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World War I veteran Henry Gerber founded the Society for Human Rights in Chicago. The group was the first gay rights group in America and its newsletter. -
January 1958: The Supreme Court rules in favor of gay rights. After the U.S. Post Office refused to deliver America’s first widely distributed pro-gay publication, ONE: The Homosexual Magazine, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court — and the court ruled in favor of gay rights for the first time, making it a major landmark case in LGBTQ history. -
The Mattachine Society organizes gay rights “Sip-In.”During a time when most bars refused to serve gay people, the Mattachine Society, one of the country’s first gay rights organizations, staged a “Sip-In,” during which activists entered a New York City bar, announced they were gay, ordered drinks, and waited to be served. -
Homosexuality is no longer declared a mental illness. After years of studies, analysis, and changing cultural attitudes, the American Psychiatric Association’s board of directors removed homosexuality from the official list of mental illnesses -
Barney Frank becomes the second openly gay member of Congress.After spending six years on Capitol Hill, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), voluntarily came out as gay. -
Vermont takes a huge step toward same-sex marriage legalization. Vermont became the first state in the country to give same-sex couples the right to enter into civil unions — legal partnerships which would grant those couples the same rights and benefits as those in legal marriages. -
Love wins. The Supreme Court finally and officially declared same-sex marriage a Constitutional right nationwide, meaning all states must allow Americans to get married, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation -
The military will allow transgender Americans to serve openly in the military. In July of 2015, U.S. Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter, announced that the military would lift a ban that prevents transgender Americans from serving in the country’s armed forces. This rule went into effect, but now-President Donald Trump rescinded this right, again banning transgender people from the military as of April, -
The Equality Act is introduced. Senators Jeff Merkley, Tammy Baldwin, and Cory Booker, as well as Representative David Cicilline formerly introduced The Equality Act, which would make LGBTQ individuals a protected class and grant them basic legal protections in areas of life including education, housing, employment, credit, and more. -
The Stonewall Inn will become a national monument.The Obama administration announced that they are preparing to designate New York’s Stonewall Inn, the site of those historic riots in 1969, the first-ever national monument dedicated to gay right