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A Major Leader
Frank Kamney went to Queens College to study physics. He was drafted into the US Army and served throughout World War II in Europe. He returned to Queens College and graduated with a baccalaureate in physics in 1948. Kameny then went to Harvard University and graduated with both a master's degree (1949) and doctorate (1956) in astronomy. He worked for the government's Army Map Service but was fired in 1957 for being gay. He fought for gay rights after losing his job. -
Stonewall Riots
These riots took place in a New York gay club called the Stonewall Inn, and it was between the gay community and policemen who had been raiding and harassing the club. What fueled the riots were police arresting people in the club for no reason other then being gay. After so much suppression, they revolted against the police, which started the Stonewall Riots. The effect was that more gay rights activists started fighting against homophobic policemen, and the first LGBT pride parade took place. -
Homosexuality was No Longer Listed as a Metal Illness
This was caused by a cultural change and protests involving the LGBTQ community from the 1950s-70s. Alfred Kinsey conducted research arguing that being gay wasn't a disease.To prove it, he developed the Kinsey Scale, which measured how “gay” or “straight” a person was and he found that a lot of people had had same-sex experiences in their life. These results caused the APA to take homosexuality out of the book of mental orders, causing people to accept and take pride in their sexuality. -
Lawrence v Texas
Lawrence v Texas was a court case declaring all states laws that reprimanded homosexual sodomy, were unconstitutional and violated the right to privacy. John Lawrence and Tyron Gamer caught having sex and were both charged with “homosexual conduct.” After being arrested and fined, Lawrence argued that the “homosexual conduct” violates the Equal Protection Clause in the constitution. The supreme court ruled the Homosexual Conduct was unconstitutional, and the law was abolished. -
Obama Repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law was created by Bill Clinton, which stated that homosexual personnel in the armed forces should not be discriminated against for their sexual orientation. When Clinton signed off on the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law, he hypothetically removed a ban on homosexuals serving in the army. Obama repealed it stating in his campaign that people can serve openly in the armed forces, without covering it up. As a result, gay men and women can now proudly serve in the military. -
Defense of Marriage Act and Obergefell vs. Hodges
The Defense Marriage Act is an act declaring that any marriage that isn’t between one man and one woman is unconstitutional. In June of 2015, the act was overruled by the supreme court in the Obergefell v. Hodges court case. Their decision concluded that the banning of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and goes against the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. After the Defense Marriage Act was repealed, the gay community got their right to marry again. -
Current Day Problems
Now that President Trump is our president, we have taken a huge step back with all of the progress we’ve made with gay rights. Also, homosexuals are still targeted to this very day. In 2016 there was a shooting at an Orlando night club, killing 49 people. In 2017 the new movie Beauty and the Beast was banned in southern states and other countries because of a gay character. -
Major Accomplishments
Gay marriage is now legal all over america, and although homophobia is still an underlying issue in our society, people have gotten better about accepting everyone for who they are and people aren’t are homophobic as they were 40 years ago.
