1776-2026: The Moments That Defined Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Rights in America
As America gets set to celebrate its 250th birthday on July 4, here’s a timeline of some of the most noteworthy events that have shaped the gay rights movement.
This story was produced in partnership with hankycode, an LGBTQ+ history publication.
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on the history of LGBTQ rights in the U.S. On June 30, we will publish another timeline focused on the underreported history of transgender and gender-nonconforming Americans.
Since the U.S. was founded in 1776, visibility of the lesbian, bisexual and gay communities has increased. Though progress has not been linear, this timeline of key events explores how rights related to politics, healthcare, military service and marriage have developed over time and brought us to where we are today.
1776
Before the United States is founded, people who live in the colonies are often subjected to laws that make sodomy, or gay sex, a capital offense.
1786
Pennsylvania is the first state to pass “An Act Amending the Penal Laws,” which states that those convicted of “robbery, burglary, sodomy, or buggary” would no longer be killed and instead would forfeit their lands, goods and servitude for a term “not exceeding ten years.”
1804
When the U.S. is first created, many early states and colonies, including Ohio, inherit common law sodomy statutes from England.
Shortly after Ohio’s statehood in 1803, the laws are repealed, effectively legalizing sodomy for just six weeks before they are enacted again. For years, the policy goes back and forth, causing confusion.
1924
Henry Gerber launches the Society for Human Rights, the first known gay rights organization in the U.S. The group’s goal is to combat prejudices against the gay community and support those who are being discriminated against.
While the organization only lasts a year before Gerber and several other members are arrested for deviancy, it marks the official beginning of gay rights organizations in America.
1950
Harry Hay launches the Mattachine Society, which goes on to be a prominent group in the Homophile Movement, a pre-Stonewall era term used to refer to homosexual or LGBTQ rights groups.
In 1955, the society begins publishing the Mattachine Review, a periodical which includes articles that pose questions like “as a distinct personality type, are homophiles so different?”
1950
A Senate report titled “Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in Government” is distributed to members of Congress. The report states, “It is the opinion of this subcommittee that those who engage in acts of homosexuality and other perverted sex activities are unsuitable for employment in the Federal Government. This conclusion is based upon the fact that persons who indulge in such degraded activity are committing not only illegal and immoral acts, but they also constitute security risks in positions of public trust.”
This report is an early move in the “Lavender Scare,” which leads to thousands of gay employees being fired or forced to resign.
1952
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) publishes its first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In it, they claim that homosexuality is a sociopathic personality disturbance.
1953
President Dwight Eisenhower signs executive order 10450, which bans homosexuals from all federal government work. The order states that any “criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct, habitual use of intoxicants to excess, drug addiction, [or] sexual perversion” is a threat to national security. At the time, sexual perversion is understood as homosexuality. The order continues to fuel the Lavender Scare.
1953
Civil rights activist and organizer Bayard Rustin is arrested for getting caught having sex with a man in a parked car. Police arrest him under “morals” laws that target homosexual people. Following the event, Rustin chooses not to hide his sexuality. This leads to discrimination and results in him having to play a more behind-the-scenes role in the civil rights movement.
1955
Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the U.S., is created. Rosalie “Rose” Bamberger first had the idea for the group and founded it with her partner, Rosemary Sliepen, and three other lesbian couples.
Since lesbian bars are regularly subjected to police raids, the club decides to host safer social functions, such as dances in people’s homes, and eventually the first National Lesbian Conference at San Francisco’s Hotel Whitcomb. While the organization begins as a social club, it eventually grows into a lesbian rights group with chapters throughout the country.
1958
The Supreme Court case, One, Inc. v. Olesen, is groundbreaking for LGBTQ First Amendment Rights. The case involves the Los Angeles postmaster Otto K. Olesen, who required federal postal authorities to seize copies of One: The Homosexual Magazine.
According to Olesen, the magazine was “obscene” which would make it unmailable under the Comstock Act of 1873. The Supreme Court ultimately decides that it is legal to mail LGBTQ magazines in the U.S., citing its previous ruling in Roth v. United States.
1962
Illinois becomes the first state to decriminalize homosexuality when it enacts the repeal of its sodomy laws. This is part of a larger overhaul of the state’s criminal code, so many folks didn’t realize that sodomy laws were repealed.
1968
The APA publishes the second edition of the DSM. This version reclassifies homosexuality as “sexual deviation.”
1969
Following a routine police raid of Stonewall Inn, the patrons fight back. From June 28 to July 3, as New York City’s LGBTQ community resist police violence, the Stonewall uprising becomes the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement.
Stormé DeLarverie has been identified as the “Stonewall lesbian,” a butch lesbian who was clubbed by police the night of the raid, which many believe activated the patrons. DeLarverie says in an interview, “[The officer] then yelled, ‘I said, move along, faggot.’ I think he thought I was a boy. When I refused, he raised his nightstick and clubbed me in the face.”
1972
Don Fass begins the National Bisexual Liberation Group, making it one of the earliest bi groups in the U.S. They began “The Bisexual Expression,” the first known bisexual newsletter in the United States.
1973
Following pressure from homosexual activists, the APA votes to remove homosexuality from the DSM’s list of mental illnesses.
1974
Kathy Kozachenko is elected to a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, City Council, making her the first openly LGBTQ elected official in the U.S.
Kozachenko later writes, “The fact that I was running as openly gay was a statement in and of itself. We also discussed the need for stereotypical gender roles to be eliminated and for women’s rights and gay rights to be more widely established as policy–in city and state government and in corporate America.”
1978
Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office in California, is assassinated outside city hall by a disgruntled former city supervisor. In his work, Milk helped pass a new city ordinance that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations. He is remembered as one of the great LGBTQ advocates in American history.
1979
Over 75,000 people join the first-ever National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Attendees demand equal rights for lesbian and gay people and push for protective civil rights legislation.
1980
The Democrats become the first major U.S. political party to endorse gay rights when the Democratic Rules Committee announces that they won’t discriminate against homosexuals. However, they also reject a proposal that would allow the party to recruit homosexuals.
1980
The cover of the “Gay Insurgent” journal features a photo from the first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights that includes people holding a banner reading, “We’re Asians, Gay & Proud.”
Gisele Pohan, one of the women in the photo, later explains, “We put this banner together rather quickly, having discovered a group of Asian queers in the 3rd World Gay Conference.”
1981
The Department of Defense prohibits all gay and lesbian people from serving in the military, stating that “homosexuality is incompatible with military service.” This leads to the discharge of 17,000 homosexual service members.
1982
Wisconsin passes Bill 70 and becomes the first state to outlaw discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation.
1990
President George Bush signs the Ryan White CARE Act, a federal program created to support people living with AIDS. The goal is “to provide emergency assistance to localities disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic.”
The act is named after Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS following a tainted blood transfusion.
1993
The Department of Defense officially launches “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a policy that allows homosexual service members to be part of the military so long as they keep their sexual orientation a secret. The policy bars commanders from asking service members about their sexuality, and military personnel aren’t allowed to discriminate or harass closeted service members.
1996
President Bill Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The new law recognizes marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman. Additionally, DOMA ensures that states aren’t required to recognize same-sex marriages from out of state.
1997
New Jersey becomes the first state to allow same-sex couples to adopt jointly. Previously, only single gay people were allowed to do this.
1998
Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, is brutally attacked and tied to a fence in an anti-gay hate crime. He later dies in hospital, and his case brings national attention to the dangers of homophobia.
2000
Vermont becomes the first state to legalize civil unions and registered partnerships for same-sex couples. This gives them the same benefits and protections as married couples.
2003
In Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court finds that sodomy laws are unconstitutional. Previously, Texas had a law that criminalized consensual gay sex. This ruling immediately invalidates sodomy laws that exist in other states.
2004
Massachusetts becomes the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. Tanya McCloskey and Marcia Kadish are the first same-sex couple to be legally married in the U.S. “We just wanted to make sure that the world saw the most positive side of being a gay couple,” Kadish says.
2008
Proposition 8 passes in California, making same-sex marriage illegal in the state. It was heavily backed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who spent nearly $190,000 on getting the initiative passed.
This sparks the NOH8 Campaign, a photo project featuring celebrities and other influential figures pushing for marriage equality.
2009
President Barack Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This law expands the 1969 federal hate crime law to include cases when the “crime was committed because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.”
2010
The U.S. Senate repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” enabling gay and lesbian members of the military to be open about their sexual orientation while serving.
2011
Attorney General Eric Holder announces that the Obama administration won’t defend Section 3 of DOMA, which refers to the definition of marriage as a “union between one man and one woman.”
Two years later, the Supreme Court rules in a 5-4 decision that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.
2012
California becomes the first state to ban state-licensed healthcare providers from practicing conversion therapy on minors. Today, 22 other states have passed similar bans.
2015
In a 5-4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage is legal nationwide.
In a speech, President Obama says, “It will end the uncertainty hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples face from not knowing whether their marriage, legitimate in the eyes of one state, will remain if they decide to move [to] or even visit another. This ruling will strengthen all of our communities by offering to all loving same-sex couples the dignity of marriage across this great land.”
2016
A federal judge strikes down a Mississippi law that bans adoption by same-sex couples. This is viewed as the final legal hurdle to adoption rights for same-sex couples.
2018
In Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court sides with Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and rules in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. This decision overturns a prior ruling from the Colorado Court of Appeals, where they found that the bakery violated state law by discriminating against the couple because of their sexual orientation.
2020
In Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court rules that if an employee is fired solely for being gay or transgender, it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
2026
In an 8-1 ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme Court sides again with ADF when it rules that Colorado’s anti-conversion therapy law discriminates against a Christian therapist because of her religious views. The ruling is a blow to LGBTQ rights and has the potential to set a precedent in 23 other states.
If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation in the U.S. through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:
 | A guest post by
|
Literally I was a High School graduate when my home state(California) decided to remove the ban on gay marriage in 2013, talk about a pleasant graduation present.
Having said that, it makes me angry that we still have to fight with these people in power over who gets to have basic human rights and who doesn't, and the recent Chiles v. Salazar ruling is just the tip of the iceberg for me.
Thank you Rebecca. That's a super interesting, important and valuable timeline history. Congratulations. I added my bit of history - my 2021 memoir 'Living and Loving in the age of Aids - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Loving-Age-AIDS-memoir-ebook/dp/B08F4GWCFC/ - Amazon blurb: Distinguished designer Derek Frost and his husband, J—creator of The Embassy Club, London’s answer to Studio 54, and Heaven, Europe’s largest gay discotheque—met and fell in love more than 40 years ago.
Their lives were high-octane, full of adventure, fun and fearless creativity. Then suddenly AIDS arrived in their lives. When they got tested, J received what was then a death sentence: he was HIV Positive. While the onset of AIDS strengthened stigma and fear globally, they confronted their personal crisis with courage, humor and an indomitable resolve to survive. J’s battle lasted 6 long years.
Turning to spiritual reflection, yoga, nature—and always to love—Derek describes a transformation of the spirit, how compassion and empathy rose phoenix-like from the flames of sickness and death. Out of this transformation also came Aids Ark, the charity they founded, which helped to save more than 1,000 HIV Positive lives among the world’s most marginalized people.
This is a story of joy and triumph; about facing universal challenges; about the great rewards that come from giving back. Derek speaks for a generation who lived through a global health crisis that many in society refused even to acknowledge. His is a powerful story chronicling this extraordinary time.