Do They Really Believe All This?

For most of my life I have heard some absurd things about gay people and when I was younger and not sure what was going on with me I didn't quite understand some of the stuff I heard. As I got older and realized I was gay the things I heard offended me, but lately I find them humorous. Since June is gay pride month I have been reading a lot of different things on the internet related to gay pride and gay issues. Tonight I ventured into a topic about the "stupid things that people (mostly Christians) say about gay people". I have been laughing all night. I am not here to make fun of anyone's religious beliefs just the things that come out of their mouths. So here are some things that really entertained me.

~ Being gay is a choice.

You bet ya! I woke up one morning and while getting dressed I decided that I would be attracted to men so that people could laugh at me, beat me up, condemn me to hell and blame the decline of the entire world on my shoulders. Who knew I was destined for such greatness.

~ It's not natural to be gay.

I am not sure what this really means. Is is about the sex? Or is it about truly loving someone of the same sex but not being sexual? Or that two people of the same sex can't procreate and congest the world with more people? There is just so much crazy interpretation with this one. For me it feels totally natural, for me being attracted to a woman feels unnatural - although that isn't how I would describe it. There is an attraction to men that I just can't explain.

~ Gays can't procreate so they will recruit our children.

This is probably the most of absurd of all the things I have read. Recruiting? Do they seriously believe this? Were they actively recruited when they were children and did it work? Probably not if they are condemning homosexuality. And couldn't we in return say they are recruiting our children into heterosexuality. We don't recruit, but we do support and if a gay teen needs help accepting his/her sexuality and love when they are bullied we are there. Maybe that support is what these people are calling recruitment.

~ Gay marriage will ruin the sanctity of straight marriage.

Really? We have only had legal same sex marriage in the United States since 2004 when Massachusetts became the first state to pass it. So we can only blame the gays for the problems with marriages and the rise in divorce since then. So what is the reason for this before 2004? A marriage is only between the two people who enter into it. And only they can ruin its sanctity.

~ Gay parents will raise gay children.

So that means my parents were gay, maybe they were and just hid it very well. This is so crazy - the same people that say this also say that gays can't procreate. I will let you figure out this one for yourselves since this seems to me as a contradiction.

~ Homosexuality is notoriously disease prone.

The article I read that head this was from ChristianAnswers,net and it made me gasp. They cited anal herpes, hepatitis B, intestinal parasites, Kaposi's Sarcoma and AIDS. So I guess no heterosexual ever had hepatitis B or intestinal parasites. And I assume that no heterosexual has ever had a sexually transmitted disease. Have these people ever heard about Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Genital herpes, HPV, Syphilis and Trichomoniasis? Gays are not prone to any more or less disease as anyone else. Yes, our actions and behavior can increase our chances for disease but safe sex is safe sex - homo or hetero!!!!!

There were lots more of these but I thought I would put the ones I liked the best. I did come across two links that actually kind of scared me. What scared me about these were that when reading them I realized that they really believed these things - I guess I didn't think anyone could be so ignorant. Here are the links if you want to read them - they are scary and funny at the same time because of the ridiculousness of the rants.

Top Ten Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong!
15 Reasons Why Homosexuality is Wrong and Hurst Society

Colorful Gay Pride

I thought I would make today's post very simple. As I have been searching the internet reading about gay pride I have come across some incredible and extremely colorful photos. So for today I thought I would just post some of the pictures I really loved. So here is to celebrating a gay pride month.

The National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights - 1979

Souvenir Program Cover

On October 14, 1979 the first gay and lesbian march on Washington took place. This march was inspired by Harvey Milk. It was something he had talked and dreamed about - unfortunately he was killed the year before. I had graduated high school that year and was in my first semester of college. I don't remember anything about this march and that upsets me. Being closeted I really didn't think about gay rights and I didn't pay attention to any of the news articles. When I think about how scared I was that someone would find out about me I am in awe of how these people put themselves out there so that one day I wouldn't have to worry about being gay.

"Rights are not won on paper. They are won only by those who make their voices heard."

~Harvey Milk~

The march attracted about 100,000 people from all over the country. Originally there were concerns about backlash and also about whether enough people would show up. These concerns were unwarranted as many people made the trip. People marched for their rights and wanted to bring their concerns to the govenment. They made a pretty good impact. There was a souvenir program outlining the speakers and events. There was also a recording made of the speeches. We should all be thankful to these people for helping to advance our cause. Yes, we have made progress but we still aren't where we need to be and to honor those that came before us we need to continue the fight. I know in my heart that we are on the right track and there will be monumental changes in the very near future.

October 14, 1979

The "Sanctity" of Marriage

sanc·ti·ty
noun \ˈsaŋ(k)-tə-tē\
plural sanc·ti·ties
1 : holiness of life and character : godliness 
2a : the quality or state of being holy or sacred 
: inviolability 
b plural : sacred objects, obligations, or rights

mar·riage
noun \ˈmer-ij, ˈma-rij\
1a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the 
opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and 
contractual relationship recognized by law 
(2) : the state of being united to a person of the same 
sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage  
b : the mutual relation of married persons : wedlock 
c : the institution whereby individuals are joined in a 
marriage 
2 : an act of marrying or the rite by which the married 
status is effected; especially : the wedding ceremony and 
attendant festivities or formalities 
3 : an intimate or close union 

I have to say when I decided to write a post about this topic I thought it would be simple and straight forward. You know the typical stuff - gays will ruin the sanctity of marriage - but they ignore all the divorces and adultery and abuse. But I am finding it is much more than that. As you can see the definition of sanctity above clearly relates to God and religion, holding things to a higher standard per se. So if opponents of same sex marriage truly believe in the sanctity of marriage then there shouldn't be any divorce or adultery. You said vows in front of your God then you should honor them - if you don't then you really could care less about the sanctity of marriage and all you are doing is trying to impose a restriction on someone by trying to use any excuse you can think of.  As I read things I was engulfed by the obvious issues - Newt Gingrich and his cheating, divorcing and three marriages; Britney Spears and her 55 hour marriage; Kim Kardashian and her 72 day marriage; etc., etc., etc. - and I felt sadness that we as gays are being used for the destruction of marriage. There is so much divorce which for me means that we as a society are incapable of caring for one another, we can't respect each other even when we make vows to do so. Now don't get me wrong I am not judging - I know that not every relationship works out and things happen and I for one have no problem with divorce. But I am not the one spouting that gays will take away the sanctity of marriage.

I am not very religious and I truly feel that most people hide behind their religion. They use it to make themselves seem superior and to condemn others. I have never read the bible in its entirety, I have only looked things up. And usually after reading I was more confused. I never saw the bible as a "rule book" and I never saw it as a guide for how we should tell people to live. My personal thoughts on the bible are that each individual should read and use the bible (if they want to) as a resource for their own personal life and actions. As for the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule I do think there is a place for them in society. They just make sense.

Let me get back to the sanctity of marriage. I didn't actually read the bible on this subject but I did search the internet for quotes and information from the bible on this subject. I read all kinds of things. But in the end it all comes down to one thing. The sanctity of marriage is what the two people involved in the marriage believe it is. If your definition of the sanctity of marriage is one man and one woman then that is what you should do. If you believe it is open for other partners (and both parties in the marriage agree) then so be it. But under no circumstances should the sanctity of marriage be defined by what you thing everyone else should do. A marriage is between the people who enter into that commitment and them only. So no one should project there beliefs onto someone else.

For my personal beliefs I think a marriage is between two people who love each other and want to live together in a committed relationship. And I believe that the sanctity of that marriage is what the two people agree it is and as long as they honor that then I believe that the marriage is sacred. I am really tired of being told that my relationship is wrong. We have been together for 23 years and we love and respect one another. We were married in Massachusetts and that is the only place it is recognized. We all know that married couples have lots of government and social benefits that gay couples don't. So you can keep your sanctity by getting married in a church but it isn't legal unless you get a marriage license from the government. I don't really care about your sanctity, only mine. I just want the legal protections a marriage by the government provides.

It Gets Better!

This morning I spent about an hour or so reading gay related 'stuff' - quotes about pride, quotes about marriage, history, famous gays & lesbians, pride celebrations, news briefs - but the thing that stopped me was the gay teen suicide stories. This got me to thinking about my teen years and dealing with my sexuality.

I didn't grow up in an overly religious family (we hardly ever attended church) but the things said about gays (or faggots, as my Dad called them) really scared me. Also my family really didn't talk about things, so there was no discussion about what 'gay' was, I just knew it wasn't something that was accepted. From these things I guess I assumed that I didn't have any support as a gay youth. When I first realized I was gay I remember lying in bed one night trying to figure out why I was the way I was - especially if it was wrong. I remember crying and thinking about all the things I could remember that I had done. I wanted to find the 'bad' thing I did that made me into such a bad person. Why did all the boys at school talk about liking girls while I was liking boys? This was a constant recording in my mind. I knew I was gay but I did everything I could to try and make sure no one suspected. I tried out for sports teams (which didn't go well), dated girls (which also didn't go well) and made every effort to move and talk like all the boys (again this didn't go well). I had no gaydar at that age so I did not know of any other boy that was like me, so I kept my thoughts to myself. That meant that I didn't have anyone to talk to - or so I thought. I eventually learned (or figured out) that I had two aunts that were lesbian. But as I said before my family didn't talk about things. So I silently took the name calling and beatings and worried about what would happen to me if someone really knew the truth that I was gay - because up to this point people were only speculating that I was gay because I never did anything to suggest otherwise - I was too scared. At some point, and I am not sure when, I met someone that was gay and talked to them about what I was feeling and I started to realize that I wasn't alone. As time passed I met more and more gay and lesbian people and slowly built a support system. Now I feel confident in who I am as a gay man and I am so happy I survived my teen years to be living the life I have - in a 23 year committed relationship with a great job and people in my life that accept me for who I am.

All this got me thinking about the gay teens who have recently committed suicide due to bullying and rejection just because of their sexuality. We have so many great LGBT groups that we can go to for support now it makes me wonder why these teens felt they had to take their lives instead of trying to get help. I thought about my teen years and tried comparing that to now. I was 'isolated' compared to the teens now. We had phones, but not cell phones and definitely not phones with cameras. There were no computers (well maybe they were just getting started) and no internet. Information wasn't as easily shared and not on as global a scale. Everything you do and everything about you now can be transmitted throughout the whole world in a matter of seconds. How is someone who is still maturing emotionally and who is trying to make sense of their sexuality suppose to deal with that.

I know I had feeling of helplessness but I don't ever remember thinking that suicide was the answer. I am so thankful for that. It saddens me that our gay youth don't feel like they can continue to live when the truth about them is exposed. It is wonderful that we have organizations that are out there to help anyone who needs it. I know we can't fix all the problems immediately but I hope that the gay youth of today know we are there for them - we need them to know that they are loved and valuable to society. So we need to continue to reach out to them and give them the support they need.

This post is dedicated to . . .

Tyler Clementi (18), New Jersey - 2010
Ryan Halligan (13), Vermont - 2003
Jamie Hubley (15), Canada - 2011
Jamey Rodmeyer (14), New York - 2011
Jim Wheeler (19), Pennsylvania - 1997
Joshua Pacheco (17), Michigan - 2012
Jarrod Nickell (18), Michigan - 2012
Phillip Parker (14), Tennessee - 2012
Jeffery Fehr (18), California - 2012
James Borges (19), California - 2012
Seth Walsh (13), California - 2010
Asher Brown (13), Texas - 2010
Billy Lucas (15), Indiana - 2010
Haylee Fentress (14), Minnesota - 2011
Paige Moravetz (14), Minnesota - 2011
Kenneth Weishuhn, Jr. (14), Iowa - 2012
Jay "Corey" Jones (17), Minnesota - 2012
Jadin Bell (15), Oregon - 2013
Justin Aaberg (15), Minnesota - 2010
Aiyisha Hassan (19), Washington, D.C. - 2010
Raymond Chase (19), New York - 2010
Zach Harrington (19), Oklahoma - 2010
Brandon Elizares (16), Texas - 2012

. . . and to all the others I missed or haven't heard about.

There are many groups and organizations where someone can get help, here is a small list . . .

The Trevor Project
Give a Damn
It Gets Better Project
Stand Up Foundation
Faces for Change
NOH8 Campaign

Being Gay in the New Millinneum

We have moved into the 21st Century and we started this era with some worries - worries that our technologic dependence would come crashing down on us and cause havoc with our everyday lives (all of this was for nought). As Gays and Lesbians we hoped for more change and for equal rights. I had a family member once tell me to just hang in there, that "one day" we would have the same rights. I felt insulted by this ignorant statement. Why should I have to wait for "one day" when opposite sex people can marry and divorce at will without as much as a slap on the hand for disrupting the "sanctity of marriage". Let's see how we have progressed so far in the 2000's.

2000

• Although medicine & treatment helps persons with AIDS live longer, there is still NO cure . . .
• Many people and organizations in the Twin Cities continue to serve the needs of people with AIDS.
• The 4th March on Washington for Equality is held in Washington DC.
• New Jersey's Ninth Annual Pride Parade & Festival is held in Asbury Park.
• German Bundestag officially apologizes to gays and lesbians persecuted under the Nazi regime, and for "harm done to homosexual citizens up to 1969".
• Vermont becomes the first U.S. state to legalize civil unions.
• Israel recognizes same-sex relations for immigration purposes for a foreign partner of Israeli resident.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Azerbaijan, Gabon and Georgia.
• British ban against lesbians and gay men serving in the military is lifted.
• Britain outlaws discrimination against lesbians and gay men.

2001

• Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands legalized. 
• Germany enacts registered partnership legislation. 
• Soccer fans, clerics leading ultranationalist youth and skinheads stormed the first Pride march in Belgrade (at the time Yugoslavia, now Serbia), attacking and seriously injuring several participants and stopping the manifestation from taking place. The police was too poorly equipped to suppress riots or protect the Pride marchers. 
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Comes into effect: Germany (without joint adoption until Oct 2004, then with step-adoption) Passed: Finland (without joint adoption until May 2009, then with step-adoption).
• Limited Partnership laws: Passed and Comes into effect: Portugal (without joint adoption) (replaced with marriage 2009) Comes into effect: Swiss canton of Geneva (without joint adoption).
• Anti-discrimination legislation: US states of Rhode Island (private sector, gender identity) and Maryland (private sector, sexual orientation).
• Equalization of age of consent: Albania, Estonia and Liechtenstein, United Kingdom.
• Repeal of Sodomy laws: US state of Arizona.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: the rest of the United Kingdom's territories.
• Homosexuality no longer an illness: China.

2002

• "Minneapolis and St. Paul in Vintage Postcards" is released. The book includes references to historic sites that have become well-known for there modern day events - including the GLBT Pride Celebration in Loring Park, and the vigil that was held for Matthew Shepard.
• Sweden legalizes adoption for same-sex couples, making Sweden's registered partnership nearly identical to marriage, with the exception of right to marriage in a church.
• Zurich extends marriage-like rights to same sex couples.
• Controversial openly gay Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated by Volkert van der Graaf. 
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Passed and Comes into effect: Canadian province of Quebec (with joint adoption), Comes into effect: Finland (without joint adoption until May 2009, then with step-adoption), Passed: Argentinian city of Buenos Aires (without joint adoption).
• Limited Partnerships laws: Passed: Swiss canton of Zurich (without joint adoption).
• Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: South Africa (joint and step adoption), Sweden (step adoption).
• Anti-discrimination legislation: US states of Alaska (public sector, sexual orientation) and New York (private sector, sexual orientation).
• Equalization of age of consent: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and the Australian state of Western Australia.
• Repeal of Sodomy laws: Romania, Costa Rica and the US States of Arkansas and Massachusetts.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: China, Mongolia.
• Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays established its Transgender Network, also known as TNET, as its first official "Special Affiliate," recognized with the same privileges and responsibilities as its regular chapters.
• MTF teenager Gwen Araujo murdered by sex partners, in California.

2003

• U.S. Supreme Court strikes down remaining state sodomy laws.
• Same-sex marriage in Belgium legalized, but is not equal to heterosexual marriage because couples lack adoption rights.
• A bill is introduced in the Canadian parliament to legalise statutory same-sex marriage (new style "common law" same-sex marriage was already created by Act of Parliament in 2000).
• Germany's Supreme Court upheld the country's civil union law which gives some of the benefits of marriage to registered same-sex couples. 
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Comes into effect: Argentinian city of Buenos Aires (without joint adoption), Passed:: Australian state of Tasmania (step adoption only).
• Limited Partnerships laws: Comes into effect: Austria (without joint adoption)(replaced with registed partnerships 2010), Croatia (without registration or adoption).
• Anti-discrimination legislation: Bulgaria (all sectors, sexual orientation), United Kingdom (excluding religious organisations, sexual orientation), US states of Arizona (public sector, sexual orientation), Kentucky (public sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Michigan (executive branch of the state government, sexual orientation), New Mexico (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Pennsylvania (public sector, gender identity).
• End to ban on gay people in the military: Russia
• Equalization of age of consent: Australian state and territory of New South Wales and Northern Territory.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Iraq.
• Recriminalisation of homosexuality: Belize.
• Gene Robinson becomes the first openly gay Bishop in the Episcopal church in the USA.
• Reuben Zellman became the first openly transgender person accepted to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 2010.
• Committee on Jewish Law and Standards approved a rabbinic ruling that concluded that sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is permissible as a treatment of gender dysphoria, and that a transgender person's sex status under Jewish law is changed by SRS.

2004

• Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage in May while eleven other U.S. states ban the practice through public referenda in the November elections.
• Civil unions in Brazil: Rio Grande do Sul now accepts civil unions.
• Domestic partnerships in New Jersey legalized in July. 
• In Canada, 85% of the population lived in a province or territory with same-sex marriage.
• Australia bans same-sex marriage, while New Zealand passes the Civil Union Bill. 
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Comes into effect:: Australian state of Tasmania (step adoption only), Passed: New Zealand (without joint adoption).
• Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: Germany (Step Adoption).
• Banning of Same-sex marriage: Australia, US states of Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Utah.
• Banning of Same-sex marriage and civil unions: US states of Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin.
• Anti-discrimination legislation: Portugal, US States of Indiana (public sector, gender identity), Louisiana (public sector, sexual orientation) and Maine.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Cape Verde, Marshall Islands and San Marino.
• UK Gender Recognition Bill, James McGreevey becomes the first openly gay Governor in U.S. history.
• The first all-transgender performance of the Vagina Monologues was held. The monologues were read by eighteen notable transgender women, and a new monologue revolving around the experiences and struggles of transgender women was included.
• Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon became the first same-sex couple to be legally married in the United States, when San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom allowed city hall to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. However, all same-sex marriages done in 2004 in California were annulled. After the California Supreme Court decision in 2008 that granted same-sex couples in California the right to marry, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon remarried, and were again the first same-sex couple in the state to marry. Later in 2008 Prop 8 illegalized same-sex marriage in California, but the marriages that occurred between the California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage and the approval of Prop 8 illegalizing it are still considered valid, including the marriage of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. However, Del Martin died in 2008.
• In the United Kingdom, transgender people are allowed to change the gender on their birth certificates.

2005

• State of California expands domestic partnership statutes to include most marriage rights available under state law. California domestic partnership is available to opposite-sex couples age 62 and older who meet certain Social Security qualifications, and to all same-sex couples age 18 and older without further qualification.
• Uganda and Latvia amended their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage.
• Same sex marriage legalized in Canada and Spain.
• Switzerland voted in favor of extending rights for registered same-sex couples
• South Africa's Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal, under the country's constitution, to ban gay marriages.
• André Boisclair is chosen leader of the Parti Québécois, becoming the first openly gay man elected leader of a major political party in North America.
• UK introduces Civil partnerships with rights all but equal to marriage.
• Maine adds sexual orientation and gender identity to existing anti-discrimination laws.
• The Church of Sweden, the former state church, decides to hold blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, who can already enter into registered partnerships equal to marriage. This decision prompted the Russian Orthodox Church to cut eccumenical relations to the Church of Sweden.
• Connecticut passed Civil Union law.
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Passes and Comes into effect: Andorra, United Kingdom (without joint adoption (England and Wales) until Dec 2005, without joint adoption (Scotland) until Sep 2009, without joint adoption (Northern Ireland)), US state of Connecticut; Comes into effect: New Zealand (without joint adoption), US state of California; Passed: Switzerland (without adoption), Slovenia.
• Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: UK Subdivisions of England and Wales.
• Banning of Same-sex marriage and civil unions: US states of Kansas and Texas.
• Anti-discrimination legislation: US States of Illinois (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity) and Maine (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity).
• Repeal of Sodomy laws: Puerto Rico.
• Two gay male teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, are executed in Iran.
• Bonnie Bleskachek became the first openly lesbian fire chief of a major metropolitan area in the United States (specifically, Minneapolis).
• New Zealand first country to outlaw employment discrimination and hate crimes on the basis of gender identity.
• "Equal Marriage Rights for All" resolution passed by the 25th General Synod of the UCC.

2006

• Illinois outlaws sexual orientation discrimination.
• Washington State adds sexual orientation to existing anti-discrimination laws.
• An attempt to stage the first-ever gay pride march in Moscow ended with violence and mass arrests, after activists took to the streets despite the ban by mayor Yuri Luzhkov. 
• The first regional Eastern European Pride - Internacionala Pride 2006 - took place in Zagreb, Croatia, with participants coming from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania.
• Kyle Hawkins becomes first openly gay male coach at the NCAA level of a men's team.
• United States Senate fails to pass an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America making gay marriage illegal.
• Same-sex marriage laws: Passed and Comes into effect: South Africa (with joint adoption).
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Passed and Comes into effect: Czech Republic (without joint adoption), Comes into effect: Slovenia, Passed: Mexican City of Mexico City and US state of New Jersey.
• Limited Partnership laws: Passed: Australian State of South Australia.
• Banning of Same-sex marriage: US State of Tennessee.
• Banning of Same-sex marriage and civil unions: US States of Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin.
• Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: Belgium.
• Anti-discrimination legislation: Faroe Islands, Germany (sexual orientation and gender identity), New Zealand (gender identity)[citation needed] and US States and Districts of Illinois (sexual orientation), New Jersey (private sector, gender identity), Washington (sexual orientation and gender identity) and Washington, D.C. (private sector, gender identity).
• Voiding of Anti-discrimination legislation: Kentucky.
• Equalization of age of consent: Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Serbia.
• Springfield, Missouri repeals gay soliciting laws.
• The International Conference on LGBT Human Rights is held in Montreal.
• Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein, both ordained in America, became the first openly lesbian rabbis ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement. Conservative Judaism decided to allow openly lesbian rabbis and cantors.
• Elliot Kukla, who came out as transgender six months before his ordination in 2006, was the first openly transgender person to be ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

2007

• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Passed and Comes into effect: Mexian state of Coahuila; Comes into effect: Mexican City of Mexico City, Switzerland (without adoption), US state of New Jersey; Passed: Hungary (with adoption), US state of New Hampshire, Uruguay (without adoption until Sep 2008).
• Limited Partnership laws: Passed and Comes into effect: US state of Washington and Colombia; Comes into effect: Australian state of South Australia, US state of Oregon.
• Anti-discrimination legislation: United Kingdom (sexual orientation) and US states of Colorado (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Iowa (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Kansas (public sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Michigan (public sector, gender identity), Ohio (public sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Oregon (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity) and Vermont (private sector, gender identity).
• Equalization of age of consent: Portugal, South Africa, UK territory of Jersey, Vanuatu.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Nepal and New Zealand territories of Niue and Tokelau.
• Marches and Prides: the first ever gay pride parade in a Muslim country is held in Istanbul, Turkey.
• August 9, the Logo cable channel hosts the first presidential forum in the United States focusing specifically on LGBT issues. Six Democratic Party candidates participate in the event. GOP candidates were asked to attend but turned it down. 
• On 29 November, the first foreign gay wedding was held in Hanoi, Vietnam between a Japanese and an Irish national. The wedding raised much attention in the gay and lesbian community in Vietnam.
• From 2007 to 2008 actress Candis Cayne played Carmelita Rainer, a transgender woman having an affair with married New York Attorney General Patrick Darling (played by William Baldwin), on the ABC prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money. The role made Cayne the first openly transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character in prime time.
• Jalda Rebling, a German woman born in Holland and ordained in America, became the first openly lesbian cantor ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement.
• Rabbi Toba Spitzer became the first openly lesbian or gay person to head a rabbinical assembly when she was elected president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assembly at the group's annual convention, held in Scottsdale, Arizona.
• Joy Ladin became the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox institution (Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University).
• The US House decided to divide the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) into two pieces of legislation – one focusing on sexual orientation and the other on gender identity. ENDA would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

2008

• Same-sex marriage laws: Passed and Comes into effect: US states of California (May–Nov 2008) and Connecticut; Passed: Norway (with joint adoption).
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Passed and comes into effect: The Australian Capital Territory, Ecuador (without joint adoption), US state of Washington (expansion of previous legislation; Comes into effect: US state of New Hampshire, Uruguay (without joint adoption until Sep 2008).
• Limited Partnership laws: Comes into effect: Australian state of Victoria, US state of Oregon.
• Banning of Same-sex marriage: US states of Arizona and California.
• Banning of Same-sex marriage and civil unions: US state of Florida.
• Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: Uruguay.
• Banning of Same-sex adoption: Arkansas (struck down by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2011).
• Anti-discrimination legislation: California.
• Equalization of age of consent: Nicaragua, Panama.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Nicaragua and Panama.
• Marches and Prides: the first ever gay pride parade in Bulgaria.
• Kosovo declares itself to be an independent country with a new constitution that includes mention of "sexual orientation", the first of its kind in Eastern Europe.
• Portland voters elect Sam Adams (Oregon politician) mayor, making it the largest city in the US with an openly gay mayor (the next largest is Providence, Rhode Island).
• June 3, the first two same-sex civil marriages (two men and two women) take place in Greece on the island of Tilos, the supreme court prosecutor and the minister of Justice claim the marriages are null and void.
• Silverton, Oregon elected Stu Rasmussen as the first openly transgender mayor in America.
• Angie Zapata, a transgender woman, was murdered in Greeley, Colorado. Allen Andrade was convicted of first-degree murder and committing a bias-motivated crime, because he killed her after he learned that she was transgender. This case was the first in the nation to get a conviction for a hate crime involving a transgender victim. Angie Zapata's story and murder were featured on Univision's "Aqui y Ahora" television show on 1 November 2009.
• The first ever U.S. Congressional hearing on discrimination against transgender people in the workplace was held, by the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
• Rachel Maddow became the first openly gay or lesbian anchor of a major prime-time news program in the United States when she began hosting The Rachel Maddow Show on U.S. cable network MSNBC.
• Annise Parker was elected as the first openly gay or lesbian mayor of Houston, Texas.
• Kate Brown was elected as the Oregon Secretary of State in the 2008 elections, becoming America's first openly bisexual statewide officeholder.
• 15-year-old Lawrence King was shot and killed, a day after a verbal exchange with 14 year-old Brandon McInerney and his friends. King, an eighth-grader who identified as gay and occasionally wore makeup, high heels and other feminine attire to E. O. Green Junior High School, was shot in the head while in class at school.
• California Supreme Court overturns ban on same-sex marriage; gay-marriage opponents bid to get proposed amendment on ballot.

2009

• Same-sex marriage laws: Passed and Comes into effect: Sweden (with joint adoption), US states of Iowa and Vermont; Comes into effect: Norway (with joint adoption); Passed: Mexican City of Mexico City (with joint adoption), US states and districts of New Hampshire (step adoption only), Maine (never came into effect), Washington, D.C.
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Passed and comes into effect: Hungary (without joint adoption), Colombia (expansion of previous rights without joint adoption), US states of Nevada and Washington (expansion of previous rights); Passed: Austria (without joint adoption).
• Limited Partnership laws: Passed and Comes into effect: US states of Colorado and Wisconsin.
  Abroad Union recognition: Japan, US district of Washington, D.C.
• Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: Finland (step adoption), UK Subdivision of Scotland.
• Banning of Same-sex marriage: Maine.
• Anti-discrimination legislation: Serbia, US state of Delaware (private sector, sexual orientation), USA Matthew Shepard Act.
• End to ban on gay people in the military: Argentina, Philippines, Uruguay.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: India.
• Iceland elects the first openly gay head of government in the world, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir.
• On March 10, in Tel Aviv, Uzi Even and his life partner was the first same-sex male couple in Israel whose right of adoption has been legally acknowledged.
• The California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in November 2008, with a 6–1 vote.
• Canadian province of Alberta becomes the last province to include the words "sexual orientation" in the Human Rights Act. 
• Washington state voters approve keeping same-sex relationship rights as Domestic Partnerships by 51 percent.
• Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas becomes the first known top-level professional male athlete in a team sport to come out while still active.
• Diego Sanchez became the first openly transgender person to work on Capitol Hill; he was hired as a legislative assistant for Barney Frank. Sanchez was also the first transgender person on the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Platform Committee in 2008.
• Barbra “Babs” Siperstein was nominated and confirmed as an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee, becoming its first openly transgender member.
• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sued the US government over the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was enacted in 1996.

2010

• Same-sex marriage laws: Passed and comes into effect: Portugal (without joint adoption), Iceland (with joint adoption), Argentina (with adoption); Comes into effect: Mexican City of Mexico City (with joint adoption). US state of New Hampshire (step adoption only) and Washington, D.C.
• Recognition: The Mexican Supreme Court rules that marriages contracted in Mexico City are valid throughout the country, although no other jurisdiction is required to perform them. Australian State of Tasmania recognises same-marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
• U.S. state of California, United States District Judge Vaughn Walker strikes down California's Proposition 8 as violative of the United States Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses.
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Comes into effect: Austria (without adoption and IVF access rights); Passed: Ireland (without adoption rights).
• Limited Partnership laws: Passed and comes into effect: Australian state of New South Wales (without joint adoption until Sep 2010).
• Same-sex couple adoption legislation: Australian state of New South Wales, Denmark.
• End to ban of same-sex couple adoption: US states of Arkansas and Florida.
• Trans Rights: Australia becomes the first country in the world to recognise a 'non-specified' gender, when the New South Wales Government recognises Norrie May-Welby as being neither male or female. Norrie has since been forced to choose a gender.
• End to ban of gay people in the military: Serbia.
• Passed: USA (See Don't Ask Don't Tell).
• End to ban of trans people in the military: Australia.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Fiji.
• Marches and Prides: the first ever legal gay pride parade in Russia, held in St. Petersburg.
• Guinness World Records recognized transgender man Thomas Beatie as the world's "First Married Man to Give Birth".
• Amanda Simpson became the first openly transgender presidential appointee in America when she was appointed as senior technical adviser in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
• Kye Allums became the first openly transgender athlete to play in NCAA basketball. He was a transgender man who played on George Washington University's women's team.
• Victoria Kolakowski became the first openly transgender judge in America.
• Mary Albing became the first openly lesbian minister ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving the Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer on the south side of Minneapolis.
• Chai Feldblum, who was openly lesbian, became the first openly LGBT person to serve on the EEOC.
• In Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty signed into law the Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, and marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010. This amendment act allows same-sex couples to marry in the city itself.
  Maryland’s Attorney General declared that although Maryland does not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the state is able to provide marriage rights and benefits to same-sex couples married outside of Maryland.

2011

• Same-sex marriage laws: Passed and comes into effect: New York; India's first married lesbian couple: LGBT rights in India (July 2011).
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Comes into effect: Ireland (without adoption rights); Passed and comes into effect: Isle of Man (with joint adoption), US State of Illinois (with joint adoption rights), Liechtenstein, Rhode Island; Passed: US State of Delaware (comes into effect Jan 2012) and Hawaii (comes into effect Jan 2012).
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Mozambique.
• End to ban on gay people in the military: USA.
• Tony Briffa, believed to be the world’s first intersex mayor, elected in the City of Hobsons Bay in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, at the end of November.
• Elio Di Rupo, first openly-gay male head of government, becomes Prime Minister of Belgium, 6 December.
• Chaz Bono appeared on the 13th season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars in 2011. This was the first time an openly transgender man starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender.
• Harmony Santana became the first openly transgender actress to receive a major acting award nomination; she was nominated by the Independent Spirit Awards as Best Supporting Actress for the movie Gun Hill Road.
• The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to allow the ordination of openly gay and lesbian ministers.
• Rachel Isaacs became the first openly lesbian rabbi ordained by the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary.
• Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of California and Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles became the first same-sex couple chosen to share the first kiss upon a U.S. Navy ship's return.
• Brenda Sue Fulton was named to the West Point Board of Visitors, making her the first openly gay member of the board that advises the Academy.

2012

• Same-sex marriage laws: Passed and comes into effect: Denmark, Mexican state of Quintana Roo, U.S. states of Maine and Washington; Passed: U.S. state of Maryland; Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws.
• Comes into effect: U.S. States of Delaware and Hawaii.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: São Tomé and Príncipe.
• The first gay Israeli couple was granted a divorce by an Israeli family court. The divorce of Tel Aviv University Professor Avi Even, the first openly gay Knesset member, and Dr. Amit Kama was granted on Sunday by the Ramat Gan Family Court, according to Haaretz, which ordered the Interior Minister to register their status as divorced.
• The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued a regulation to prohibit LGBT discrimination in federally assisted housing programs. The new regulations ensure that the Department's core housing programs are open to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Katie Ricks became the first open lesbian ordained by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
• Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to publicly announce support for same-sex marriage on 9 May.
• Taiwan's first same-sex Buddhist wedding was held for Fish Huang and her partner You Ya-ting, with Buddhist master Shih Chao-hui presiding over the ritual. 
• Berkeley, California became the first city in America to officially proclaim a day recognizing bisexuals. The Berkeley City Council unanimously and without discussion declared 23 Sep as Bisexual Pride and Bi Visibility Day.
• City Councilmember Marlene Pray joined the Doylestown, Pennsylvania council in 2012, though she resigned in 2013; she was the first openly bisexual office holder in Pennsylvania.
• Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay or lesbian person to be elected to the US Senate, as a Senator for Wisconsin.
• Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) became the first openly bisexual person elected to the US Congress.
• Stacie Laughton became the first openly transgender person elected to any American state legislature when she won a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. However, she resigned from the New Hampshire state legislature before she took office, after it was revealed that she had served four months in Belknap County House of Corrections following a 2008 credit card fraud conviction.
• San Francisco voted to become the first U.S. city to provide and cover the cost of sex reassignment surgeries for uninsured transgender residents.
• Mark Pocan was elected in Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District, becoming the first openly gay candidate who will follow an openly gay member of the U.S. Congress (in this case Tammy Baldwin).
• Sean Patrick Maloney became the first openly gay candidate elected to represent New York in Congress.
• Mark Takano became the first openly gay person of color to win election to the U.S. House. He was elected to represent California’s 41st Congressional District.
• Josh Boschee was elected as North Dakota's first openly gay legislator.
• Stephen Skinner was elected as West Virginia's first openly gay state legislator.
• Jacob Candelaria was elected as New Mexico's first openly gay male state legislator.
• Brian Sims became Pennsylvania's first openly gay state legislator who was out when he was elected.
• After Brian Sims was elected but before he took office, Rep. Mike Fleck came out as gay, making him Pennsylvania's first openly gay state legislator.
• David Richardson was elected as Florida's first openly gay state legislator.
• Colorado Democrats elected Mark Ferrandino as the first openly gay House speaker in state history.
• Maine, Maryland, and Washington became the first states to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote. Maine was the very first state to do so, followed by Maryland.
• The first same-sex marriage at the U.S. Military Academy was held for a young lieutenant and her partner (Ellen Schick and Shannon Simpson) at the Old Cadet Chapel in West Point’s cemetery.
• The first same-sex marriage at the U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel at West Point (not to be confused with the Old Cadet Chapel) was held for Brenda Sue Fulton and Penelope Dara Gnesin. Fulton was a veteran and the communications director of an organization called Outserve, which represents actively serving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender military personnel.
• The first same-sex couple became engaged in the White House (Ben Schock and Matthew Phelps).
• Air Force Col. Ginger Wallace became the first known out member of the U.S. military to have their same-sex partner participate in the pinning ceremony tradition that had been reserved for spouses and family members. Her partner of 10 years, Kathy Knopf, pinned colonel wings on Wallace days after the two attended President Obama's State of The Union address as a guest of the First Lady.
• At a ceremony in Arlington, Army Reserve officer Tammy Smith became the first openly gay, active duty general in American history. Smith was promoted to brigadier general at a private ceremony at the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
•  Navy Chief Elny McKinney and Anacelly McKinney became the first known same-sex couple to marry on a U.S. military base. They were wed at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego.

2013

• Same-sex marriage laws: Passed and comes into effect: New Zealand, Uruguay, Brazil (federal level), France, Brazilian states of Ceará, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, Santa Catarina and Paraíba, U.S. states of Delaware, Rhode Island, and Minnesota; Comes into effect: U.S. State of Maryland.
• Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws: Comes into effect: U.S. State of Colorado.
• Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: New Zealand, Gibraltar, France.
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Benin.
• Barack Obama mentioned the word "gay" and the issue of gay rights for the first time in a speech at the U.S. presidential swearing in; specifically, he did so in his inaugural address.
• Kathleen Wynne became the first openly LGBT premier of a Canadian province, namely Ontario, after defeating Sandra Pupatello in the third round of voting of the Ontario Liberal party's leadership race on January 26, 2013. Sworn in on February 11, 2013, she is the party's first openly LGBT leader and Ontario's first female premier.
• Robbie Rogers announced he was gay on February 15, becoming the only male fully capped international association footballer to do so.
• Jason Collins on April 29, became the first active male professional athlete in a major North American team sport to publicly come out as gay.
• Rep. Mark Pocan's spouse Philip Frank became the first same-sex spouse of a federal lawmaker to officially receive a House Spouse ID. In 2009, Marlon Reis, the spouse of Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), was issued a congressional spouse ID, but later card services told him that he had been given the designation accidentally.
• For the first time the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decided to allow the same-sex spouse of a military veteran to be buried in a U.S. national cemetery. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki gave permission for retired Air Force officer Linda Campbell, 66, to bury the ashes of her same-sex spouse Nancy Lynchild at Williamette National Cemetery in Oregon.
• Autumn Sandeen, a U.S. veteran and transgender woman, received a letter from a Navy official stating, “Per your request the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) has been updated to show your gender as female effective April 12th, 2013.” Allyson Robinson of Outserve declared, "To our knowledge, this is the first time that the Department of Defense has recognized and affirmed a change of gender for anyone affiliated, in a uniformed capacity — in this case a military retiree."
• The first same-sex kiss ever on a Eurovision stage occurred at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest when Krista Siegfrids, who sang "Marry Me", ended her semi-final performance by kissing one of her female dancers.
• Dr. Saul Levin was named on May 15th, 2013 as the new chief executive officer and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, making him the first known openly gay person to head the APA.
• Ukraine had its first gay pride march, which was held in Kiev.
• Robbie Rogers joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, making him the first openly gay male athlete to compete in Major League Soccer.
• Rehana Kausar and Sobia Kamar, both from Pakistan, became the first Muslim lesbian couple to enter into civil partnership in the United Kingdom.
• Fallon Fox came out as transgender, thus becoming the first openly transgender athlete in mixed martial arts history.
• Jallen Messersmith of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., came out and is believed to be the first openly gay player in U.S. men's college basketball.
• Guy Erwin became the first openly gay bishop to be elected by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; he was elected to the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA.
• And all of this in only five months.

So far this century has brought some great changes but we can't rest on our laurels, we still have a long way to go. We are called the United States of America but in my eyes we arent' very united. Thomas and I were married on October 11, 2004 in Massachusetts. That marriage is only legal there. It is ridiculous that a heterosexual couple can marry in any state and that marriage is legal in the entire country but a homosexual couple only has a legal marriage in that one state. It should be legal in every state if we are a truly united country. I hope that this change happens soon - I for one am tired of waiting.

Me and Thomas - October 11, 2004 (Provincetown, MA)

Well I covered our progress since the 1960's and it truly opened my eyes as to how hard people have fought to gain us our rights and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I have learned a lot and I hope I can help our cause as we continue to gain rights and equality.

Being Gay in the 90's

The 90's started with Thomas and I starting our life together. I also embraced my sexuality and started coming out to more people. I wasn't as afraid or concerned anymore about what people thought. If they accepted me that was fantastic but if they didn't then I knew they weren't supposed to be a part of my life. We continued to experience changes during the 90's and things are getting better. Let's see what transpired during this decade.

AIDS Ribbon

1990

• President Bush delivers his first address on AIDS. The speech is interrupted by National Gay and Lesbian Task Force director Urvashi Vaid who accuses Bush of a lack of action on AIDS.
• In Ohio, Cincinnati law enforcement warned the Contemporary Arts Center not to allow a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit to open. After it did, Director of the Center, Dennis Barrie, was indicted on obscenity charges.
• Fashion designer Halston dies of AIDS at age 57.
• Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida plays host to the first annual Gay & Lesbian Day.
• First National Bisexual Conference held in San Francisco.
• 1990 Federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act passed; first law extending federal recognition of gay men and lesbians.
• OutRage! forms in UK 
• Dale McCormick became the first open lesbian elected to a state Senate (she was elected to the Maine Senate).

1991

• The first Pride Celebration is held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The event is called the Unity Festival and is held at Ski Roundtop.  In 1999, the event was moved to Harrisburg's RiverFront Park where over 3000 people attended.
• Hawaii and Connecticut outlaw antigay discrimination.
• In the Soviet Union, thousands of gays and lesbians attend a conference and film festival.
• Hong Kong decriminalizes homosexuality.
• Red ribbon first used as a symbol of the fight against HIV/AIDS. 
• Decriminalisation of homosexuality: Bahamas, Hong Kong and Ukraine.
• Sherry Harris was elected to the City Council in Seattle, Washington, making her the first openly lesbian African-American elected official.
• The first lesbian kiss on television occurred; it was on "L.A. Law" between the fictional characters of C.J. Lamb (played by Amanda Donohoe) and Abby (Michele Greene).

1992

•  The Fourth Display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington DC.
• "Divas For AIDS" featuring The Weather Girls and Thelma Houston is held at the Portland Memorial Coliseum in Oregon.
• New Jersey and Vermont enact bans on antigay discrimination.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act goes into effect.
• k.d. Lang comes out in "The Advocate".
• A Newsweek poll finds that 45% of those asked considered gay rights "a threat to the American family and its values".
• The Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego is founded.
• The World Health Organization removes homosexuality from its ICD-10.
• Australia and Canada end a ban on gay people in the military.
• Estonia and Latvia decriminalize homosexuality.
• Althea Garrison was elected as the first transgender state legislator in America, and served one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives; however, it was not publicly known she was transgender when she was elected.
• Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival was held in Japan.

1993

• The THIRD March on Washington DC.
• "Don’t Ask, Don't Tell" becomes U.S. Military Policy.
• Sodomy laws repealed in the Republic of Ireland brought about by Senator David Norris.
• Russia decriminalizes consensual male sodomy.
• Norway enacts registered partnership civil union laws that grant same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, except for the right to adopt or marry in a church. 
• Repeal of Sodomy laws: Australian Territory of Norfolk Island.
• Significant LGBT Murders: Brandon Teena.
• Melissa Etheridge came out as a lesbian.
• The Triangle Ball was held; it was the first inaugural ball in America to ever be held in honor of gays and lesbians.
• The first Dyke March (a march for lesbians and their straight female allies, planned by the Lesbian Avengers) was held, with 20,000 women marching.
• Roberta Achtenberg became the first openly gay or lesbian person to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate when she was appointed to the position of Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity by President Bill Clinton.

1994

• IKEA Furniture becomes the first company to air a television commercial in the US which featured a gay male couple.
• The 1st Annual Deaf Lesbian & Gay Awareness Week is held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• AMA denounces supposed cures for homosexuality/Canada grants refugee status to homosexuals fearing for their well-being in their native country. Israel’s supreme court defines gay-couple’s rights same as any common-law-couple’s rights.  Deborah Batts became the first openly gay or lesbian federal judge; she was appointed to the U.S. District Court in New York.
• Gay Parade was held in Japan.

1995

• Inspired by Puccini's La Boheme, "Rent" the musical opens on Broadway. Winner of several Tony Awards, it was one of the first musicals to include a lesbian duet.
• Sweden legalizes registered partnerships (a common-law marriage or civil union) with all the rights of marriage except for marriage in a church and adoption.
• The Supreme Court of Canada rules that sexual orientation is a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 
• Triple combination therapy of drugs such as 3TC, AZT and ddC shown to be effective in treating HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS.
• The Human Rights Campaign drops the word "Fund" from their title and broadens their mission to promote "an America where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are ensured equality and embraced as full members of the American family at home, at work and in every community.
• Gay Advice Darlington/Durham was founded by local gay and bisexual men, and has developed into a Charity that work with and for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community of County Durham and Darlington.
• Rachel Maddow became the first openly gay or lesbian American to win an international Rhodes scholarship.
• President Clinton names the first-ever White House liaison to the gay and lesbian communities.

1996

• Owner of Fox Incorporated, Rupert Murdoch, announced that the company would begin extending domestic partner benefits to gay and lesbian employees.
• Rumours in St. Paul, Minnesota holds the "Grumpier Old Men" Auction.  The canvas seat backs of the directors' and stars' chairs were sold at auction to benefit Every Penny Counts, a fund for AIDS victims.
• The Fifth Display of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington DC.
• South Africa becomes the second country to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution.
• Homosexuality decriminalized in Bosnia and Herzegovina (although Republika Srpska will finally remove homosexuality from its criminal code in 1998). 
• The first lesbian wedding on television occurred, held for fictional characters Carol (played by Jane Sibbett) and Susan (played by Jessica Hecht) on the TV show "Friends".
• Congress passes Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), forbidding federal recognition of (and benefits for) married same-sex couples.
• The Directorate of the Office of Church in Society of the UCC voted for "Equal Marriage Rights for Same-sex Couples.”
• The Board of Directors of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries of the UCC voted for "Equal Marriage Rights for Same Gender Couples.” 

1997

• The first Capitol City Pride is held at Mears Park in St. Paul, Minnesota.  This marks the first year 2 separate Pride Celebrations are held in the Twin Cities.
• UK extends immigration rights to same-sex couples akin to marriage.
• Fiji is the second country to explicitly protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution.
• Laws prohibiting private homosexual acts are repealed in Tasmania, Australia, the last Australian state to do so.
• Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian, one of the first celebrities to do so. Furthermore, later that year her character Ellen Morgan came out as a lesbian on the TV show "Ellen", making Ellen DeGeneres the first openly lesbian actress to play an openly lesbian character on television.
• South Africa becomes the first country to enact a constitutional ban outlawing sexual orientation discrimination.

1998

• Employment Equality Act introduced in Ireland, covering wrongful dismissal based on the grounds of sexual orientation.
• Vriend v. Alberta - sexual orientation is read into the IRPA, Alberta's human rights act.
• Gender identity was added to the mission of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays after a vote at their annual meeting in San Francisco. Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is the first national LGBT organization to officially adopt a transgender-inclusion policy for its work.
• Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay or lesbian non-incumbent ever elected to Congress, and the first open lesbian ever elected to Congress, winning Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district seat over Josephine Musser.
• Matthew Shepard murdered in Wyoming.
• The Executive Council of the UCC called for the "Passage of Hate Crimes Legislation". In this, they called for immediate passage of the Federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1998 and urged all United Church of Christ members to communicate support for this legislation to their congressional representatives.

1999

• McDonald's adds sexual orientation to its non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
• President William Jefferson Clinton signs a proclamation declaring June as Gay & Lesbian Pride Month.
• The Vermont Supreme Court rules that gay couples must be granted the same benefits and protections given married couples of the opposite sex.
• California adopts domestic partner law.
• France enacts civil union laws (PACS) accessible to same-sex couples.
• The "Queer Youth Alliance" is founded in the UK.
• Israel’s supreme court recognizes lesbian partner as another legal mother of her partner’s biological son. 
• South Africa grants spousal immigration benefits to same-sex partners.
• Steven Greenberg publicly came out as gay in an article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv. As he has a rabbinic ordination from the Orthodox rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (RIETS), he is generally described as the first openly gay Orthodox Jewish rabbi. However, some Orthodox Jews, including many rabbis, dispute his being an Orthodox rabbi.
• Britain bans discrimination against transgender people.

Matthew Shepard (December 1, 1976 - October 12, 1998)

In these ten year we saw lots of positive changes. Plenty of laws enacted to protect Lesbians and Gays and their families. But we also experienced hate at its worst with the murder of Matthew Shepard. I am thankful for all the progress but I still can't help feeling like a second class citizen, especially when I see plenty of marriages ending for stupid reasons but I still can't marry the man I love. Maybe the next Millinneum will be the time that this all changes.