effectively upholds a lower court ruling giving state governments the right to refuse employment to gay men and lesbians. The court had refused to review the case of an openly gay man turned down for a job at a Minnesota university library because of his homosexuality. 1975: New Mexico becomes … Read More
1970: The Advocate estimates there are approximately 6,817,000 gay men and lesbians living in the United States. 1971: The French leftist newspaper, Tout, edited by Jean-Paul Sartre, calls for complete sexual liberation in France, including the right of individuals to be freely and openly homosexual. French police begin massive seizures of the publication on the grounds that it is … Read More