Timeline of gay rights in america

But important work was being done decades before then. But several members were arrested shortly after it incorporated, according to PBSand the group soon disbanded. Still, it planted a seed that grew as LGBTQ people continued on the path to true equality and inclusion.

It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression. On July 4, — four years before Stonewall — Frank Kameny, Barbara Gittings, and 37 other homosexual activists marched in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall as part of the first Annual Reminders.

Participants were given strict dress code — men were to wear jackets and ties and women skirts or dresses — to underscore that they were normal and employable. They walked into Julius' Bar and announced: "We are homosexuals. We are orderly, we intend to remain orderly, and we are asking for service.

The mere presence of gay customers could no longer be used as proof an establishment was disorderly. But rather than acquiesce, the patrons resisted, sparking three days of swelling protests and riots. In its wake, local queer timeline of gay rights in america began to campaign for the right to be open about their sexual orientation without reprisal.

Inthe 50th anniversary of Stonewall, more than five million people attended New York City Pride. Emboldened with visibility and growing clout, gay activists began to push for legal protections. In a measure was introduced in the New York City Council banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The measure was finally adopted in by a vote, over strenuous opposition by New York Cardinal John J. Bryant was the spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission, and gay activists and celebrity allies called for a boycott of Florida orange juice. At a press conference in OctoberBryant was hit in the face with a banana cream pie by an activist posing as a reporter.

She led numerous successful efforts to repeal gay-rights ordinances in cities across America but failed with the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gay teachers in California public schools. Elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors inHarvey Milk was the first politician sworn into office as an openly gay man.

He became a symbol of the gay community's growing political might.

The Gay Liberation Movement

During his time as a city supervisor, Milk sponsored a bill that successfully barred sexual orientation discrimination in San Francisco. On November 27,Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former city supervisor Dan White, who had resigned but was desperate to get his job back.

White was sentenced to just seven years in prison, sparking outrage across the city. Thousands protested outside City Hall, throwing rocks and lighting police cars on fire, in what became known as the White Night riots. Inthe Democratic National Convention officially put opposition to discrimination based on sexual orientation in its national platform, a first for major US political party.

Gay Votea nationwide coalition of grassroots political groups, went about "changing 'gay' from an issue to a political constituency," Ginny Apuzzo, the co-author of the gay rights plank, said. After the march, hundreds of participants met with dozens of senators and representatives to express their support for gay rights legislation.

But it also fueled a new chapter in gay rights, with groups like ACT UP taking to the streets and holding politicians and pharmaceutical companies to the fire. Patrick's Cathedral. Because of ACT UP, life-saving medications were fast-tracked and medical researchers began to change how they conducted clinical trials with terminal patients.

With an estimatedtoattendeesit dwarfed the march. And its goals were bolder. Organizers called for legal recognition of same-sex relationships, the repeal of sodomy laws nationwide, and both Congressional legislation and an executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.