1995 in LGBT rights

	… 1985 ; 1986 ; 1987 ; 1988 ; 1989 ; 1990 ; 1991 ; ; 1992 ; 1993 ; 1994 ; 1995 ; 1996 ; 1997 ; 1998 ; ; 1999 ; 2000 ; 2001 ; 2002 ; 2003 ; 2004 ; 2005 … ;
	Art ; Archaeology ; Architecture ; Literature ; Music ; Philosophy ; Science ; +...

Last updated September 25, 2024

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1995.

Events

A new penal code is introduced in Portugal, which lowers the age of consent for heterosexual acts to 14; however it retains an age of consent of 16 for homosexual acts.
Sweden legalizes registered partnerships, with all of the rights of marriage—except for marriage in a church and adoption.
US state of Rhode Island bans sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector.^[1]

January

1 – Sweden begins registering same-sex domestic partners. Same-sex couples receive most of the rights of mixed-sex marriages but do not receive the right to a church wedding, the right to adopt children or the right to artificial insemination.^[2]
19 – The District of Columbia Court of Appeals rules in Dean v. District of Columbia that the district's human rights ordinance barring discrimination based on sexual orientation does not guarantee a right to same-sex marriage.^[3]

February

2 – A judge in Tennessee rules that the state's sodomy law violates the state constitution.^[4]
17 – The Canadian province of British Columbia announces new regulations allowing gay and lesbian people to adopt children.^[5]

March

9 – Scott Amedure, a gay man, is shot to death by Jonathan Schmitz, a heterosexual man, after Amedure revealed a secret crush on Schmitz during an episode of The Jenny Jones Show titled "Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush". Schmitz is later convicted of second-degree murder with a sentence of 30 to 50 years.
30 – In Abel v. United States of America, the first challenge to "don't ask, don't tell", district judge Eugene Nickerson rules that the provision of the 1993 law barring LGBT military personnel from saying they are LGBT infringes on their First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights.^[6]

May

17 – Hillsborough County, Florida commissioners repeal the county's gay rights law.^[7]
25 – In Egan v. Canada the Supreme Court of Canada rules that sexual orientation is a prohibited ground of discrimination under section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a part of the constitution. Section 15 does not explicitly list sexual orientation, but is designed to permit the addition of new grounds by the courts. The ruling will have a wide impact since section 15 applies to all laws, including human rights laws that prohibit discrimination by all employers, landlords, service providers and governments.

June

13 – The Broward County Commission passes a gay rights bill covering employment, housing and public accommodation.^[8]
19 – In Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston the United States Supreme Court rules that private citizens organizing a public demonstration may legally exclude groups who impart a message that the private citizen does not wish to promote. The ruling allows the organizers of the city's annual St. Patrick's Day parade to exclude LGBT contingents.^[9]
24 – Inauguration of the Memorial to gay and lesbian victims of National Socialism in Cologne, Germany

August

2 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs Executive Order 12968, which bans discrimination based on "sexual orientation" as it establishes uniform policies for allowing government employees access to classified information.^[10]

October

10 – The United States Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Romer v. Evans , the case that would eventually overturn Colorado's Amendment 2, which banned gay rights laws in the state.

December

30 – San Francisco outlaws discrimination based on gender identity.^[11]

Deaths

March 9 – Scott Amedure, 32, talk show murder victim
November 17 – James Woods III, 32, author of The Corporate Closet: The Professional Lives of Gay Men in America
November 20 – Steven Powsner, 40, former president of the New York City Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center

Related Research Articles

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2003.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1993.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1999.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2005.

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Utah have significantly evolved in the 21st century. Protective laws have become increasingly enacted since 2014, despite the state's reputation as socially conservative and highly religious. Utah's anti-sodomy law was invalidated in 2003 by Lawrence v. Texas, and fully repealed by the state legislature in 2019. Same-sex marriage has been legal since the state's ban was ruled unconstitutional by federal courts in 2014. In addition, statewide anti-discrimination laws now cover sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing, and the use of conversion therapy on minors is prohibited. In spite of this, there are still a few differences between the treatment of LGBTQ people and the rest of the population, and the rights of transgender youth are restricted.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2006.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Bermuda</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality is legal in Bermuda, but the territory has long held a reputation for being homophobic and intolerant. Since 2013, the Human Rights Act has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Louisiana may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Louisiana as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas. Same-sex marriage has been recognized in the state since June 2015 as a result of the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Michigan enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Michigan in June 2024 was ranked "the most welcoming U.S. state for LGBT individuals". Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Michigan under the U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage was legalised in accordance with 2015's Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity is unlawful since July 2022, was re-affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court - under and by a 1976 statewide law, that explicitly bans discrimination "on the basis of sex". The Michigan Civil Rights Commission have also ensured that members of the LGBT community are not discriminated against and are protected in the eyes of the law since 2018 and also legally upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022. In March 2023, a bill passed the Michigan Legislature by a majority vote - to formally codify both "sexual orientation and gender identity" anti-discrimination protections embedded within Michigan legislation. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill on March 16, 2023. In 2024, Michigan repealed “the last ban on commercial surrogacy within the US” - for individuals and couples and reformed the parentage laws, that acknowledges same sex couples and their families with children.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2010.

This is a list of events in 2011 that affected LGBT rights.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Colorado enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Colorado since 1972. Same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014, and the state enacted civil unions in 2013, which provide some of the rights and benefits of marriage. State law also prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations and the use of conversion therapy on minors. In July 2020, Colorado became the 11th US state to abolish the gay panic defense.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of South Carolina may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in South Carolina as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy laws. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples. However, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is not banned statewide.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Idaho face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Idaho, and same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since October 2014. State statutes do not address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. A number of cities and counties provide further protections, namely in housing and public accommodations. A 2019 Public Religion Research Institute opinion poll showed that 71% of Idahoans supported anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQ people, and a 2016 survey by the same pollster found majority support for same-sex marriage.

Until 2017, laws related to LGBTQ+ couples adopting children varied by state. Some states granted full adoption rights to same-sex couples, while others banned same-sex adoption or only allowed one partner in a same-sex relationship to adopt the biological child of the other.

LGBT employment discrimination in the United States is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is encompassed by the law's prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Prior to the landmark cases Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020), employment protections for LGBT people were patchwork; several states and localities explicitly prohibit harassment and bias in employment decisions on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, although some only cover public employees. Prior to the Bostock decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interpreted Title VII to cover LGBT employees; the EEOC determined that transgender employees were protected under Title VII in 2012, and extended the protection to encompass sexual orientation in 2015.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2015.

References

↑ Current Issues
↑ "A Swede deal for couples". The Advocate . July 12, 1994. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
↑ Dean v. District of Columbia, 92CV737 ( District of Columbia Court of Appeals January 19, 1995).
↑ "Another one bites the dust". The Advocate . March 7, 1995. p. 16. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
↑ "OK in B.C." The Advocate . April 4, 1995. p. 10.
↑ Schmitt, Eric (March 31, 1995). "Judge Overturns Pentagon Policy on Homosexuals". The New York Times . p. A24. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
↑ "Reversal in Florida". The Advocate . June 27, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
↑ "Rights bill OK'd". The Advocate . July 25, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
↑ Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston , 515US557 ( Supreme Court of the United States June 19, 1995).
↑ New York Times: Todd S. Purdum, "Clinton Ends Ban on Security Clearance for Gay Workers," August 4, 1995, accessed March 6, 2012
↑ "Around the nation". The Advocate . February 7, 1995. p. 20. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Current Issues

[2] "A Swede deal for couples". The Advocate . July 12, 1994. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

[3] Dean v. District of Columbia, 92CV737 ( District of Columbia Court of Appeals January 19, 1995).

[4] "Another one bites the dust". The Advocate . March 7, 1995. p. 16. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

[5] "OK in B.C." The Advocate . April 4, 1995. p. 10.

[6] Schmitt, Eric (March 31, 1995). "Judge Overturns Pentagon Policy on Homosexuals". The New York Times . p. A24. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

[7] "Reversal in Florida". The Advocate . June 27, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

[8] "Rights bill OK'd". The Advocate . July 25, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

[9] Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston , 515US557 ( Supreme Court of the United States June 19, 1995).

[10] New York Times: Todd S. Purdum, "Clinton Ends Ban on Security Clearance for Gay Workers," August 4, 1995, accessed March 6, 2012

[11] "Around the nation". The Advocate . February 7, 1995. p. 20. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]