Back to Archive A Timeline of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Communities The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities have played an important role in the history of California, the United States, and the world. Along the way, we have been labeled, repressed, persecuted, and murdered because we were born gay or lesbian. This timeline provides a glimpse of the trials and tribulations, successes and achievements we have experienced. To embrace our past is to fortify our future. We are proud to be part of a society that works alongside us to increase understanding of our diversity, decrease stereotypes, and focus instead on the individual strengths that unite us as a nation. California has chosen to be proactive in protecting the rights of the LGBT communities and their members. We have far to go, but great progress with landmark legislation has led the way toward achieving the dream of this country’s founders -- equality for all Americans. The future is bright and will become brighter as we join together in the pursuit of liberty and justice for all. 1566 -- In Florida, a Frenchman is accused of being a "sodomite" and is murdered by the Spaniards (first recorded gay hate crime in the U.S.) 1610 -- The Virginia Colony passes the first American sodomy law, dictating the death penalty for offenders 1869 -- First use of the word "homosexual"; in 1886, the word becomes a medical and psychiatric term classified as "degenerate" 1871 -- Paragraph 175 of German Legal Code is enacted, punishing "lewd and lascivious acts" between males with prison terms "not to exceed 10 years" 1895 -- Famed English dramatist Oscar Wilde is sentenced to two years at hard labor for being gay; he dies five years later at age 46 1914 -- In Oregon, a dictionary of criminal slang is published, containing first printed use of the derogatory word "faggot" to refer to male homosexuals 1919 -- U.S. military revises the Articles of War to make sodomy a felony 1924 -- First gay organization, Society for Human Rights, started in Chicago 1931 -- First woman to win Nobel Peace Prize: Jane Addams, a lesbian 1934 -- Hollywood studios enact the Motion Picture Production (Hays) Code prohibiting all references to homosexuality 1936-45 -- After Germany’s Paragragh 175 is expanded, 100,000 men are imprisoned, several thousand of them in the concentration camps where they are labeled with pink triangles; many die from the hard labor or the Nazi "biological cleansing" experiments. After the war, many gay men are kept in prison to serve out their sentences under Paragraph 175. 1943 -- U.S. military bars gays and lesbians from serving in the Armed Forces 1950 -- In Los Angeles, Harry Hay and Chuck Rowland form the Mattachine Society, one of the first gay organizations in the U.S. 1952 -- Congress bans lesbian and gay foreigners from entering the country 1955 -- In San Francisco, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon found the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization in the U.S. 1958 -- U.S. Supreme Court rules that the nation’s first gay periodical,One, can be distributed through the mail 1961 -- In San Francisco, Jose Sarria becomes the country’s first openly gay candidate for public office 1961 -- Illinois is first state to abolish its laws against consensual gay sex 1963 -- Martin Luther King "March on Washington" organized by openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin 1965 -- Mattachine Society leads first gay rights rally at United Nations 1969 -- In New York City, police again raiding the gay bar called Stonewall Inn are met with resistance from gays, lesbians and transvestites; the 4-day "Stonewall riots" are now viewed as the start of the gay and lesbian liberation movement 1970 -- In New York City, the first Gay and Lesbian Pride March is held to commemorate the Stonewall riots; annual freedom parades and pride parades nationwide continue to this day 1972 -- East Lansing, Michigan, becomes the first city in the U.S. to ban anti-gay bias in city hiring 1973 -- The American Psychiatric Association affirms that homosexuality can no longer be classified as a mental disorder 1974 -- Nation’s first openly lesbian is elected to Ann Arbor City Council 1974 -- House Resolution 14752, first gay civil rights bill, introduced in Congress 1975 -- Assembly Bill (AB) 489 passes, decriminalizing sodomy in California 1975 -- Santa Cruz County becomes first U.S. county to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians 1976 -- San Francisco hires country’s first openly gay law enforcement officer 1977 -- In San Francisco, first openly gay City Supervisor, Harvey Milk, is elected 1978 -- In San Francisco, only one year later, Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone are assassinated by Dan White 1978 -- In San Francisco, Rainbow Flag is designed by Gilbert Baker 1978 -- California voters defeat the Briggs initiative, which would have barred gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools 1979 -- First attempt to add sexual orientation to protected categories under Fair Employment and Housing Act, introduced as AB 1 by Art Agnos 1981 -- First cases of AIDS are reported; in 1983 researchers identify HIV as cause 1982 -- Wisconsin becomes the first state to enact gay civil rights legislation 1982 -- Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is founded 1984 -- Berkeley becomes the first city in the U.S. to extend domestic partnership benefits to gay and lesbian city employees 1984 -- AB 1, first bill to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians, passes legislature but is vetoed by Governor Deukmajian; rallies and protests statewide 1986 -- The gay community successfully defeats two LaRouche initiatives that propose quarantining Californians with AIDS and HIV. Out of this effort comes the first statewide advocacy group for gay and lesbian civil rights -- the Lobby for Individual Freedom and Equality (LIFE Lobby). 1987 -- ACT UP is formed; demands early release of experimental drugs for seriously ill Americans with cancer, AIDS, and other diseases 1989 -- California Legislature passes comprehensive Hate Crimes law, which includes sexual orientation 1990 -- For the first time, the national census includes a question that more or less identifies gay couples 1991 -- AB 101, second attempt to ban discrimination, passes Legislature but is vetoed by Governor Wilson; rallies and protests for several weeks statewide 1992 -- Governor Wilson signs non-discrimination bill (AB 2601), adding sexual orientation protections to the Labor Code 1993 -- Roberta Achtenberg is the first openly gay or lesbian person to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate 1993 -- President Clinton settles for "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" military policy 1994 -- Sheila James Kuehl elected to California Assembly, first openly lesbian or gay member of the Legislature 1994 -- 25th Anniversary of Stonewall Riots; draws 1.1 million marchers 1994 -- American Medical Association opposes medical treatment to "cure" homosexuals 1996 -- Openly lesbian Carole Migden elected to California Assembly 1996 -- Congress passes "Defense of Marriage" act giving states the right to not recognize same-sex marriages from other states 1996 -- U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Colorado anti-gay Amendment 2 1996 -- First attempt to create state domestic partner registry (AB 2810); vetoed by Governor Wilson 1997 -- Assembly Member Sheila James Kuehl becomes first woman and first openly lesbian Speaker pro Tempore 1998 -- Matthew Shepard is tortured and murdered in Wyoming 1999 -- First statewide Domestic Partnership registration (AB 26) passes Legislature and is signed by Governor Davis 1999 -- AB 1001, adding sexual orientation to Fair Employment and Housing Act, passes Legislature and is signed by Governor Davis 1999 -- AB 537, protecting gay and lesbian students from harassment, passes Legislature and is signed by Governor Davis 1999 -- Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder are murdered in Redding, CA 2000 -- Sheila James Kuehl becomes first openly lesbian elected California Senator 2000 -- Openly lesbian Christine Kehoe and Jackie Goldberg are elected to California Assembly 2000 -- Vermont becomes first state to offer civil unions for same-sex couples 2000 -- U.S. Supreme Court rules in close 5-4 vote that the First Amendment allows the Boy Scouts of America to oust a gay Scout leader in New Jersey 2001 -- The Netherlands becomes the first country to grant full marriage rights to same-sex couples 2002 -- California teen Eddie "Gwen" Araujo is fatally attacked by four men who discover "Gwen" is actually a young transgendered male 2003 -- Belgium and three Canadian provinces extend marriage rights to same-sex couples 2004 -- The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to intervene as Massachusetts issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the state. Gay and lesbian couples begin exchanging vows 2004 -- Federal marriage amendment defeated. 2005 -- San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer rules that California can no longer justify limiting marriage to a man and woman. Recent Legislative Landmarks 2000 -- California voters pass "Limit on Marriage" Initiative (Proposition 22), denying recognition of same-sex marriages, even if they are legalized in other states 2001 -- AB 25, providing additional domestic partner benefits, passes Legislature and is signed by Governor Davis 2001 -- Federal judge upholds Florida law that bans gays from adopting children 2002 -- The nation’s first legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus is formed in the California Legislature with the following members: Senator Sheila Kuehl and Assembly Members Jackie Goldberg, Christine Kehoe, and Carole Migden 2002 -- John Laird of Santa Cruz and Mark Leno of San Francisco become first openly gay men in the California Legislature, and active members of LGBT Caucus, when they are elected to the State Assembly 2003 -- In Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that laws against private, consensual, non-commercial sex between adults are a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturns the "sodomy laws" in the 13 states that still retain them. 2003 -- AB 196, prohibiting discrimination in employment and housing based on actual or perceived gender identity, expression or behavior, passes Legislature and is signed by Governor Davis 2003 -- AB 17, prohibiting discriminatory employment benefits in state contracts, passes Legislature and is signed by Governor Davis 2003 -- AB 205, extending to registered domestic partners nearly all the same rights and responsibilities provided to different-sex spouses under California law, passes Legislature and is signed by Governor Davis 2004 -- AB 1967, the California Marriage License Non-Discrimination Act, is introduced to make marriage a civil contract between two adults. Will be re-introduced in 2005. 2004 -- In acts of civil disobedience led by San Francisco, localities in New York, New Mexico, and Oregon issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Courts halt the issuance of these licenses, but cases are filed in these jurisdictions questioning the constitutionality of laws that allow only different-sex couples to marry. 2004 -- New Jersey’s partnership law takes effect July 1. Civil unions are legal in Vermont. California and Hawaii have domestic partnership laws that provide certain legal rights to gay relationships. Virginia expands its ban on same-sex marriage by prohibiting partnership contracts, civil unions, and other arrangements between persons of the same sex, and declares void and unenforceable any contractual rights created by the couple. The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to intervene as Massachusetts becomes first state to legalize same-sex marriage. 2004 -- Bill (AB 2208) prohibiting discrimination in insurance for deomestic partners; signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. 2004 -- Bill (AB 2900) amending anti-discrimination provisions of the California Codes; signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. 2004 -- Bill (SB 1234) expanding laws relating to hate crimes; signed by Governor Schwarzenegger.