World Pride Day is held on June 28, the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and subsequent Christopher St. March in New York City. Learn about some of the major events in American queer liberation history!
1924: The oldest documented gay rights organization, the Society for Human Rights, is founded.
1950: The Mattachine Society is founded in Los Angeles.
1955: The first lesbian rights organization in the US, Daughters of Bilitis, is founded.
1962: Illinois becomes the first US State to decriminalize homosexuality.
1966: The first peer-run support organization in the world, the National Transsexual Counseling Unit, is established.
1969: The famous Stonewall Uprising occurs in New York’s Greenwich Village.
1970: The Christopher St. Liberation Day March becomes the first documented gay pride parade in the US.
1973: The APA votes to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses.
1979: 75,000 people participate in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
1981: The first known cases of HIV in the US are documented in gay men in San Francisco and California.
1987: ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) is formed.
1993: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is passed, allowing homosexuals to enlist in the military. Open homosexuality is still prohibited.
1996: The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
2000: Vermont becomes the first state to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples.
2003: The Supreme Court case Lawrence V. Texas deems laws against sodomy unconstitutional.
2004: Massachusetts becomes the first state to legalize gay marriage. New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa, and DC follow.
2009: The Matthew Shepherd Act expands the federal Hate Crime Law to include acts motivated by sexuality or gender.
2010: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is repealed, allowing gay people to serve openly in the military.
2015: The Supreme Court case Obergefell V. Hedges legalizes same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
2020: The supreme court rules that LGBTQ+ employees are protected by the Civil Rights Act from workplace discrimination.
The fight for equality is NOT over. All over the US, lawmakers are introducing bills infringing on the rights of LGBTQ+ folks. You can help by educating others, advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, and refusing to back down!
