1971 in LGBTQ rights

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights that took place in the year 1971.

Events

• Frank Kameny becomes the first openly gay candidate for the United States Congress when he runs in the first election for the District of Columbia's non-voting delegate to Congress. ^[1]
• The Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire (Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action) forms in France. ^[2]

March

• 18 — Idaho decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults, but the repeal is itself repealed before taking effect. ^[3]
• 24 — In a case granting citizenship to a Cuban man, a federal judge rules that homosexuality alone cannot bar a person from becoming a United States citizen. ^[3]

April

• 1 — The French magazine Tout is seized by police, who characterize its call for sexual liberation in that country an "outrage to public morals". ^[4]

May

• 15 — The first Gay Power march in Europe takes place in Örebro, Sweden, by a group called sv:Gay Power Club. ^[5]

July

• 1
  • The Gay Alliance Toward Equality is founded as Canada's first gay rights organization. ^{[6] [7]}
  • In the United Kingdom, the International Times loses an appeal on indecency charges for running personal ads for gay men. ^[8]
• 10 — Austria decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults. ^[9]
• 21 — George Klippert is released from prison, two years after homosexuality was decriminalized in Canada. ^[10]

August

• 28 - An "Age of Consent" protest is held in London.This protested the age of consent discrepancies between homosexual and heterosexuals couples. ^[11]

October

• 1 — Connecticut decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults. ^[9]
• 12 — The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs recommends the repeal of a city law banning homosexuals from working in or going to bars. ^[12]

November

• 1 — The Body Politic , Canada's first gay rights magazine, hits newsstands. ^[13]

December

• 14 — The U.S. gay rights activist group Gay Activists Alliance protest in front of the Suffolk County, New York, police headquarters after two members were arrested for sodomy. ^[14]

See also

• LGBTQ portal

• Timeline of LGBT history — timeline of events from 12,000 BCE to present
• LGBT rights by country or territory — current legal status around the world
• LGBT social movements

Notes

1. Boldt, David R. (February 23, 1971). "Homosexual Files Delegate Papers: Number of Contestants Is Now Eight". The Washington Post.
2. Miller, p. 392
3. Rutledge, p. 33
4. Rutledge, pp. 33–4
5. "Idag 50 år sedan den homosexuella revolutionen – Sverige var först i Europa med Prideprotester". QX.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-05-15.
6. "Gay Alliance Toward Equality". City of Vancouver Archives. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
7. "Gay Alliance Towards Equality (GATE) Vancouver". Gay & Lesbian Liberation in Canada. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
8. Rutledge, pp. 36–7
9. Rutledge, p. 38
10. "Man imprisoned for being gay to get posthumous pardon from Trudeau". CBC. February 28, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
11. "The Age of Consent March 1971". My Learning. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
12. Rutledge, p. 40
13. Knegt, Peter (June 7, 2016). "Why all Canadians should know about The Body Politic". CBC. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
14. "Gay Activists Alliance records 1970-1983". The New York Public Library. Archived from the original on April 28, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2025.

References

• Miller, Neil (1995). Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. New York, Vintage Books. ISBN   0-09-957691-0.
• Rutledge, Leigh (1992). The Gay Decades. New York: Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN   0-452-26810-9.