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The American Gay Rights Movement: A
Timeline
This timeline provides information about the gay rights movement in the United States from 1924 to the present: including the Stonewall riots; the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy; the first civil unions; the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and Connecticut; and more.
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1924
- The Society for Human Rights in Chicago becomes the country's
earliest known gay rights organization.
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1948
- Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, revealing to the public that homosexuality is far more widespread than was commonly believed.
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1951
- The Mattachine Society, the first national gay rights organization,
is formed by Harry Hay, considered by many to be the founder of the gay
rights movement.
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1956
- The Daughters of Bilitis, a pioneering national lesbian
organization, is founded.
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1962
- Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize
homosexual acts between consenting adults in private.
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1969
- The Stonewall riots transform the gay rights movement from
one limited to a small number of activists into a widespread protest for
equal rights and acceptance. Patrons of a gay bar in New York's
Greenwich Village, the Stonewall Inn, fight back during a police raid on
June 27, sparking three days of riots.
-
1973
- The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its
official list of mental disorders.
-
1982
- Wisconsin becomes the first state to outlaw discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation.
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1993
- The “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy is instituted for the
U.S. military, permitting gays to serve in the military but banning
homosexual activity. President Clinton's original intention to revoke
the prohibition against gays in the military was met with stiff
opposition; this compromise, which has led to the discharge of thousands
of men and women in the armed forces, was the result.
-
1996
- In Romer v. Evans, the Supreme Court strikes down
Colorado's Amendment 2, which denied gays and lesbians protections
against discrimination, calling them “special rights.”
According to Justice Anthony Kennedy, “We find nothing special in
the protections Amendment 2 withholds. These protections . . .
constitute ordinary civil life in a free society.”
-
2000
- Vermont becomes the first state in the country to legally recognize
civil unionsbetween gay
or lesbian couples. The law states that these “couples would be
entitled to the same benefits, privileges, and responsibilities as
spouses.” It stops short of referring to same-sex unions as
marriage, which the state defines as heterosexual.
-
2003
- The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that sodomy laws in the U.S. are unconstitutional. Justice Anthony
Kennedy wrote, “Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes
freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate
conduct.”
-
- In November, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that
barring gays and lesbians from marrying violates the state constitution.
The Massachusetts Chief Justice concluded that to “deny the
protections, benefits, and obligations conferred by civil
marriage” to gay couples was unconstitutional because it denied
“the dignity and equality of all individuals” and made them
“second-class citizens.” Strong opposition followed the
ruling.
-
2004
- On May 17, same-sex marriages become legal in Massachusetts.
-
2005
- Civil unions become legal in Connecticut in Oct. 2005.
-
2006
- Civil unions become legal in New Jersey in December.
-
2007
- In November, the House of Representatives approves a bill ensuring
equal rights in the workplace for gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.
-
2008
- In February, a New York State appeals court unanimously votes that
valid same-sex marriages performed in other states must be recognized by
employers in New York, granting same-sex couples the same rights as
other couples.
- In February, the state of Oregon passes a law that allows same-sex
couples to register as domestic partners allowing them some spousal
rights of married couples.
- On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. By November 3rd, more than 18,000 same-sex couples have married. On November 4th, California voters approved a ban on same-sex marriage called Proposition 8. The attorney general of California, Jerry Brown, asked the state's Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of Proposition 8. The ban throws into question the validity of the more than 18,000 marriages already performed, but Attorney General Brown reiterated in a news release that he believed the same-sex marriages performed in CA before November 4th should remain valid.
- November 4, 2008, voters in California, Arizona, and Florida approved the passage of measures that ban same-sex marriage. Arkansas passed a measure intended to bar gay men and lesbians from adopting children.
- On October 10, 2008 the Supreme Court of Connecticut rules that same-sex couples have the right to marry. This makes Connecticut the second state, after Massachusetts, to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples. The court rules that the state cannot deny gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry under Connecticut's constitution, and that the state's civil union law does not provide same-sex couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.
- On November 12, 2008 same-sex marriages begin to be officially performed in Connecticut.
1. Internationally, Denmark became the
first country to legalize same-sex partnerships in 1989. Within two years,
Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and France followed suit. In 2001, the
Netherlands became the first country legalizing same-sex marriages;
Belgium followed in 2003, and Spain in 2005. The Canadian provinces of
Ontario and British Columbia legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, numerous
other provinces followed suit in 2004, and on June 29, 2005, the Canadian
parliament passed a bill legalizing gay marriage throughout the country.
Countries that offer a legal status, sometimes known as registered
partnership, that confers most or all spousal rights to same-sex couples:
Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden. Countries that offer a
legal status, sometimes known as unregistered cohabitation, that confers
certain spousal rights to same-sex couples (and, in some of these
countries, unmarried opposite-sex couples): Brazil, Canada, Croatia,
France, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
More on American Gay Rights Movement A Timeline from Infoplease:
- International Policies on Same-Sex Marriage - The purpose of the indicators is to provide a quick reference tool to show the position of each state concerning same-sex marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, prohibitive laws, and prohibitive state constitutional amendments.
- U.S. Policies on Same-Sex Marriage - The purpose of the indicators is to provide a quick reference tool to show the position of each state concerning same-sex marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, prohibitive laws, and prohibitive state constitutional amendments.
- Selected Activists and Reformers - Selected biographies of well-known Activists and Reformers
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