1978 in LGBTQ rights

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1978.

Events

Original version of the gay pride flag, first flown in the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco

• The city of Berkeley, California, prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation in the private sector. ^[1]
• San Francisco adds Article 33 to the San Francisco Police Code, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation in the private sector. ^[2]

April

• 19 — 1,500 gays and supporters rally on the steps of the state capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, in support of the gay rights provision in the city's human rights ordinance.
• 25 — St. Paul, Minnesota, voters repeal a provision in the city's human rights ordinance that protects gays and lesbians from discrimination. The ordinance is repealed by a 2-to-1 margin; 54,096 in favor of repeal, 31,694 against. ^{[3] [4]}

May

• 9 — Voters in the U.S. city of Wichita, Kansas, repeal a gay rights ordinance by a nearly 5-to-1 margin; 47,276 for repeal, 10,500 against. ^[5]
• 23 — Voters in the U.S. city of Eugene, Oregon, repeal an ordinance banning discrimination against gays and lesbians by a 2-to-1 margin. ^[6]

June

Harvey Milk (1930–1978)

• 24 — In Sydney, a gay and lesbian protest march is held on International Gay Solidarity Day to commemorate the Stonewall riots in the United States. Although the organizers of the march obtain permission, it is revoked on short notice and police break up the march. Fifty-three marchers are arrested, although charges are eventually dropped. ^[7]
• 25 — The rainbow flag is first used as a symbol of gay pride. The original 8-striped version, designed by Gilbert Baker, first flies in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. ^[8]

July

• 1 — A gay protest rally is held in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, in response to a visit by Anita Bryant. ^[9]
• 5 — The Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission) rules that a Montreal Catholic school board's refusal to rent facilities to a gay group is discriminatory. This represents the first application of Quebec's anti-sexual-orientation-discrimination law since it was passed in 1977.
• 27 — U.S. state of New Jersey repeals its anti-sodomy laws. ^[10]

September

• 10 — A protest is held in London, Ontario, Canada, in response to a visit by Anita Bryant.

November

• 7
  • California Proposition 6, the Briggs Initiative, which would have forbidden gays to teach in schools, is defeated in California by a two-to-one margin. ^[11] U.S. president Jimmy Carter announced his opposition to this measure at a rally in the state, the first such mention by a U.S. president. ^{[12] [13]}
  • The attempted repeal of a gay rights ordinance in Seattle, Washington, is also defeated by a two-to-one margin. ^[14]
• 27 — Moscone–Milk assassinations occur in San Francisco. Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated at San Francisco City Hall by former city supervisor Dan White. That night a candlelight march 30,000 people marched from Castro Street to City Hall in memory of the slain men. ^[15]

Deaths

• November 27 — San Francisco mayor George Moscone and member of the Board of Supervisors Harvey Milk. Milk, a gay activist, was the first openly gay man to hold an office at this high of a level in a major U.S. city.

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. "Gay Rights Ordinance Passed". The Washington Post. October 11, 1978. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
2. William N. Eskridge (30 June 2009). Gaylaw: Challenging the Apartheid of the Closet. Harvard University Press. p. 130. ISBN   978-0-674-03658-1.
3. Rutledge, p. 122
4. Kessler, Pat (April 25, 1978). "Gay rights defeated in St. Paul". Archived from the original on July 26, 2025.
5. Rutledge, p. 122—3
6. "Anita's Group Aims to Help Homosexuals". The Ocala (FL) Star-Banner. Associated Press. 1978-06-05. p. 2B. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
7. Moore, Clive (2001). Sunshine and rainbows : the development of gay and lesbian culture in Queensland. St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia: University of Queensland Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN   0702232084.
8. Gonzalez, Nora. "How Did the Rainbow Flag Become a Symbol of LGBTQ Pride?". Britannica. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
9. "Hundreds Protest for Gay Rights in Moose Jaw (1978)". Moose Jaw Pride. August 25, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
10. Painter, George. "New Jersey". The Sensibilities of Our Forefathers: The History of Sodomy Laws in the United States. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
11. Shilts, p. 250
12. Reagan, Ronald (November 1, 1978). "Editorial: Two Ill-advised California Trends". Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. p. A19.
13. Magliocca, Gerard (October 18, 2010). "Ronald Reagan and Gay Rights: A reproduction of the op-ed "Editorial: Two Ill-advised California Trends" by Ronald Reagan in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner from Library of Congress". Concurring Opinions. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
14. Rutledge, p. 129
15. "San Francisco leaders George Moscone and Harvey Milk are murdered". History.com. Retrieved March 4, 2021.

References

• Rutledge, Leigh (1992). The Gay Decades. New York, Penguin. ISBN   0-452-26810-9.
• Shilts, Randy (1982). The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. St. Martin's Press. ISBN   0-312-52330-0.