1980 Leonard Matlovich is reinstated in the Air Force. Wisconsin is the first state to pass gay rights bill

In November of 1980, Leonard Matlovich was reinstated to the Air Force, finally receiving an upgraded discharge, that of honorable, and a $160,000 settlement.

In politics, Gay Activists Alliance president Mel Boozer was nominated for Vice President at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City. He told the convention that "bigotry is bigotry" and that homophobia dishonors our way of life just as much as racism, before withdrawing his nomination in favor of Walter Mondale.

In 1981 the US Department of Defense revised its policy on lesbians and gays in the military. The new policy bared gay people from serving in the military and required that questions about sexual orientation be asked of all recruits. The issue of homosexuality in the military was brought to the forefront because of Leonard Matlovich's confession, where he publicly admitted his homosexuality to Air Force officials in 1975. After a series of hearings, Matlovich was offered a general discharge from the Air Force.

1982 First Gay Games draws 1300 competitors and 10,000 spectators

The first Gay Games were held in 1982, with over 1,300 gay men and lesbian athletes from 28 states and 10 nations participating.

Men's figure skater Rudy Galindo, a gay Mexican-American from a working class family, later went public with his sexual orientation during his competitive years. He won his first World Junior Championship in 1987 as a singles figure skater, and achieved 1st place in the US National Championship as a pair skater with Kristi Yamaguchi.

In August of 1986, Jerry Smith, former Washington Redskins tight end, was the first sports celebrity to acknowledge, voluntarily, that he had AIDS. He died of the disease seven weeks after his announcement.

1983

1983 On July 18, Representative Gerry Studds declared he is gay on the House floor

In September of 1983, the Alliance for Gay Artists honor NBC's 'Cheers' and 'Gimme a Break' and ABC's 'Dynasty' for positive, realistic depictions of gay men on television.

Awards were also given to the Donahue show for giving gay and lesbian guests a public forum and for 'The Fifth of July', a PBS and Showtime production of the Landford Wilson play which featured a gay handicapped man and his lover.

In 1984, Berkeley, CA became the first city in the US to extend domestic partnership benefits to lesbian and gay employees.

Also in 1984, Greg Louganis became the first man in 56 years to win Olympic gold medals in both springboard and platform diving, a feat he repeated 4 years later. Louganis was not out during his Olympic career; he came out during the 1994 Gay Games, declaring "as an Olympic athlete and a gay man, I'd like to welcome you to the Gay Games". He came out as a person with AIDS in 1995 during a television interview with Barbara Walters.

In the press, The Wall Street Journal changed its editorial policy and now permitted the use of the word "gay" as an alternative to homosexual in the news. Previously, the newspaper only used gay in quotes. The New York Times and Associated Press still banned the word gay except when meaning "happy" or in quotes.

At the annual meeting of the US Conference of Mayors in the summer of 1984, they overwhelmingly approved a resolution advocating gay and lesbian rights protection at all levels of the government. This resolution is the first to be passed by a national organization of elected officials.

1985

1985 Rock Hudson returns from Paris with the announcement he has AIDS. Americans are shocked that a film star could be gay.

1985 was a pivotal year for the Oscars, when Vanessa Redgrave was the first woman to be nominated for Best Actress playing a lesbian role in 'The Bostonian'. Also, 'The Times of Harvey Milk' won the Oscar for Best Documentary. This was the first documentary on a gay subject to win that Oscar. An estimated one billion viewers heard its director, Robert Epstein, express his thanks to "my partner in life, John Wright." In 1986, William Hurt won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of an imprisoned South American hairdresser in the 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'. It is the first time a male actor playing a gay character received an Oscar.

1986

1986 Lesbian couple granted legal joint adoption in California

Regrettably, in 1986, the Reagan administration stated that the treatment of persons with AIDS was not a federal concern. The following year, President Reagan underwent testing for HIV when he became concerned about the blood transfusions he received when he was shot in 1981. According to a White House spokesperson, he tested negative.

The following year, President Reagan's newly founded National AIDS Commission released a report, with over five hundred recommendations for addressing the epidemic. A presidential advisor reduced the list to ten items.

1987 March on Washington is grossly understated by US Park Police. NAMES Project Quilt is displayed for the first time

The response to these and other issues lead to the second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The October 11th 1987 event, with estimates by the US Park Police at only 200,000, actually had over a half-million participants.

In May 1987, A Boston Globe headline read "Frank discusses being gay". Democratic Representative Barney Frank, when asked if he is gay, replies, "Yes, so what?" becoming the second US congressman to come out during this decade.

During a weekend of events, 200,000 lesbian and gay couples participated in a mass wedding in front of the IRS building. Over 600 lesbians, gay men, and supporters were arrested on the steps of the US Supreme Court in the largest civil disobedience protest in the history of the gay and lesbian rights movement.

The NAMES Project Quilt, which at that time was the size of 2 football fields, was displayed for the first time on the mall in front of the US Capitol.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is comprised of 3X6 foot cloth panels, one for each person who had died from the AIDS virus. Each panel was hand made by friends, children, parents, lovers, or sometimes the dying person themselves and donated from around the world.

The 1987 best selling book 'And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic', was written by Randy Shilts, probably the most widely recognized gay journalist in mainstream media. This book details the early history of the AIDS epidemic and the indifferent, slow response to it by the federal government, the medical establishment, and by some gay organizations.

He also wrote 'The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk' (1982), a biography of the gay San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone, and 'Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the US Military' (1993).

1988

1988 First Annual coming Out Day celebration begins

Now celebrated annually on October 11, The Annual Coming Out Day celebration, not only marked the first anniversary of the historic 1987 lesbian and gay March on Washington, but served to set aside a day when gay people can each make a step toward coming completely out of the closet.

1989

In 1989 NYC Mayor Ed Koch dedicated "Stonewall Place" for the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.

Also, the US Postal Service became the first Federal agency to extend official recognition of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement by issuing a 'Lesbian and Gay Pride' stamp, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall event.

In 1989, Keith St. John became the first openly gay African American elected official when he was chosen common council member in Albany, NY.

1989

1989 Denmark legalizes gay marriage

In 1989 Denmark legalized same sex marriages. The first legally married gay couple was Axel & Eigil Axgil, who married together with 10 other couples in Copenhagen the First of October, 1989. It was a worldwide media event. At the time they married, the Axgils had been together for nearly 40 years, 32 of which were under their common name.

1990

As we moved into the 1990's, the Hate Crime Statistics Bill, which passed in February 1990, expanded earlier legislation requiring collection of data on crimes motivated by racial, ethnic or religious prejudice, to include crimes motivated by prejudice against people of differing sexual orientations.

Collected information indicated that ten times as many gay men and lesbians worked with computers than in the fashion industry, and 40% more gay men and lesbians are employed in finance and insurance than in the arts.

1991

Employer Survey by National Gay and Lesbian Task Force regarding Diversity efforts.

• 1,000 of the largest companies were surveyed:
• 757 failed to reply
• 145 refused to reply
• 98 responded
• Half of those responding include sexual orientation issues in their diversity training
• 5 of those responding offer domestic-partner benefits

1992

In 1992 Colorado passed Amendment 2 which banned domestic partner benefits in the state. The Legislation was later declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court (1996).

1993

1993 "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" becomes US Military Policy March On Washington is reported to be the largest march in the Capitol's history

Prohibition of gays in the military had started in 1943. Since then 100,000 men and women had been discharged from the military for alleged homosexuality.

In 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" became the US Military Policy removing the questions about sexual orientation, and requiring GLBT service members to hide their true identities and relationships.

The April 26, 1996 March on Washington DC saw record-breaking crowds. The police department and Mayor's office estimated that there were more than one million participants and spectators. The march lasted for 6 hours and was reported to be the largest march in the Capitol's history.

1994

Labor unions went on record as supporting lesbian and gay civil rights.

• American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations
  
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
  
• American Federation of Teachers
  
• National Education Association

1996

Coretta Scott King on ENDA:
"I support this legislation because lesbian and gay people are a permanent part of the American workforce, who currently have no protection from the arbitrary abuse of their rights on the job. For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law."

1996 saw legislative efforts both in support and in response to the GLBT community. ENDA, which would make it illegal to discriminate or fire employees simply because they were GLBT, was defeated in the Senate by only one vote (50-49). This was the closest the legislation has ever come to passing. As of October 2004, ENDA had still not passed and it is still legal to discriminate against gays in the work place in a number of states.

1997

1997 Ellen DeGeneres comes out on TV sitcom

In 1997, the Hawaii Supreme Court rules that same sex marriage is legal under the existing Hawaiian State Constitution. The constitution was later amended to specifically include domestic partnerships.

Ellen DeGeneris comes out on a TV sitcom paving the way for shows such as 'Will & Grace' and the extremely popular 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'.

1998

1998 Matthew Shepherd brutally beaten Then in 1998, as a horrible reminder of how far we still have to go to fight hatred and achieve acceptance, 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepherd dies days after a brutal hate crime beating. Factoid: According to the Anti-Defamation League, in 1998, 18 states had hate-crime laws: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin

1999

2003

2003 US Supreme Court Strikes down sodomy laws

The US Supreme Court's 'Lawrence vs State of Texas' decision decriminalized sexual relations between consenting adults and established a standard for personal privacy. It struck down the sodomy laws in the 13 remaining states that still had the laws on their books, removing a major barrier to gay equality.

2004

2004 Human Rights Campaign and Marriage Equality Project

The Human Rights Campaign and Marriage Equality Project identified more than 1,000 benefits and responsibilities associated with civil marriage that are lacking in Civil Unions.

In January 2004, President George W. Bush called for a Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex Marriage during his State of the Union Address.

2004 About 4,000 couples were married before the marriages were halted.

In February, the Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsome, who attended the the President's State of the Union Address, reacts by permitting Same-Sex Marriage licenses to be issued.

2004 California Supreme Court denies Mayor Gavin Newsome authority to issue Same Sex Marriage licenses

In July, 2004, the US Senate declined to vote on the Affirmation of Marriage Constitutional Amendment.

In August, the California Supreme Court denied San Francisco Mayor authority to issue same sex marriage licenses. After California nullified the marriages, Newsome said he would continue to fight for marriage equality, adding: "There is nothing any judge, lawyer and politician can ever do to take away the moment those (4,000) couples shared together" when they said "I do".

2004 Virginia Adopts House Bill 751

On July 1st, 2004, Virginia adopted House Bill 751, restricting Same Sex marriages, Civil Unions and contractual arrangements that mirror the rights of marriage. This created fear among many same sex couples that their wills, medical powers of attorneys and adoptions could be challenged and reversed.

US House of Representatives vote down Affirmation of Marriage Constitutional Amendment

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that same sex marriage is legal under the existing Massachusetts Constitution. It's the only one of the 50 states where same sex marriage is legal.

There are some caveats: primarily you have to live in the state to take advantage of the right to marry, and these Massachusetts' marriages are not recognized in any of the other 49 states.

In September 2004, US House of Representatives voted down Affirmation of Marriage Constitutional Amendment.

1. Not making assumptions that everyone in your life, workgroup or family is straight.
2. Calling people on heterosexist behavior, jokes, and language.
3. Having GLBT people in your social life and among your friends.
4. Influencing the wording of social invitations that you initiate in your personal and professional life to acknowledge and include people who are in the same gender relationships.
5. Including sexual orientation when speaking about diversity and inclusion.
6. Using the term sexual orientation versus lifestyle, preference or other words that imply choice.
7. Showing up at professional network groups or visibly supporting local community groups such as PFLAG or Speak Out.
8. Reading one book or seeing one video or movie that stretches and develops you to learn more about the issue.
9. Demonstrating your willingness to understand sexual orientation as a complex issue that requires all of us to confront heterosexism and admit our "Flat" sides.

1. Greet others authentically.
2. Create a sense of "safety" for yourself and team members.
3. Address misunderstandings and resolve disagreements.
4. Communicate clearly, directly and honestly.
5. Listen carefully to the person speaking until she or he feels understood.
6. Solidify the team's vision of its task, and its relationship to the organization's mission.
7. Hear all voices; allow for all options.
8. Ask others to share their thoughts and experiences, and accept their frame of reference.
9. Speak up when people are being excluded.
10. Make careful choices about group actions and schedules.
11. Be brave.

I also want to thank the LAMBDA Co-Chair along with all of the LAMBDA members who helped put this presentation together.

Thanks