1992: The Kentucky Supreme Court issues its holding in Kentucky v. Wasson, invalidating the state’s sodomy law as unconstitutional. 2004: Nova Scotia becomes the sixth of Canada’s provinces or territories to have legal same-sex marriage. Neither the federal nor provincial governments opposed the lawsuit filed by three couples, one of whom had already been married … Read More
1676: Governor Edmond Andros of New York issues an order extending the 1665 sodomy law of New York into what now are Pennsylvania and Delaware. 1965: Emmy winning actor, producer and writer, Scandal‘s Dan Bucatinsky is born in New York CIty. 2002: In Switzerland, voters in the canton of Zurich vote 63% to 37% to give … Read More
1955: In San Francisco, four lesbian couples, including Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, found the Daughters of Bilitis, the first homophile organization exclusively for women. 1982: The Oklahoma Supreme Court awards custody of two boys to their divorced gay father, declaring homosexuality isn’t in itself grounds for ruling a parent unfit. 1993: Married … with Children‘s Amanda Bearse talks … Read More
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
1996: The United States Senate passes the Defense of Marriage Act (85–14) and rejects prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation in the private sector (49–50). 2002: In Du Toit v Minister of Welfare and Population Development, the Constitutional Court of South Africa rules that same-sex couples must be allowed to adopt children jointly.
1970: Huey Newton, leader of the Black Panthers, expresses his support of the Gay Liberation movement. 1983: La Cage aux Folles opens on Broadway to rave reviews and $4 million in advance ticket sales. 2008: The Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon legalizes same-sex marriage. The state of Oregon does not recognize same-sex marriage but, as … Read More
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the California Supreme Court cemented history refused today when they refused to revive Proposition 8, ending the last remaining legal challenge to same-sex marriage in the state. Meeting in closed session, the state high court rejected arguments by ProtectMarriage, Proposition 8’s sponsors, that only an appellate court could overturn … Read More
1833: In London, Captain Nicholas Nicholls, 50, is sentenced to death on a charge of Sodomy. His sentence is protested by the anonymous poet who is writing Don Leon, purportedly an autobiographical poem by Lord Byron but actually by some contemporary who is remarkably familiar with the late poet’s love life. Don Leon is not … Read More
1995: After refusing to allow the Gay and Lesbian Association of Zimbabwe to exhibit at a human rights book fair, President Robert Mugabe opens the fair with an attack on lesbians and gay men, saying they are alien to African traditions and that he doesn’t believe “they have any rights at all.” 1996: Representative … Read More
2011: The first legal same-sex marriages are performed in the state of New York. New York City records 659 marriages, a one-day record for the city.