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The American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association lists homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance in its first publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Immediately following the manual's release, many professionals in medicine, mental health and social sciences criticize the categorization due to lack of empirical and scientific data -
Sodomy Laws
Illinois repeals its sodomy laws, becoming the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexuality. -
Christopher St. Liberation Day
Christopher St. Liberation Day commemorates the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Allies and members of the LGBTQ+ marched down the streets of New York, marking the first PRIDE march. -
Orientation Discrimination
Wisconsin becomes the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation -
AIDS Crisis
Hundreds of thousands of activists take part in the National March on Washington to demand that President Ronald Reagan address the AIDS crisis. -
The Red Ribbon
Created by the New York-based Visual AIDS, the red ribbon is adopted as a symbol of awareness and compassion for those living with HIV/AIDS. -
Gay Marriage
Vermont becomes the first state in the U.S. to legalize civil unions and registered partnerships between same-sex couples. -
Lawrence v. Texas
In Lawrence v. Texas the U.S. Supreme Court rules that sodomy laws in the U.S. are unconstitutional. -
The Matthew Shepard Act
This act expands the 1969 U.S. Federal Hate Crime Law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. -
Obamas stance on gay marriage
President Obama states his administration will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans the recognition of same-sex marriage