Sources:;xNLx;"The American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline." Infoplease. Pearson Education, 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.;xNLx;;xNLx;"9780393922448." : American Government: Power and Purpose (Thirteenth Full Edition (with Policy Chapters)). N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.;xNLx;Pictures:;xNLx;http://img.myconfinedspace.com/wp-content/uploads/tdomf-2/438087/Rainbow_flag_and_blue_skies.jpg;xNLx;;xNLx;http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/353700/slide_353700_3867225_free.jpg
The Society for Human Rights in Chicago is established, creating the country's earliest known gay rights organization.
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male by Alfred Kinsey is published, showing the public that homosexuality is much more common than was believed previously.
Harry Hay founds the Mattachine Society. He is considered by many to be the founder of the gay rights movement.
The Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian-rights organization in the United States, is established in San Fransisco.
Illinois becomes the first state in the United States to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults in private.
The National Transsexual Counseling Unit, the world's first transgender organization, is established in San Fransisco.
The Stonewall riots transform the gay rights movement from a small group of activists into a widespread protest for equal rights and acceptance when a gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, fight back during a police raid sparking three days of riots.
Mayor George Mascone of San Fransisco appoints Harvey Milk to the Board of Permit Appeals, making him the first openly gay city commissioner in the United States.
Harvey Milk makes national news for being sworn in as a member of the San Fransisco Board of Supervisors. He begins the term by sponsoring a civil rights bill that outlaws sexual orientation discrimination which is signed into law.
Proposition 6, a proposal to fire any teacher or school employee who publicly supports gay rights in California is rejected by more than a million votes.
Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone are assassinated by Dan White, another San Francisco city supervisor who had resigned and wanted his job back. The city of San Francisco honors Milk by naming different locations after him.
75,000 people participated in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in DC. It was one of the biggest political gatherings in support of LGBT rights to date.
Democrats support gay rights saying "all groups must be protected from discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, language, age, sex or sexual orientation."
Berkley, California, becomes the first city to offer its employees domestic-partnership benefits.
800,000 to 1,000,000 people show up for the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in DC.
The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is instituted for the United States military by President Clinton, letting gays serve in the military as long as they don't tell anyone that they are gay and don't participate in any homosexual activity.
The Defense of Marriage Act is passed under President Bill Clinton. DOMA allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages.
In Romer v. Evans, the Supreme Court strikes down Colorado's Amendment 2, which denied gays and lesbians protections against discrimination.
Vermont becomes the first state in the country to legally recognize civil unions between gay or lesbian couples.
In Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court rules that sodomy laws in the United States are unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy wrote "Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate conduct."
Massachusetts becomes the first state to say that same-sex marriages are legal.
The Employment Nondiscrimination Act is passed in the House of Representatives, ensuring equal rights in the workplace for gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.
The Supreme Court of Connecticut rules that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making them the second state to legalize gay marriage.
Californian voters approve a ban on same-sex marriages called Proposition 8.
Voters in California, Arizona, and Florida ban same-sex marriage.
Iowa, Maine, and New Hampshire all legalize same-sex marriage.
The United States Senate votes in favor of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
President Barack Obama endorses same-sex marriage saying "it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married"
Tammy Baldwin is elected to the Senate.
Jason Collins of the NBA announces in an essay in Sports Illustrated that he is gay.
The Supreme Court rules that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional in a 5 to 4 vote.
The United States Supreme Court declines to hear appeals of rulings in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin that allow same-sex marriage.
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