1962: The United States Supreme Court rules in MANual Enterprises v. Day that photographs of nude or semi-nude men designed to appeal to homosexuals are not obscene and may be sent through the mail. 1972: The United Church of Christ becomes the first mainstream U.S. denomination to ordain an openly gay man, William Johnson. 1978: San Francisco artist … Read More
1987: The New York Times decides to allow its writers to use the word “gay” as an adjectival synonym for “homosexual.” 2011: The United States Department of Health and Human Services announces its first-ever grant in the amount of $250,000 to create a resource center for LGBT political refugees.
1987: Michael Bennett, choreographer of A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls, dies of AIDS at the age of forty-four in Tucson, Arizona. 1989: Lambda Book Report presents the first Lambda Literary AWARDS as part of the American Booksellers Association convention in Washington, DC Armistead Maupin emcees; “Lammy” winners include Dorothy Allison, Paul Monette, Michael Nava, Karen … Read More
1965: Ten men and three women participate in an ECHO (East Coast Homophile Organization) picket of the White House. 1979: Los Angeles outlaws discrimination against homosexuals in private sector employment and in patronization of business establishments in its city. Mayor Thomas Bradley signs bills which go into effect July 2, 1979. 1987: U.S. Representative Barney … Read More
1987: Prominent gay actor, director and playwright Charles Ludlam dies of AIDS at age 44. 1989: Guy Baldwin of Los Angeles becomes the 11th International Mr. Leather at the contest at the Vic Theatre in ChicagoT 1998: U.S. President Bill Clinton signs Executive Order 13087 to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the competitive service … Read More
1960: In San Francisco, the Daughters of Bilitis sponsors a three-day national convention of lesbians, perhaps the first public gathering focused on the topic of lesbianism in the United States. 1977: Wyoming repeals its laws against homosexual acts between consenting adults. 1987: With wife Tammy Faye weeping at his side, disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker goes … Read More
1987: Stewart McKinney, a Republican from Connecticut, becomes the first U.S. congressman to die of AIDS. He is fifty-six. His widow subsequently establishes a foundation in his name and eventually sets up a medical scholarship for college students interested in working with people with AIDS. It is later revealed that McKinney was actively, if not … Read More
1970: In the first of a series of public “zaps” by New York City gay activists, an appearance by Mayor John Lindsay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is interrupted by angry protesters shouting “Gay Power!”, demanding his support for an end to job and housing discrimination against LGBT people. His appearance on a local … Read More
1971: In defiance of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, a federal judge grants U.S. citizenship to a 24-year old gay man from Cuba, ruling that an applicant’s homosexuality cannot, in itself, bar a person from becoming a citizen. 1986: William Hurt wins the Best Actor Oscar for his role as an imprisoned homosexual window … Read More
1970: The film version of Matt Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band opens in New York, directed by William Friedkin. The director remarks, “I hope there are happy homosexuals. There just don’t happen to be any in my film.” 1977: Two years after having repealed its state sodomy laws, Arkansas’s state legislature votes to … Read More