The first gay leather bar, the Gold Coast, opened in Chicago in 1958.
1959
The Cooper Do-nuts Riot happened in 1959 in Los Angeles, when the lesbians, gay men, transgender people, and drag queens who hung out at Cooper Do-nuts and who were frequently harassed by the LAPD fought back after police arrested three people, including John Rechy. Patrons began pelting the police with donuts and coffee cups. The LAPD called for back-up and arrested a number of rioters. Rechy and the other two original detainees were able to escape.[1]
21 April – New York decides that it can no longer forbid bars from serving gay men and lesbians after activists stage a "Sip-In" at Julius, a bar, on April 21.
Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986), is a United States Supreme Court decision that upheld, in a 5–4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgiasodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults, in this case with respect to homosexual sodomy, though the law did not differentiate between homosexual sodomy and heterosexual sodomy.[13]. This case was overturned in 2003 by a case styled Lawrence v. Texas.
12 June – Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old security guard, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a terrorist attack inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police Department (OPD) officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. This, known as the Orlando nightclub shooting, is the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history, and the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter in the U.S., being surpassed the following year by the Las Vegas shooting. Pulse was hosting a "Latin Night" and thus most of the victims were Latinos. In 2018, evidence suggested that Mateen may not have known that Pulse was a gay nightclub, having even asked the security guard at the nightclub where all the women were.[15]
2017
14 February – The Jacksonville City Council passes Ordinance 2017-16-E, by a vote of 12 in favor, 6 against, and 1 absent. The ordinance went into effect without the signature of Mayor Lenny Curry.[16][17]
6 June – Candice Jackson issues a June 6, 2017, guideline directing the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights lawyers to consider case-by-case basis for transgender students' discrimination complaints.[22][23][24]
4 October – Jeff Sessions issues a memo withdrawing the December 15, 2014, memo issued by Eric Holder instructing United States Department of Justice attorneys to take the position that the term "sex" under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does cover gender identity, while also instructing United States Department of Justice attorneys to take the position that the term "sex" under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover gender identity, while claiming Title VII does provide "various protection to transgender individuals".[18][26]
6 October – Jeff Sessions issues a memorandum for all United States executive departments, US government agencies, US government contractors, US government grantees, and private businesses to do everything to accommodate people who claim their religious freedoms were violated.[18][27]
14 December – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention senior officials who oversee the budget told policy analysts during a briefing that "transgender" was not to be used in official documents.[18]
2018
1 January – Openly transgender individuals are now allowed to join the United States military.[29] House Bill 1785 goes into effect in the state of Illinois.[30]
2 January – Phillipe Cunningham is sworn in to represent the 4th ward in the Minneapolis City Council. He is the first openly African American transman elected to public office in the United States, city council, Minneapolis City Council, and the 4th ward of the Minneapolis City Council. Andrea Jenkins is sworn in to represent the vice-presidency and the 8th ward in the Minneapolis City Council. She is the first openly African American transwoman elected to public office in the United States, city council, Minneapolis City Council, vice-presidency and the 8th ward of the Minneapolis City Council.[31]
8 January – The Broward County Commission passed Ordinance No. 2018-03, with 8 in favor, 0 against, and 1 absent. The ordinance was filled with the Florida Department of State and took effect that same day.[32][33]
10 January – Dawn M. Adams is sworn is sworn in to represent the 68th district in the Virginia House of Delegates. She is the first openly lesbian elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and the 68th district of the Virginia House of Delegates. Danica Roem is sworn in to represent the 13th district in the Virginia House of Delegates. She is the first openly transwoman elected for a state legislative body, Virginia House of Delegates, and the 13th district of the Virginia House of Delegates.[34][35]
11 January – Ordinance No. 2018-1-8509 for the city of Paducah, Kentucky takes effect.[36]
31 January – Allison Ikley-Freeman is sworn is sworn in to represent the 37th district in the Oklahoma Senate. She is the first openly lesbian elected to the 37th district of the Oklahoma Senate.
12 February – The Department of Education announced that the term sex in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 does not cover gender identity, while sex-based stereotyping is covered under sex discrimination in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The Department of Education also found that in the sex-segregated facilities is not a form of discrimination Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.[37]
26 February – The Pentagon confirmed an openly transgender recruit signed a contract to join the United States military for the first time.[38]
27 February – The Bexar County Commissioners approve by a voice vote in favor of prohibiting discrimination for public employees and public job applicants on the basis sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to the county's equal employment opportunity policy.[39]
^A smaller-scale riot broke out in 1959 in Los Angeles, when the drag queens, lesbians, gay men, and transgender people who hung out at Cooper Do-nuts and who were frequently harassed by the LAPD fought back after police arrested three people, including John Rechy. Patrons began pelting the police with donuts and coffee cups. The LAPD called for back-up and arrested a number of rioters. Rechy and the other two original detainees were able to escape. Faderman, Lillian and Stuart Timmons (2006). Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians. Basic Books. pp. 1–2. ISBN0-465-02288-X
^At the time, the term "gay" was commonly used to refer to all LGBT people.
^Faderman, Lillian and Stuart Timmons (2006). Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians. Basic Books. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-465-02288-X
^Boyd, Nan Alamilla (2004). "San Francisco" in the Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America, Ed. Marc Stein. Vol. 3. Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 71–78.
