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1958 - Supreme Court rules in favor for gay rights for the first time

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1958 - Supreme Court rules in favor for gay rights for the first time

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ONE sued the U.S. government after the Post Office refused to deliver its magazine on the grounds that it was "obscene." A trial court ruled for the Post Office, and an appeals court affirmed that finding. The Supreme Court overturned the appeals court's decision in a brief ruling, effectively ruling the Post Office had to deliver ONE.

The trial and appellate court took particular issue with a story called "Sappho Remembered." From the appeals court's opinion:

"The article 'Sappho Remembered' is the story of a lesbian's influence on a young girl only twenty years of age but 'actually nearer sixteen in many essential ways of maturity,' in her struggle to choose between a life with the lesbian, or a normal married life with her childhood sweetheart. The lesbian's affair with her roommate while in college, resulting in the lesbian's expulsion from college, is recounted to bring in the jealousy angle. The climax is reached when the young girl gives up her chance for a normal married life to live with the lesbian. This article is nothing more than cheap pornography calculated to promote lesbianism. It falls far short of dealing with homosexuality from the scientific, historical and critical point of view."

The ONE case isn't typically noted as a major gay rights case, but it certainly seems like a victory for gay rights advocates.

ONE was the "first widely distributed publication for homosexuals in the United States," according to Onearchives.org. The magazine stopped being published in 1967.

Around the same time, the lesbian and gay magazine " The Advocate" launched and is still in circulation today.

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The Supreme Court Actually Ruled For Gay Rights More Than 50 Years Ago

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ONE sued the U.S. government after the Post Office refused to deliver its magazine on the grounds that it was "obscene." A trial court ruled for the Post Office, and an appeals court affirmed that finding. The Supreme Court overturned the appeals court's decision in a brief ruling, effectively ruling the Post Office had to deliver ONE.

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This was significant because it was the first time LGBTQ people began to fight back and made an impact.

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1969

Photo Credit: NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Sometime after midnight on June 28, 1969, in what is now regarded by many as history's first major protest on behalf of equal rights for LGBTQ people, a police raid of the Stonewall Inn-a popular gay club located on New York City's Christopher Street-turns violent as patrons and local sympathizers begin rioting against the authorities.

Although the police were legally justified in raiding the club, which was serving liquor without a license, New York's gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs, many of which had already been closed.

Soon, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police. The protest spilled over into the neighboring streets, and order was not restored until the deployment of New York's riot police sometime after 4 a.m.

The Stonewall Riots were followed by several days of demonstrations in New York and was the impetus for the formation of the Gay Liberation Front as well as other gay, lesbian and bisexual civil rights organizations. The next year, in 1970, New York's first official gay pride parade set off from Stonewall and marched up 6th Avenue. June was later designated LGBTQ Pride Month to commemorate the uprising.

In 2019, the New York Police Department formally apologized for its role in the Stonewall Riots, and for the discriminatory laws that targeted gay people.

Fact Check

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The Stonewall Riots begin in NYC's Greenwich Village | June 28, 1969 | HISTORY

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In what is now regarded as history's first major protest on behalf of equal rights for LGBTQ people, a police raid of the Stonewall Inn-a popular gay club located on New York City's Christopher Street-turns violent as patrons and local sympathizers begin rioting against the police.

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People started to march and protest for their rights.

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Online Exhibition - Labor of Love - GLBT Historical Society

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December 1973 - Homosexuality is not longer considered a mental illness

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December 1973 - Homosexuality is not longer considered a mental illness

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Forty-four years ago today, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) -- the largest psychiatric organization in the world -- made history by issuing a resolution stating that homosexuality was not a mental illness or sickness. This declaration helped shift public opinion, marking a major milestone for LGBTQ equality.

The resolution stated, "We will no longer insist on a label of sickness for individuals who insist that they are well and demonstrate no generalized impairment in social effectiveness." The statement continued to say the APA supports "civil rights legislation at local, state, and Federal levels that would insure homosexual citizens the same protections now guaranteed to others."

Now, more than 40 years later, LGBTQ advocates are still fighting to achieve that reality. Despite significant steps forward, 31 states still lack clear, fully-inclusive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, meaning that LGBTQ people are at risk of being fired, denied housing, and denied services for who they are or whom they love.

That's why HRC is fighting to pass The Equality Act, which would provide consistent and explicit federal non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs and jury service.

In recent years, the APA has continued to advocate for LGBTQ people, including forcefully opposing the dangerous practice of so-called "conversion therapy" and opposing the Trump-Pence Administration's ban on qualified transgender people serving in the military.

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In 1973, APA Removed Homosexuality From List of Mental Illnesses

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Forty-four years ago today, the American Psychiatric Association made history by issuing a resolution stating that homosexuality was not a mental illness or sickness.

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May 2004 - Same-sex marriage is legalized in all of America

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May 2004 - Same-sex marriage is legalized in all of America

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Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, of Malden, Massachusetts, marry at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts, becoming the first legally married same-sex partners in the United States. Over the course of the day, 77 other same-sex couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses. The day was characterized by much celebration and only a few of the expected protests materialized.

On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court found the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, ruling that the state could not deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry. The decision cited the state constitution's ban on the creation of second-class citizens. The court then gave the state 180 days in which to change the law. Efforts by some legislators to introduce an amendment to the state's constitution banning same-sex marriage, but recognizing civil unions, were defeated.

Same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states on June 26, 2015, after the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
READ MORE: The Supreme Court Rulings That Have Shaped Gay Rights in America

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First legal same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts

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Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, of Malden, Massachusetts, marry at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts, becoming the first legally married same-sex partners in the United States. Over the course of the day, 77 other same-sex couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses.

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October 2009 - Hate Crimes Prevention Act becomes a law

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October 2009 - Hate Crimes Prevention Act becomes a law

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Washington (CNN) -- President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.

The expanded federal hate crimes law, hailed by supporters as the first major federal gay rights legislation, was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill that Obama signed at a packed White House ceremony.

The hate crimes measure was named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year.

Shepard's mother, Judy, was among those at the ceremony that also included Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Attorney General Eric Holder and leading members of Congress and the Pentagon, who were on hand for the appropriations bill signing.

To loud applause, Obama hailed the hate crimes measure in the bill as a step toward change to "help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray."

He cited the work of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and others "to make this day possible."

Later Wednesday, Obama stood with Shepard's parents and relatives of Byrd at a separate White House event honoring passage of the expanded hate crimes law.

Noting reports of 12,000 crimes based on sexual orientation over the past 10 years, Obama called the bill another step in the continuing struggle for protecting human rights.

"Because of the efforts of the folks in this room, particularly those family members standing behind me, the bell rings even louder now," Obama said. When he finished his remarks, he hugged the weeping relatives as the audience applauded.

Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality. However, Holder has said that any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, not to prosecute speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs.

Former President George W. Bush had threatened to veto a similar measure, but Obama brought a reversal of that policy to the White House.

When the bill won final congressional approval last week, Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese called the hate crimes measure "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people."

Earlier this month, Obama told the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay rights group, that the nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians.

"Despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open," he said in an address at the group's annual dinner. "This fight continues now and I'm here with the simple message: I'm here with you in that fight."

Among other things, Obama has called for the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military -- the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He also has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act.

The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage, for federal purposes, as a legal union between a man and a woman. It allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. The Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act would extend family benefits now available to heterosexual federal employees to gay and lesbian federal workers.

However, some advocates for stronger rights for the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community have complained that Obama's administration is moving too slowly on his legislative promises.

Opponents of the expanded hate crimes bill challenged the need to specify one particular community in federal legislation. They contended that existing federal hate crimes laws were sufficient to protect the rights of people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported by the FBI between 1998 and 2007, or "nearly one hate crime for every hour of every day over the span of a decade," Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee in June.

At Wednesday's signing, Obama also praised what he called a bipartisan effort to start changing the culture of military spending through the annual appropriations bill. He noted that Gates had worked with congressional leaders to end what Obama called wasteful projects like the F-22 fighter bomber and a new presidential helicopter that would have cost "almost as much as Air Force One."

"I won't be flying on that," the president said.

Noting that cost overruns in military projects total tens of billions of dollars, Obama called for further "fundamental" reforms in how the government and Pentagon do business.

"We all know where this kind of waste comes from," he said, citing "indefensible" no-bid contracts and special interests pushing unneeded weapons systems.

Such actions are "inexcusable", "unconscionable" and an "affront to the American people" as the nation faces two wars and an economic recession, Obama said.

"Today I'm pleased to say that we have proved that change is possible," he said.

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Washington (CNN) -- President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. The expanded federal hate crimes law, hailed by supporters as the first major federal gay rights legislation, was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill that Obama signed at a packed White House ceremony.

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After decades of fighting for their rights, LGBTQ people finally get it.

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Gay Pride parades are scheduled to take place in both New York City and San Francisco this weekend, but you can count on seeing celebrations all over America. In an enormous victory for LGBT rights, the Supreme Court has just declared same-sex marriage a Constitutional right nationwide.

At the moment, just 36 states allow gay marriage. With this new ruling, the remaining states - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas - must allow all Americans to marry who they love, regardless of gender. Equality at last! Are happy tears running down your face yet?

The hero of the day, and of America, really, is Justice Anthony Kennedy, a longtime supporter of gay rights who wrote the majority opinion. "No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were," he said. "As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death."

He continued: "It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves," Kennedy said. "Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

Justice Kennedy isn't the only one who's excited about this historic news.

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Gay Marriage Is Officially (Finally!) Legal Nationwide

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Supreme Court Votes to Make Gay Marriage Legal

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July 2015 - The Equality Act is introduced

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July 2015 - The Equality Act is introduced

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By adding your name to our list of community co-sponsors, you'll join with thousands of others to push the Senate to pass the Equality Act into law, which would provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.

With pro-equality majorities in both chambers of Congress, there has never been a better time to pass the Equality Act.

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President Biden's executive order extending civil rights protections to LGBTQ people is a major milestone for equality. Now, we must cement these protections into law. Congress must pass the Equality Act, which will finally provide consistent, explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

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May 2016 - Obama administration publicly supports transgender student

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May 2016 - Obama administration publicly supports transgender student

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President Obama Just Made a Historic Announcement for Transgender Students

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Today, the Obama administration issued a directive to all public schools that transgender students should be allowed to use the restroom that reflects their gender identity. The move comes at a time in our country when the debate over bathroom rights for transgender people, especially students, has hit a crescendo.

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November 2018 - LGBTQ canidates are elceted into office

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November 2018 - LGBTQ canidates are elceted into office

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As the sun set on Washington on Tuesday evening, a rainbow appeared over the Capitol. LGBTQ candidates and advocates hoped it was an early sign that a figurative "rainbow wave" would sweep a historic number of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer candidates into office.

Their hopes were arguably fulfilled. With a number of races still too close to call, more than 150 LGBTQ candidates emerged victorious in the midterms as of Friday afternoon. For perspective, there are currently less than 600 openly LGBTQ elected officials in the U.S. - just 0.1 percent of elected officials nationwide, according to the Victory Institute.

"From the U.S. Congress to governors' mansions to state legislatures and city councils, we are making historic inroads and growing our political power in ways unimaginable even a few years ago," former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, now the president and CEO of the Victory Institute and Victory Fund, said in a statement sent to NBC News. "We shattered lavender ceilings, achieved historic firsts and brought more LGBTQ representation to legislative bodies across the nation, which will help push equality forward."

Four LGBTQ candidates ran for governor, all Democrats, and two are projected to win.

In Colorado, with 99 percent of the votes in as of Friday afternoon, NBC News reported that Jared Polis is ahead of his Republican challenger, Walker Stapleton, with more than 52 percent for the vote. Polis is set to become the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S.

Patrick Egan, a politics professor at New York University, called Polis' victory a "remarkable turnaround" for the Centennial State, which in 1992 "was home of Amendment 2," which prohibited recognition of homosexuals as a protected class. And just over a decade ago, the state also passed Amendment 43, which prohibited same-sex marriage.

"That says something about the transformation of that state, and of our country, when it comes to how voters think about LGBTQ candidates and LGBTQ rights," Egan said.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a bisexual Democrat who in 2016 became the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected governor, was also projected to win her race. With 99 percent of the vote in on Wednesday afternoon, Brown was 6 percentage points ahead of Republican Knute Buehler.

Lupe Valdez, a lesbian Latina running in Texas, and Christine Hallquist, a transgender woman running in Vermont, were both projected to be defeated by their Republican challengers.

"The big disappointment of the night is Christine Hallquist," Egan said, noting that she faced a popular Republican incumbent, Gov. Phil Scott. "But I don't think it takes anything anyway from her historic candidacy."

There are currently seven openly LGBTQ members in Congress: Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo.; Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.; Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.; Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.; Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis.; and Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.

The incoming 116th Congress will welcome several new LGBTQ members, though the overall number of out members will only increase slightly, as some members - like Polis - have sought higher office.

Baldwin, the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Senate, was projected to win re-election. Sinema, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Jeff Flake, is in a tight race with Republican Martha McSally. As of Friday afternoon, the race was still too close to call: With 83 percent of precincts reporting, Sinema was ahead by nearly 10,000 votes. If she wins, she will be the first openly bisexual person elected to the Senate and the first female senator from Arizona.

Of the estimated 20 openly LGBTQ major party candidates running for the House, eight won. The incumbent winners include Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.; Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.; Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.; and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis. The new LGBTQ House members include Democrats Sharice Davids of Kansas, Angie Craig of Minnesota, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire and Katie Hill of California.

When all the races are called, the number of LGBTQ members in both houses of Congress will climb slightly to nine.

"This is a historic night in the fight for equality," Rep. Cicilline said in a statement. "We will enter the 116th Congress with an unprecedented number of LGBTQ members."

"We are also celebrating the rise of a Democratic majority," Cicilline continued. "Issues important to LGBTQ Americans, like the Equality Act's protection from discrimination and equal and affordable access to health care, will now be top priorities for the People's House. The LGBTQ members of Congress are ready to lead in the House to ensure equality for all across this country."

The wins by LGBTQ challengers helped give control of the House to Democrats. Democrats needed to pick up 23 seats to take control of the House, and as of Thursday, they had a net gain of 31.

Pappas won his race by a landslide to hold a Democratic seat and represent New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, a district Trump won by 2 percentage points. With the win, Pappas becomes the first openly gay person to represent New Hampshire in Congress.

Democrat Sharice Davids flipped her district in Kansas against four-term incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder to become the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from Kansas and one of the first two female Native Americans elected to Congress (along with newly elected Debra Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico).

"Tonight Kansas voters gave the boot to a Trump ally and replaced him with a groundbreaking LGBTQ leader who spoke her truth throughout the campaign," former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, now the president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement sent to NBC News. "Sharice's victory tonight will become a model for other LGBTQ leaders considering a run for office in red states or districts."

Likewise, Angie Craig of Minnesota beat incumbent Rep. Jason Lewis, picking up an important seat for the Democrats. She also will be the first openly LGBTQ mother in Congress.

"Angie's victory is a historic moment that redefines what is possible for an LGBTQ person in Minnesota, and it is made even sweeter given she defeated one of the most homophobic and transphobic incumbents in the U.S. Congress to pull it off," Parker said.

NBC News declared Katie Hill the apparent winner in her race for California's 25th District. With nearly all districts reporting, Hill had a nearly 3-point lead over her opponent, incumbent Republican Steve Knight as of Friday afternoon.

State legislatures across the U.S. will elect a record-breaking number of LGBTQ representatives, according to Andrew Reynolds, professor of political science at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. There have never been more than 119 openly LGBTQ state representatives nationwide, but with 32 newly elected legislators as of Wednesday, the total will hit 129, according to Reynolds.

There were also several notable firsts in statehouses across the country. Kansas, Nebraska and Indiana will welcome the first-ever LGBTQ legislators.

In Kansas, Susan Ruiz and Brandon Woodard won seats in the Kansas House of Representatives. In Nebraska, Megan Hunt became the first openly LGBTQ candidate ever elected to the state legislature, and J.D. Ford defeated Republican Mike Delph, a staunch opponent of same-sex marriage, to become the first LGBTQ candidate elected to Indiana's General Assembly.

Neil Rafferty won his race in the Alabama House of Representatives, Mary Washington will become the first only LGBTQ person of color elected to the Maryland Senate, and Malcolm Kenyatta is the first openly gay black man to win a seat in the Pennsylvania legislature.

"The rainbow wave touched down in state capitals throughout the country on Election Day - with an astounding number of out LGBTQ candidates shattering long-standing political barriers and becoming historic firsts," Parker said.

"While our attention is often focused on Donald Trump and Congress, it is in our state legislatures where the most horrific attacks on LGBTQ equality are occurring. But personal relationships matter in these legislative chambers, and we know out LGBTQ officials significantly influence the votes of their colleagues on equality issues."

State-level representation matters because of the number of anti-LGBTQ bills that have been introduced in the past several years. In 2017, 129 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced across 30 states, according to the Human Rights Campaign, 12 of which became law.

Two transgender women, Lisa Bunker and Gerri Cannon, also won their elections in New Hampshire, effectively tripling the level of transgender representation in statehouses across the U.S. Danica Roem, who in 2017 became the first transgender person elected to a state legislature, congratulated both Bunker and Cannon.

There are still more transgender candidates running in statehouse races that have yet to be decided, according to researcher Logan Casey, who tracks transgender political candidates nationally. These candidates include Everett Maroon of Washington, Amelia Marquez of Montana, Briana Titone of Colorado and Lasia Casil in Guam. A number of transgender candidates were also successful in local races for city council and school board.

Egan said that candidates' LGBTQ identities were not a significant issue in any of the races.

"The dog that didn't bark is definitely something of note, and that's definitely something good about 2018 and where we stand on these things," he said.
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Over 150 LGBTQ candidates claim victory in midterm elections

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As the sun set on Washington on Tuesday evening, a rainbow appeared over the Capitol. LGBTQ candidates and advocates hoped it was an early sign that a figurative "rainbow wave" would sweep a historic number of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer candidates into office. Their hopes were arguably fulfilled.