The story of LGBTQ rights in the U.S. has been affected by activism, setbacks, protest and perseverance. From early small organisations working for visibility to recent national successes with legal victories, LGBTQ people and their allies challenged discrimination in work, medicine, politics, and everyday life. Many developments occurred over time; a large number followed years of resistance and reactions to injustice, such as the Stonewall Riots, the AIDS epidemic, and the fight for marriage equality, which led to changes in public views and laws throughout the nation. The timeline below shows some of the important events, movements, and individuals that contributed to LGBTQ history in America, demonstrating how decades of activism increased awareness, rights, and legal protections for LGBTQ individuals and continue to take part in discussions related to equality.
December 10, 1924
The Society for Human Rights in Chicago was founded by Henry Gerber as the first documented gay rights organization in the United States, beginning the foundation for future activism.
1933
Gay men imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps are forced to wear pink triangles; decades later, LGBTQ activists reclaim this symbol as one of pride, memory, and resistance.
1948
Alfred Kinsey publishes a research report demonstrating that the widespread assumption regarding sexual orientation and same-sex behaviour was incorrect and opens a public discussion about sexual identity.
November 11, 1950
Harry Hay establishes the Mattachine Society as one of the initial major U.S. groups advocating for gay rights and visibility to the public.
April 27, 1953
Dwight D. Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450, which prohibits homosexuals from federal employment (characterising them as security risks) during the Cold War.
September 21, 1955
The Daughters of Bilitis becomes the first U.S. Lesbian Rights Organization by providing communities and spaces that weren’t constantly raided by law enforcement.
August 30, 1956
Evelyn Hooker’s research proves that there are no psychological distinctions between heterosexual men and gay men, thereby questioning the psychiatric classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder.
January 1, 1962
The state of Illinois repealed sodomy laws making it the first state in America to decriminalize homosexuality thus marking an important legal turning point in terms of LGBTQ rights.
July 4, 1965
LGBTQ activists stage annual protests outside Independence Hall (Philadelphia) to raise awareness of discrimination against LGBTQ individuals and demand equal rights.
April 21, 1966
Mattachine Society members protested discrimination against LGBTQ individuals by identifying themselves as gay patrons of a bar and requesting to be served at a New York establishment (Julius Bar). Their activities increased public visibility of LGBTQ people.
June 28, 1969
Mattachine Society members protested discrimination against LGBTQ individuals by identifying themselves as gay patrons of a bar and requesting to be served at a New York establishment (Julius Bar). Their activities increased public visibility of LGBTQ people.
June 28, 1970
One year after the Stonewall uprising, LGBTQ activists organized and conducted the first Pride march in New York City which has since become an internationally recognized tradition.
December 15, 1973
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality from its classification of mental illnesses in the DSM. This was a significant achievement in combating stigma related to homosexuality.
November 8, 1977
Harvey Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, making him one of the first openly gay persons to be elected to high-level public office in the United States.
July 3, 1981
National media outlets began to report on a previously unidentified illness affecting an inordinate number of gay men, which eventually became known as AIDS and was determined to be a global epidemic.
March 2, 1982
Wisconsin becomes the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
March 10, 1987
AIDS advocacy group ACT UP (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is formed in response to the devastating affects the disease has had on the gay and lesbian community in New York. The group holds demonstrations against pharmaceutical companies profiteering from AIDS-related drugs as well as the lack of AIDS policies protecting patients from outrageous prescription prices.
December 21, 1993
The United States of America adopts a policy that is acceptable to allow members of the armed forces to serve under the condition that they keep the fact that they are gay a secret. Although it is a step forward concerning the acceptance of gay people in the service, it continues to discriminate against them.
April 26, 2000
Vermont becomes the first state in the U.S. to legalize civil unions and registered partnerships between same-sex couples.
June 26, 2003
The United States Supreme Court determined that sodomy laws were unconstitutional, such that laws prohibiting people of the same sex from having a sexual relationship are no longer valid in any State.
May 18, 2004
Massachusetts becomes the very first State in America to permit Gay marriage, which set off a chain reaction of legal changes all over the United States.
June 26, 2015
The United States Supreme Court has established the legality of gay marriage throughout the entire United States, which creates marriage equality in all 50 States and is an incredible accomplishment of the LGBTQ+ rights movement.