Here's What the Fight for LGBTQ Rights Has Looked Like Through the Years
This Pride month, a look back at the milestones in the LGBTQ rights movement.
This year, 2020, marks the 51st anniversary of Pride as we know it. On June 28 1969, drag performers at New York City's Stonewall Inn led an uprising against police surveillance and violent raids. The Stonewall Riots were the impetus for the modern American LGBTQ rights movement, however, the fight for those rights began long before Stonewall and continues around the world today. Here's a look at the many milestones in the LGBTQ rights movement, from that first Pride, to the Supreme Court's ruling on marriage equality and beyond. And while you're at it, here are some of our favorite LGBTQ books to read right now.
1924
The Society for Human Rights, the first gay-rights organization in the U.S., is founded in Chicago by Henry Gerber. It is shut down by police within a few months.
1961
Illinois becomes the first state to decriminalize homosexuality.
June 28, 1969
Police raid the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Protests and riots begin, led by Marsha P. Johnson. The Stonewall Riots become known as the impetus for the LGBTQ civil rights movement in the United States.
June 28, 1970
The first “Gay Liberation Day” march is held in New York City on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Similar events are held in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
April 2, 1974
Kathy Kozachenko becomes first openly LGBTQ candidate to win elected office in U.S. when she wins a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council.
1978
Gilbert Baker designs the first rainbow flag as a symbol of LGBTQ pride.
November 27, 1978
Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a pubic office in California, is assassinated.
October 14, 1979
The first march on Washington for LGBTQ rights draws an estimated 75,000–125,000 demonstrators.
March 2, 1982
Wisconsin becomes the first state to ban discrimination on basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations.
December 1, 1988
World AIDS Day is observed for the first time. The date is designated by the World Health Organization and supported by the United Nations.
June 7, 1989
Denmark becomes first country to legally legitimize same-gender partnerships.
November 30, 1993
President Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibits gay and lesbian Americans from serving in U.S. military, unless they are “closeted.”
December 3, 1996
President Clinton signs Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into law, banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage and defining marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife."
April 14, 1997
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres comes out as a lesbian on the cover of Time magazine, stating, "Yep, I'm Gay."
June 11, 1999
President Clinton declares June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.
May 17, 2004
Massachusetts becomes the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.
October 28, 2009
President Obama signs the Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law, extending existing federal hate-crime laws to include those committed on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
June 1, 2009
President Obama renames June LGBT Pride Month, from Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.
August 4, 2010
Proposition 8 in California is declared unconstitutional.
September 20, 2011
President Obama repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” ending the ban on openly gay and lesbian Americans from service in the military.
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