Gay Rights: Movement and Marriage Rights

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Pride Month 2023

The history of Pride Month began with the June 1969 Stonewall Riots and continues today with celebrations honoring the LGBTQ+ community.

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Constant Raids at Gay Bars The 1960s and preceding decades were not welcoming times for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. For instance, solicitation of same-sex relations was illegal in New York City. For such reasons, LGBT individuals flocked to gay bars and clubs, places of refuge where they could express themselves openly and […]

IOWA CITY, IOWA - APRIL 3: Gay, lesbian and transgender activists react to the unanimous decision by the Iowa Supreme Court earlier in the day recognizing same sex marriage as a civil right during a celebration on April 3, 2009 at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)

Gay Marriage

The road to full marriage equality for same-sex couples in the United States was paved with setbacks and victories. The landmark 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges made gay marriage legal throughout the country.

Gay Rights

The gay rights movement in the United States began in the 1920s and saw huge progress in the 2000s, with laws prohibiting homosexual activity struck down and a Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk, Class Clown Harvey Bernard Milk was born on May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, New York. The second son of William and Minerva Milk, he came from a family with prominent ties to the community: His Lithuanian-born grandfather Morris owned Milk’s Dry Goods, which became the largest department store on Long Island, and had […]

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7 Early Pioneers of the Gay Rights Movement

Before the Stonewall Riots, these individuals helped set the stage for advances in the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

Author/gay activist Larry Kramer, founder of ACT UP, snuggling w. his friend, author & AIDS victim Vito Russo, as he tries to comfort him while petting his dog at home

How AIDS Remained an Unspoken—But Deadly—Epidemic for Years

Health officials first became aware of AIDS in the summer of 1981, but U.S. leaders remained largely silent for four years.

When Hollywood Studios Married Off Gay Stars to Keep Their Sexuality a Secret

Some of the Golden Age of Hollywood’s brightest stars were suspected to have been in “lavender” marriages—for the sake of their careers.

How Dressing in Drag Was Labeled a Crime in the 20th Century

In the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, police arrested LGBTQ people based on an informal “three-article” rule. The Stonewall Riots helped turn the tide against these arrests.

3:47 minTV-PG

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How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement – Riots

The Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. Learn how members of the LGBTQ community came together to protest exploitation and police harassment.

4:30 minTV-PG

What Is the ACLU?

Learn about what the ACLU stands for, its history and founders, and some of the biggest cases it has represented. Dive into the Scopes Monkey Trial, Brown v. Board of Education and Obergefell v. Hodges, which led to legalizing same sex marriage.

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This Day in History

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1977

Gay Rights

Featured Articles

Pride Month 2023

Topics

Stonewall Riots

Gay Marriage

Gay Rights

Harvey Milk

Stories

7 Early Pioneers of the Gay Rights Movement

How AIDS Remained an Unspoken—But Deadly—Epidemic for Years

When Hollywood Studios Married Off Gay Stars to Keep Their Sexuality a Secret

How Dressing in Drag Was Labeled a Crime in the 20th Century

Videos

How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement – Riots

What Is the ACLU?

This Day in History

Anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant is hit in the face with a pie

The first Transgender Day of Remembrance is held

ACT UP holds its first action on Wall Street

Proposition 8 is passed in California, banning same-sex marriage

Laverne Cox becomes first transgender person to appear on the cover of TIME magazine

First rainbow Pride flag premieres at San Francisco parade