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Henry Gerber founds the Society for Human Rights, the first documented gay rights organization in the United States.
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Illinois becomes the first state to decriminalize homosexual acts between two consenting adults in private.
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The oldest collegiate student organization for gays, the Student Homophile League, is founded at Columbia University.
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The stonewall riots began after police raid a popular unlicensed gay ar, the Stonewall INN, in New York City. The riots lasted for days and this was triggered by police harassement of gays.
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The first gay pride parades on the anniversary of the Stonewill Riots, the nation's first gay pride parades are held in four cities - New York, Chicago, San Fransico, and Los Angees.
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Homosexuality is no longer classified as a mental disorder
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The bisexual Forum is founded in New York City and the Gay American Indians organization is founded in San Francisco.
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Milk became the first openly gay man elected to office in a major U.S. ciy. He was an outspoken advocate for gay rights.
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The AIDS crisis breaks out with the linking of the disease of gay men.
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Massachusetts legalizes gay marriage and they are the first U.S. state to legalize same sex marriage after the supreme court ruled the ban on same-sex marriae was unconstitutional. Since then, 13 states have legalized gay marriage.
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Barack Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to back gay marriage for gay and lesbian couples.