Staff Reporters
Published: March 24 2004
August 6, 1885 – The United Kingdom
The British Parliament votes to make homosexual acts a criminal offense.
1930’s – Europe
Adolf Hitler takes power and launches a campaign against Jews and other groups. Thousands of homosexuals are sent to concentration camps. Gay men are identified with pink triangles and lesbians are identified with black triangles.
<b>1961 – The United States</b>
Illinois repeals its sodomy laws making it the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize homosexuality between consenting adults in private. The law takes effect in 1962. In the 1970s a rush of other states decriminalize homosexuality.
<b>July 27, 1967 – The United Kingdom</b
Britain decriminalizes homosexuality between consenting adults in private, except for those in the military and police.
<b>June 27, 1969 – The United States</b
New York City police raid the Stonewall Inn, a private gay club in Greenwich Village. Raids on gay and lesbian bars were common but this time people fight back. This event and the violent protests that occurred during the nights that followed are known as The Stonewall Riots, which is seen as the beginning of the gay civil rights movement.
<b>February 25, 1982 – The United States</b
Massachusetts passes a law forbidding the placement of children for adoption or foster care with gay people.
<b>July 27, 1982 – The United States</b>
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention replaces the acronym GRIDS (Gay Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome) with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
<b>October 1, 1989 – Denmark</b
Denmark becomes the first country to legally recognize same-sex partnerships, essentially sanctioning gay marriages. The Danish Registered Partnership Act states “Two persons of the same sex may have their partnership registered” and “the registration of a partnership shall have the same legal effects as the contracting of marriage.”
<b>July 1, 2000 – The United States</b>
Vermont’s civil union law comes into effect making it the first state in the U.S. to provide same-sex couples with rights, benefits and responsibilities similar to those of heterosexual couples, including medical decision-making, tax breaks and inheritance. However, the unions won’t be recognized in other states.
Hawaii allows adults who can’t legally marry to register as domestic partners.
<b>April 1, 2001 – The Netherlands</b
The Dutch law allows same-sex couples to marry and gives them the same rights as heterosexuals when it comes to adopting. The only restrictions to the new law are that same-sex couples can only adopt Dutch children, and foreign same-sex couples can’t come to the Netherlands to marry unless one of them lives there.
The law tops Denmark’s law, which allows gays and lesbians to adopt their partners’ children but not children outside the marriage.
Pope John Paul II criticizes the new law saying no adult relationship other than that of a man and a woman should be recognized as marriage.
<b>June 7, 2003 – The United Kingdom</b>
An openly gay Anglican priest announces he will not accept an appointment as bishop of Reading after bitter arguments within the Church of England. Canon Jeffrey John acknowledges that he’s in a long-term relationship with a man, but says he’s been celibate since the 1990’s.
<b>July 31, 2003 – The Vatican</b>
The Vatican issues a 12-page set of guidelines, approved by Pope John Paul, warning Catholic politicians that it is immoral to support same-sex unions. “There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family,” it says. “Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law”.
<b>February 3, 2004 – The United States</b>
Massachusetts lawmakers pass a bill that expounded on legislation already passed a few months earlier in December establishing “civil unions” for same-sex “spouses”. The new bill included “civil marriage” between same-sex couples and awarded the same rights as opposite-sex couples.
<b>February 12, 2004 – The United States</b>
New San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite California law prohibiting gay marriage. This sparks a movement in other towns to defy state laws and issue marriage licenses to gay couples.