Restrictions of association with arrests or detention
1No imprisonment in the past three years[timeframe?] or moratorium on law. 2Marriage not available locally. Some jurisdictions may perform other types of partnerships.
Same-sex couple adoption legalisation: South Africa (joint and step adoption) and Sweden (joint and step adoption)
Anti-discrimination legislation: US states of Alaska (public sector, sexual orientation) and New York (private sector, sexual orientation)
Canada's Northwest Territories updates human rights legislation to formally include sexual orientation, and is the first jurisdiction in Canada to ban discrimination based on gender identity; they all would by 2017.
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays established its Transgender Network, also known as TNET, as its first official "Special Affiliate," recognized with the same privileges and responsibilities as its regular chapters.[12]
Passed:: Australian state of Tasmania (step adoption only)
Limited Partnerships laws:
Came into effect: Austria (without joint adoption)(replaced with registered partnerships 2010) and Croatia (without registration or adoption)
Anti-discrimination legislation: Bulgaria (all sectors, sexual orientation), United Kingdom (excluding religious organisations, sexual orientation), US states of Arizona (public sector, sexual orientation), Kentucky (public sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Michigan (executive branch of the state government, sexual orientation), New Mexico (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity) and Pennsylvania (public sector, gender identity)
Legal recognition of indeterminate gender: Alex MacFarlane became the first person reported to obtain a birth certificate and passport, in Australia, showing indeterminate gender.
Jennifer Finney Boylan's autobiography, She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders, was the first book by an openly transgender American to become a bestseller.[20]
Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed girlfriends Willow Rosenberg and Tara Maclay in bed together, which though not a sex scene was considered the first scene of its kind for a broadcast network series.[21]
Anti-discrimination legislation: Portugal, US States of Indiana (public sector, gender identity), Louisiana (public sector, sexual orientation) and Maine
The L Word featured television's first ensemble cast of lesbian characters.[21]
The first all-transgender performance of the Vagina Monologues was held. The monologues were read by eighteen notable transgender women, and a new monologue revolving around the experiences and struggles of transgender women was included.[24]
Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon became the first same-sex couple to be legally married in the United States,[25] when San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom allowed city hall to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.[26] However, all same-sex marriages done in 2004 in California were annulled.[27] After the California Supreme Court decision in 2008 that granted same-sex couples in California the right to marry, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon remarried, and were again the first same-sex couple in the state to marry.[28][29] Later in 2008 Prop 8 banned same-sex marriage in California,[30] but the marriages that occurred between the California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage and the approval of Prop 8 are still considered valid, including the marriage of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon.[31] However, Del Martin died in 2008.[32]
James McGreevey, then governor of New Jersey, came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay state governor in United States history.[33] He resigned soon after.[33]
Bisi Alimi became the first Nigerian to declare his homosexuality on television.[34]
Luna, by Julie Anne Peters, was published, and was the first young-adult novel with a transgender character to be released by a mainstream publisher.[35]
The first Trans pride march was held in San Francisco in 2004.[36]
Passed and Came into effect: Canada [nationwide], Spain (with joint adoption)
Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws:
Passes and Came into effect: Andorra, United Kingdom (without joint adoption (England and Wales) until December 2005,[38] without joint adoption (Scotland) until Sep 2009, without joint adoption (Northern Ireland)) and US state of Connecticut
Banning of Same-sex marriage and civil unions: US states of Kansas and Texas
Anti-discrimination legislation: US States of Illinois (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity) and Maine (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity)[citation needed]
André Boisclair is chosen leader of the Parti Québécois, becoming the first openly gay man elected as the leader of a major political party in North America.
The Roman Catholic Church issues an instruction prohibiting any individuals who "present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture'" from joining the priesthood.[39]
The Simpsons became the first cartoon series to dedicate an entire episode to the topic of same-sex marriage.[40]
The first European Transgender Council Meeting was held in Vienna.[41]
Eli Cohen became the first openly gay man to be ordained a rabbi by the Jewish Renewal Movement.[42][43]
Andrew Goldstein was the first American male team-sport professional athlete to be openly gay during his playing career.[44] He came out publicly in 2003 and was drafted by his hometown team, the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse, in 2005. Goldstein played goaltender for the Long Island Lizards from 2005 to 2007, appearing in two games in 2006.[45]
2006
In 2006, Kim Coco Iwamoto became the first transgender official to win statewide office in Hawaii.
Marches and Prides: the first homosexual pride march in Moscow ends with violence, the first regional Eastern European Pride is held in Zagreb, Croatia
Section 28 "successfully repealed" in Isle of Man[51]
Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein, both ordained in America, became the first openly lesbian rabbis ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement. Conservative Judaism decided to allow openly lesbian rabbis and cantors.[52]Elliot Kukla, who came out as transgender six months before his ordination in 2006, was the first openly transgender person to be ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.[53]
State Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, became Alabama's first openly gay public official when she was elected in 2006.[54]
Kim Coco Iwamoto became the first transgender official to win statewide office in Hawaii.[46]
Bernard Lynch became the first Catholic priest in the world to undertake a civil partnership in 2006 in the Republic of Ireland (he had previously had his relationship blessed in a ceremony in 1998 by an American Cistercian monk[55]). He was subsequently expelled from his religious order in 2011, and went on to legally wed his husband in 2016.[56]
Anti-discrimination legislation: United Kingdom[57] (sexual orientation) and US states of Colorado (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Iowa (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Kansas (public sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Michigan (public sector, gender identity), Ohio (public sector, sexual orientation and gender identity), Oregon (private sector, sexual orientation and gender identity) and Vermont (private sector, gender identity)
Decriminalization of homosexuality: Nepal and New Zealand territory of Tokelau
Marches and Prides: the first-ever gay pride parade in a Muslim country is held in Istanbul, Turkey;[60]
Logo cable channel hosts the first presidential forum in the United States focusing specifically on LGBT issues. Six Democratic Party candidates participate in the event. GOP candidates were asked to attend but turned it down.
Candis Cayne played Carmelita Rainer, a transgender woman having an affair with married New York Attorney General Patrick Darling (played by William Baldwin), on the ABC prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money.[61][62][63] The role made Cayne the first openly transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character in prime time.[61][62][63]
On 29 November, the first foreign gay wedding was held in Hanoi, Vietnam between a Japanese and an Irish national. The wedding raised much attention in the gay and lesbian community in Vietnam.[64]
Jalda Rebling, a German woman born in the Netherlands, became the first openly lesbian cantor ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement.[65]
Rabbi Toba Spitzer became the first openly lesbian or gay person to head a rabbinical assembly when she was elected president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assembly at the group's annual convention, held in Scottsdale, Arizona.[66]
Amaranta Gómez Regalado (for México Posible) became the first transsexual person to appear in the Mexican Congress.
Ellen DeGeneres became the first open lesbian to host the Academy Awards.[69]
Ventura Place in Studio City was renamed Dr. Betty Berzon Place in her honor, making it the first street ever officially dedicated to a known lesbian in California.[70]
Theresa Sparks was elected president of the San Francisco Police Commission by a single vote, making her the first openly transgender person ever to be elected president of any San Francisco commission, as well as San Francisco's highest ranking openly transgender official.[71][72][73]
Passed and Came into effect: The Australian Capital Territory, Ecuador (without joint adoption), US state of Washington (expansion of previous legislation)
Came into effect: US state of New Hampshire and Uruguay (without joint adoption until Sep 2008)
Limited Partnership laws:
Came into effect: Australian state of Victoria and US state of Oregon
Kosovo declares itself to be an independent country with a new constitution that includes mention of "sexual orientation", the first of its kind in Eastern Europe[76]
The first two same-sex civil marriages (two men and two women) take place in Greece on the island of Tilos; the supreme court prosecutor and the minister of Justice claim the marriages are null and void.
The first-ever U.S. Congressional hearing on discrimination against transgender people in the workplace was held, by the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.[86]
Rachel Maddow became the first openly gay or lesbian anchor of a major prime-time news program in the United States when she began hosting The Rachel Maddow Show on U.S. cable network MSNBC.[87]
Came into effect: Norway (with joint adoption) and the Coquille Indian Tribe[92] In 2009 Kitzen and Jeni Branting married in the Coquille Indian tribe's Coos Bay plankhouse, a 3-year-old meeting hall built in traditional Coquille style with cedar plank walls. They were the first same-sex couple to have their marriage recognized by the tribe, of which Kitzen was a member.[93]
Passed and Came into effect: Hungary (without joint adoption), Colombia (expansion of previous rights without joint adoption), US states of Nevada and Washington[96] (expansion of previous rights)
Anti-discrimination legislation: Serbia and US state of Delaware (private sector, sexual orientation), USA Matthew Shepard Act (hate crimes). Canadian province Alberta adds "sexual orientation" to human rights legislation—the last jurisdiction in Canada to do so.[99]
The International Transgender Day of Visibility was founded by Michigan-based transgender activist[100]Rachel Crandall Crocker in 2009[101] as a reaction to the lack of LGBT holidays celebrating transgender people, citing the frustration that the only well-known transgender-centered holiday was the Transgender Day of Remembrance which mourned the loss of transgender people to hate crimes, but did not acknowledge and celebrate living members of the transgender community.
Annise Parker is elected mayor of Houston, Texas, which becomes the largest city in the United States with an openly gay mayor.[103]
Diego Sanchez became the first openly transgender person to work on Capitol Hill; he was hired as a legislative assistant for Barney Frank.[104] Sanchez was also the first transgender person on the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Platform Committee in 2008.[105][106]
Barbra "Babs" Siperstein was nominated and confirmed as an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee, becoming its first openly transgender member.[107]
Uzi Even and his life partner was the first same-sex male couple in Israel whose right of adoption has been legally acknowledged.[108]
Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas becomes the first known top-level professional male athlete in a team sport to come out while still active.[109]
In October 2009, LGBT activist Amy Andre[111] was appointed as executive director of the San Francisco Pride Celebration Committee, making her San Francisco Pride's first openly bisexual woman of color executive director.[112][113]
Orthodox Israeli rabbi Ron Yosef became in 2009 the first Israeli orthodox Rabbi to come out, which he did when appearing in Uvda ("Fact"), Israel's leading investigative television program, in an episode regarding conversion therapies in Israel.[114] Yosef remains in his position as a pulpit Rabbi.[115]
Siddur Sha'ar Zahav, the first complete prayer book to address the lives and needs of LGBTQ as well as straight Jews, was published.
2010
Same-sex marriage laws:
Passed and came into effect: Portugal (without joint adoption), Iceland (with joint adoption) and Argentina (with adoption)[116]
Recognition: The Mexican Supreme Court rules that marriages contracted in Mexico City are valid throughout the country, although no other jurisdiction is required to perform them. Australian State of Tasmania recognises same-marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
Other: U.S. state of California, United States District Judge Vaughn Walker strikes down California's Proposition 8 as violative of the United States Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses.[117]
Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws:
Came into effect: Austria (without adoption and IVF access rights)
Marches and Prides: the first-ever legal gay pride parade in Russia, held in St. Petersburg
Guinness World Records recognized transgender man Thomas Beatie as the world's "First Married Man to Give Birth."[119]
Amanda Simpson became the first openly transgender presidential appointee in America when she was appointed as senior technical adviser in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.[120]
Mary Albing became the first openly lesbian minister ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving the Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer on the south side of Minneapolis.[128]
Chai Feldblum, who was openly lesbian, became the first openly LGBT person to serve on the EEOC.[129]
Donna Ryu became the first Asian-American woman, first Korean-American, and first lesbian to be appointed as a judge of the United States District Court, Northern District of California.[130]
Tyler McCormick became the first openly transgender man, the first wheelchair user, and the first person from New Mexico to win International Mr. Leather.[131]
Passed: US State of Delaware (came into effect 2013) and Hawaii (came into effect Jan 2012)
End to ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in the military: USA (see Don't Ask, don't tell)
Tony Briffa, believed to be the world's first intersex mayor, elected in the City of Hobsons Bay in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, at the end of November.[134]
Elio Di Rupo, first openly gay male head of government, becomes Prime Minister of Belgium, 6 December.[135]
Chaz Bono appeared on the 13th season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars in 2011. This was the first time an openly transgender man starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender.[136]
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of California and Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles became the first same-sex couple chosen to share the first kiss upon a U.S. Navy ship's return.[139]
Brenda Sue Fulton was named to the West Point Board of Visitors, making her the first openly gay member of the board that advises the Academy.[140]
Miss New York, Claire Buffie, became the first Miss America contestant to campaign for the Miss America title on a gay rights platform.[141]
Jaiyah "Johnny" Saelua became the first openly transgender international footballer to play in the World Cup when she took the field for American Samoa in Oceania's first round of World Cup qualifiers for Brazil 2014.[142]
A resolution submitted by South Africa requesting a study on discrimination and sexual orientation (A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev.1) passed, 23 to 19 with 3 abstentions, in the UN Human Rights Council on 17 June 2011.[143] This is the first time that any United Nations body approved a resolution affirming the rights of LGBT people.[144]
Fred Karger began his unsuccessful run for the 2012 Republican nomination for President, which made him America's first openly gay Republican presidential candidate.[145]
San Francisco's Human Rights Commission released a report on bisexual visibility, titled "Bisexual Invisibility: Impacts and Regulations"; this was the first time any governmental body released such a report.[146]
For gender identity: Canadian provinces of Manitoba; and gender expression:Ontario
Family and Relationships:
The first gay Israeli couple was granted a divorce by an Israeli family court. The divorce of Tel Aviv University Professor Avi Even, the first openly gay Knesset member, and Amit Kama was granted on Sunday by the Ramat Gan Family Court, according to Haaretz, which ordered the Interior Minister to register their status as divorced.[149]
Taiwan's first same-sex Buddhist wedding was held for Fish Huang and her partner You Ya-ting, with Buddhist master Shih Chao-hui presiding over the ritual.[150]
The first same-sex marriage at the U.S. Military Academy was held for a young lieutenant and her partner (Ellen Schick and Shannon Simpson) at the Old Cadet Chapel in West Point's cemetery.[151][152] Navy Chief Elny McKinney and Anacelly McKinney became the first known same-sex couple to marry on a U.S. military base. They were wed at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego.[153]
The first same-sex couple became engaged in the White House (Ben Schock and Matthew Phelps).[154]
Air Force Col. Ginger Wallace became the first known out member of the U.S. military to have their same-sex partner participate in the pinning ceremony tradition that had been reserved for spouses and family members. Her partner of 10 years, Kathy Knopf, pinned colonel wings on Wallace days after the two attended President Obama's State of The Union address as a guest of the First Lady.[153]
Arts and Culture:
Kate McKinnon became Saturday Night Live's first openly lesbian cast member; Danitra Vance never disclosed her sexual orientation publicly, but was revealed to be a lesbian when she died.[155][156]
On 28 June 2012 Diana King declared "Yes I am a Lesbian" to her fans from her official Facebook page, thus becoming the first Jamaican artist to ever publicly come out.[157][158]
Emily Aviva Kapor, an American rabbi who had been ordained privately by a "Conservadox" rabbi in 2005, began living as a woman in 2012, thus becoming the first openly transgender female rabbi.[160]
Rainbow Jews, an oral history project showcasing the lives of Jewish bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender people in the United Kingdom from the 1950s until the present, was launched.[161] It is the United Kingdom's first archive of Jewish bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender history.[162]
ParaNorman, released in 2012, had the first openly gay character in a mainstream animated film.[163][164]
Marlene Pray joined the Doylestown, Pennsylvania City Council in 2012, though she resigned in 2013; she was the first openly bisexual office holder in Pennsylvania.[167][168]
Tammy Baldwin was elected as the first openly lesbian or gay U.S. Senator.[169]
Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) became the first openly bisexual person elected to the US Congress.[170]
Stacie Laughton became the first openly transgender person elected to any American state legislature when she won a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.[171] However, she resigned from the New Hampshire state legislature before she took office, after it was revealed that she had served four months in Belknap County House of Corrections following a 2008 credit card fraud conviction.[172][173]
Mark Pocan was elected in Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District, becoming the first openly gay candidate who will follow an openly gay member of the U.S. Congress (in this case Tammy Baldwin).[174]
Sean Patrick Maloney became the first openly gay candidate elected to represent New York in Congress.[175]
Mark Takano became the first openly gay person of color to win election to the U.S. House. He was elected to represent California's 41st Congressional District.[174]
Josh Boschee was elected as North Dakota's first openly gay legislator.[176]
Stephen Skinner was elected as West Virginia's first openly gay state legislator.[177]
Jacob Candelaria was elected as New Mexico's first openly gay male state legislator.[178]
Brian Sims became Pennsylvania's first openly gay state legislator who was out when he was elected.[179] After Brian Sims was elected but before he took office, Rep. Mike Fleck came out as gay, making him Pennsylvania's first openly gay state legislator.[180]
Richard Grenell was a foreign policy spokesperson for Republican Mitt Romney during Romney's 2012 campaign for president of the United States; this made him the first openly gay individual to work as a spokesperson for a Republican presidential candidate.
Other
San Francisco voted to become the first U.S. city to provide and cover the cost of sex reassignment surgeries for uninsured transgender residents.[184]
California became the first U.S. state to sign a ban on therapy that claims to convert gay people into heterosexual.[186][187]
At a ceremony in Arlington, Army Reserve officer Tammy Smith became the first openly gay, active duty general in American history. Smith was promoted to brigadier general at a private ceremony at the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.[188]
Orlando Cruz became the world's first professional boxer to come out as gay.[189]
The Bisexuality Report, the first report of its kind in the United Kingdom, was issued.[190] This report, led by Meg Barker (Senior Lecturer in Psychology, OU), Rebecca Jones (Lecturer, Health & Social Care, OU), Christina Richards, and Helen Bowes-Catton and Tracey Plowman (of BiUK) summarizes national and international evidence and brings out recommendations for bisexual inclusion in the future.[190]
Recognition: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Section 3 of Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, thus giving same-sex marriage federal recognition.[197] US state of Oregon
Civil Union/Registered Partnership laws:
Passed and came into effect: Mexican state of Campeche
Kathleen Wynne became the first openly LGBT premier of a Canadian province, namely Ontario, after defeating Sandra Pupatello in the third round of voting of the Ontario Liberal party's leadership race on 26 January 2013. Sworn in on 11 February 2013, she is the party's first openly LGBT leader and Ontario's first female premier.[201][202]
Xavier Bettel, first openly gay Prime Minister of Luxembourg, assumes office 4 December.[203][204]
Etienne Schneider, first openly gay Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg, assumes office 4 December.[203][204]
Benjamin Medrano was elected as the first openly gay mayor in Mexico's history, being elected mayor of the township of Fresnillo.[207]
The first United Nations ministerial meeting on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals was held.[208] Representatives from the US, France, Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, New Zealand and the EU, along with executive directors of Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission reaffirmed their commitments to working together to end discrimination and violence towards the LGBT community.[208] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay delivered remarks [press release] commending the LGBT community and praising the fact that, "many countries have embarked on historic reforms—strengthening anti-discrimination laws, combating hate crime against LGBT people and sensitizing public opinion."[208]
US Politics:
Barack Obama mentioned the word "gay" and the issue of gay rights for the first time in a speech at the U.S. presidential swearing in; specifically, he did so in his inaugural address.[209]
On Celebrate Bisexuality Day, the White House held a closed-door meeting with almost 30 bisexual advocates so they could meet with government officials and discuss issues of specific importance to the bisexual community; this was the first bi-specific event ever hosted by any White House.[210][211]
Rep. Mark Pocan's spouse Philip Frank became the first same-sex spouse of a federal lawmaker to officially receive a House Spouse ID.[212][213] In 2009, Marlon Reis, the spouse of Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), was issued a congressional spouse ID, but later card services told him that he had been given the designation accidentally.[213]
The U.S. Senate confirmed Nitza Quiñones Alejandro to a federal judgeship, making her the first openly gay Latina to hold such a post.[214]
U.S. Air Force Under Secretary Eric Fanning took over as acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force, becoming the highest ranking openly LGBT official at the Department of Defense; he is openly gay.[215]
Todd Hughes became the first openly gay U.S. circuit judge.[216]
Sports:
Robbie Rogers announced he was gay on 15 February 2013, becoming the only male fully capped international association footballer to do so. He joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, making him the first openly gay male athlete to compete in Major League Soccer.[217]
Jason Collins on 29 April 2013, became the first active male professional athlete in a major North American team sport to publicly come out as gay.
Jallen Messersmith of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., came out and is believed to be the first openly gay player in U.S. men's college basketball.[219]
Darren Young (real name: Fred Rosser) became the first active professional wrestler to come out as gay.[222]
Trans:
Philadelphia passes one of the most comprehensive transgender rights bills on the city level, which addresses transgender bathroom use and city employee healthcare, making it the first city on the east coast to provide transition related healthcare to its city employees.[223]
Autumn Sandeen, a U.S. veteran and transgender woman, received a letter from a Navy official stating, "Per your request the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) has been updated to show your gender as female effective 12 April 2013." Allyson Robinson of Outserve declared, "To our knowledge, this is the first time that the Department of Defense has recognized and affirmed a change of gender for anyone affiliated, in a uniformed capacity – in this case a military retiree."[224]
For the first time, the California Department of Education's list of recommended books for grades Pre-K-through-12 included a book with a transgender theme, I Am J by Cris Beam.[226]
California enacted America's first law protecting transgender students; the law, called the School Success and Opportunity Act, declares that every public school student in California from kindergarten to 12th grade must be "permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records."[227]
Jennifer Pritzker came out as transgender in 2013 and thus became the world's first openly transgender billionaire.[228]
A six-year-old girl named Luana, who was born a boy, became the first transgender child in Argentina to have her new name officially changed on her identity documents.[229] She is believed to be the youngest to benefit from the country's new Gender Identity Law, which was approved in May 2012.[229]
On 31 October 2013 Paris Lees became the first openly transgender panellist to appear on the BBC's Question Time programme, drawing praise from commentators who included former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and the Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman.[231]
Stephen Alexander, of Rhode Island, became the first high school coach to come out publicly as transgender.[232]
On 1 November Audrey Gauthier was elected president of CUPE 4041, representing Air Transat flight attendants based in Montreal.[233] She thus became the first openly transgender person elected president of a union local in Canada.[233]
For the first time the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decided to allow the same-sex spouse of a military veteran to be buried in a U.S. national cemetery. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki gave permission for retired Air Force officer Linda Campbell, 66, to bury the ashes of her same-sex spouse Nancy Lynchild at Willamette National Cemetery in Oregon.[235]
Rehana Kausar and Sobia Kamar, both from Pakistan, became the first Muslim lesbian couple to enter into civil partnership in the United Kingdom.[236]
Julian Marsh and Traian Povov become the first married gay couple to have a green card application approved.[237]
Master Sgt. Angela Shunk and her wife, Tech. Sgt. Stacey Shunk, became the first same-sex couple to receive an assignment together under the U.S. Air Force's Join Spouse program.[238]
Arts and Culture:
The first same-sex kiss ever on a Eurovision stage occurred at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest when Krista Siegfrids, who sang "Marry Me", ended her semi-final performance by kissing one of her female dancers.[239]
Guy Erwin became the first openly gay bishop to be elected by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; he was elected to the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA.[240]
The Bi Writers Association, which promotes bisexual writers, books, and writing, announced the winners of its first Bisexual Book Awards.[241] An awards ceremony was held at the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City.[241]
Same Love, a hit single from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, became the first Top 40 song in the U.S. to promote and celebrate same-sex marriage.[243]
Movie director Kim Jho Gwang-soo and his partner Kim Seung-hwan became the first South Korean gay couple to publicly wed, although it was not a legally recognized marriage.[244]
Harvey Milk was chosen as the first openly LGBT political official to be featured on an American postage stamp.[245]
Andy Herren became the first openly gay winner of the American version of the "Big Brother" reality show.[246]
The first televised Romanian same-sex wedding was held.[247] It was between two men, and was done on the reality show Four Weddings and a Challenge.[247]
Q Radio, which went on the airwaves in September, claims to be India's first radio station which caters to the country's lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.[248]
Mark C. Goldman became the first openly gay president of the American Conference of Cantors, a Reform Jewish organization.[249]
Rabbi Deborah Waxman was elected as the President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.[250][251] As the President, she is believed to be the first woman and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first female rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; RRC is both a congregational union and a seminary.[250][252]
Saul Levin was named on 15 May 2013 as the new chief executive officer and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, making him the first known openly gay person to head the APA.[253]
Major General Patricia "Trish" Rose became the first openly lesbian two-star general in the U.S. Air Force, and the highest ranking openly gay officer in the entire U.S. military at the time.[254]
New Jersey became the second state, after California, to sign a ban on therapy that claims to convert gay people into heterosexual.[186][187]
Russia's government adopted a federal bill banning the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors. The law imposes heavy fines for using the media or internet to promote "non-traditional relations".
San Francisco's first Project Homeless Connect for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people was held.[255]
BiLaw, the first American national organization of bisexual lawyers, law professors, law students, and their allies, was founded.[256][257]
Anti-discrimination law for gender identity: Canadian province Saskatchewan
Family and Relationships:
Anna Guillot and Chrissy Kelly, who were married in New York in 2012, became the first same-sex couple in Mississippi to create a public record of their marriage.[260] However, this did not give their marriage legal standing in Mississippi.[260]
The marriage of Giuseppe Chigiotti and Stefano Bucci became the first overseas same-sex marriage to be legally recognized in Italy; the two were married in New York in 2012.[261]
For the first time, an Italian court granted permission for the adoption of a child living with a gay couple. The child was the biological daughter of one of the women in the couple, and her partner was allowed to legally become her co-parent through adoption.[262]
Berlin, Germany unveiled the world's first cemetery for lesbians.[263]
Umma Azul was the first child of a lesbian couple to be baptized by the Catholic Church in Argentina.[264]
Emilia Maria Jesty, daughter of a lesbian couple, was the first child born in Tennessee to have a woman listed on the birth certificate as her "father."[265]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs agreed to give survivor benefits to the first-known same-sex war widow, Tracy Dice Johnson, whose wife Donna Johnson died in a suicide bombing attack in 2012.[266]
Both lesbian parents were listed on their children's birth certificates in Australia, which is the first time an Australian birth certificate indicates that both members of a same-sex couple were the legal parents of a child at birth.[267]
The U.S. Naval Academy Chapel's first-ever same-sex wedding was held for David Bucher, a 49-year-old Academy graduate who works at the Pentagon, and partner Bruce Moats.[268]
Trans:
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the first Title VII action taken by the federal government on behalf of transgender workers.[269] The lawsuits were filed for Amiee Stephens and Brandi Branson, both transgender women.[270]
Meghan Stabler became the first openly transgender woman to be named Working Mother magazine's Working Mother of the Year.[271]
Mills College became the first single-sex college in the U.S. to adopt a policy explicitly welcoming transgender students, Mount Holyoke became the first Seven Sisters college to accept transgender students.[278]
Nina Chaubal and Greta Gustava Martela cofounded Trans Lifeline, the first U.S. suicide hotline dedicated to transgender people.[280][281]
Tona Brown became the first African-American openly transgender woman to perform at Carnegie Hall.[282]
The Transgender Trends panel was the first panel on that subject ever held at San Diego Comic-Con.[283]
The San Francisco Police academy graduated its first openly transgender police officer, Mikayla Connell.[284]
The 100 block of Turk Street in San Francisco was renamed Vicki Mar Lane after trans activist Vicki Marlane.[285]
Lauren Lubin ran as the first openly non-binary athlete in the New York City Marathon.[286]
Lea T became the face of American hair-care brand Redken, thus making her the first openly transgender model to front a global cosmetics brand.[287][288][289]
Chris Mosier became the first openly transgender man inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.[291][292]
Kinnon MacKinnon became the first openly transgender man to earn a gold in powerlifting at the Gay Games in the 2014 Games.[293]
BBC2 commissioned Britain's first transgender sitcom, called Boy Meets Girl, which follows the developing relationship between Leo, a 26-year-old man and Judy, a 40-year-old transgender woman.[294]
Padmini Prakash became India's first openly transgender television news anchor.[296]
Denmark became the first European country to remove the Gender Identity Disorder diagnosis as a necessary requirement in the gender recognition process.[297]
Malta became the first European state to add recognition of gender identity to its constitution as a protected category.[298]
The first openly transgender woman got married in Malta.[299][300]
At least 1,000 openly transgender Bangladeshis held Bangladesh's first pride march, to mark one year since the government recognized them as a third gender.[301]
Sports:
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi sparked worldwide protests over host country Russia's crackdown on LGBT rights. Gus Kenworthy won the silver medal in men's freestyle skiing.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Board approved the first transgender student-athlete to play in a winter sport in Arizona.[305]
Edward Sarafin, a backup offensive lineman at Arizona State, became the first active Division I football player to come out as gay.[306]
Professional strongman Rob Kearney came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay man actively competing in professional, international strongman competitions.[307]
The FTM Fitness Conference hosted the first bodybuilding competition for transgender men, the FTM Fitness World Bodybuilding Competition.[308]
Derrick Gordon became the first openly gay athlete to play a game in Division I men's basketball.[309]
Dale Scott came out as gay in 2014, thus becoming the first openly gay umpire in Major League Baseball.[310]
In 2014, Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay male athlete to win a big-time team pro sports title in the United States when the LA Galaxy won the Major League Soccer Cup.[311]
Arts and Culture:
Good Luck Charlie on The Disney Channel became the first TV show on a child-targeting network to feature a same-sex couple (the characters' names were Susan and Cheryl).[312]
Finland releases stamps celebrating noted homoerotic artist Tom of Finland.[313]
The first Jewish boat participated in the Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade.[314] Marianne van Praag, a Reform rabbi from The Hague, was the only rabbi aboard.[315][316] The first Moroccan boat also participated in the Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade.[317]
Cosmopolitan magazine, a women's magazine, offered sex advice to lesbians for the first time in its history.[318]
Pascal Tessier, a 17-year-old from Chevy Chase, Md., became the first known openly gay Boy Scout to be an Eagle Scout.[319]
The United Church of Christ was the first religious denomination to be a major sponsor of the Gay Games, as a fourth-tier silver sponsor of Gay Games 9.[320]
Maria Walsh came out as gay after being crowned the Rose of Tralee, thus becoming the first openly gay Rose of Tralee.[321]
Canadian-based writer and illustrator Eiynah wrote Pakistan's first anti-homophobia children's book, "My Chacha Is Gay"; she first wrote it online and had it released in print in 2014.[322]
The memorial honoring LGBT people persecuted by the Nazis in Tel Aviv, the first specific recognition in Israel for non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, was unveiled in 2014.[323]
Mikie Goldstein became the first openly gay man to be ordained as a Conservative Jewish Rabbi.[324]
Mikie Goldstein became the Israeli Conservative movement's first openly gay congregational rabbi with his installation as spiritual leader of its synagogue in Rehovot (Congregation Adat Shalom-Emanuel).[325]
Family Circle featured a same-sex couple for the first time in its November 2014 issue.[326]
Nehirim's first retreat for LGBT rabbis, rabbinic pastors, cantors, and students was held.[327][328]
In 2014 Los Tigres del Norte released the album Realidades, which contains the song "Era Diferente" (meaning "She Was Different") about a lesbian teenager who falls in love with her best friend; according to lead singer and songwriter Jorge Hernandez, this is the first time a norteño group has ever written a gay love song.[329][330]
Politics:
The UN Human Rights Council adopted a second resolution related to sexual orientation and gender identity on 26 September 2014.[331][332] It passed by a vote of 25-14 and is the first time in the Council's history that it adopted a resolution on LGBT rights with the majority of its members.[331][332]
Lynne Brown was appointed as the first openly gay cabinet minister in South Africa, which also makes her the first openly gay person to be appointed to a cabinet post in any African government.[333]Zakhele Mbhele became the first openly gay person to serve in South Africa's parliament, which also makes him the first openly gay black member of parliament in any African nation.[334]
Petra De Sutter became the first openly transgender person to serve in Belgium's Parliament, specifically its Senate.[335]
Luisa Revilla Urcia became the first openly transgender person elected to a public office in Peru when she won a seat on the local council in La Esperanza in the province of Trujillo in northwestern Peru.[336] Later, Carlos Bruce came out and thus became the first openly gay member of Congress in Peru.[337]
Edgars Rinkēvičs became the first lawmaker in Latvia to announce he is gay, which also makes him the most prominent openly gay politician in a former Soviet Bloc state.[338]
Poland elected its first openly gay city mayor (Robert Biedroń, elected mayor of Słupsk.)
Matthew Muir was sworn in as the first openly gay judge to sit on New Zealand's High Court bench.[339]
The Labor government in Victoria, Australia appointed Martin Foley as Minister of equality, marking the first time an Australian government has ever had a dedicated Minister overseeing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex issues.[340]
Andrew Barr became the first openly gay state government leader in Australia after he was sworn in as chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).[341]
US Politics:
Maite Oronoz Rodriguez became the first openly gay person to be nominated for a seat on Puerto Rico's Supreme Court, and was confirmed for the seat later that year.[342][343]
Darrin P. Gayles became the first openly gay African-American man to be confirmed as a U.S federal judge.[344]
Judith Ellen Levy was confirmed by the Senate as the first openly lesbian federal judge in Michigan.[345]
Toni Atkins was elected as the first openly lesbian speaker of the California Assembly.[346] She served as acting governor for one day in this capacity.
Monica Wehby aired the first campaign ad for American national office featuring a same-sex couple (Ben West and Paul Rummell).[347]
Jim Ferlo came out as gay, thus becoming the Pennsylvania Senate's first openly gay legislator.[348]
Maura Healey became the first openly gay state attorney general elected in America, elected in Massachusetts.[349][350]
Aditi Hardikar became the first woman of color to serve the White House as their permanent liaison to the LGBT community.[351] She replaced Monique Dorsainvil who had served as the temporary liaison after Gautam Raghavan resigned.[352]
Gypsy Vered Meltzer was elected to the City Council in Appleton; as such he became the first openly transgender elected official in Wisconsin.[353]
Costa Rica flew the gay pride flag at their presidential palace; the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said the organization believed it was the first time the gay pride flag had been flown from the offices of a head of state in the Americas.[354]
Cyprus' first-ever gay pride parade draws several thousands of participants.[355]
Hong Kong held its first international symposium on LGBTI rights.[356]
Mauricio Ruiz became the first serving member of the Chilean armed forces to announce he was gay.[357]
California became the first state in the U.S. to officially ban the use of trans panic and gay panic defenses in murder trials.[358]
Florida-based bank C1 Financial became the first publicly listed bank in the United States to have an openly gay CEO (Trevor Burgess) when its stock became available to trade in August 2014.[359]
A contingent of the group OutVets became the first LGBT organization in history to march in Boston's Veterans Day parade.[361]
The Bisexual Resource Center, based in Boston, Massachusetts, declared March 2014 as the first Bisexual Health Awareness Month, with the theme "Bi the Way, Our Health Matters Too!"; it included the first social media campaign to address disparities in physical and mental health facing the bisexual community.[362]
Queen Elizabeth II praised the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard for their 40-year history making it the first time the Crown has ever publicly supported the LGBT community. They received a comment from the Queen saying: "Best wishes and congratulations to all concerned on this most special anniversary."[363]
Anti-discrimination law for gender identity and gender expression: Canadian province of Alberta.
Politics:
Madhu Kinnar became India's first openly transgender person to be elected mayor; she was elected mayor of Chhattisgarh's Raigarh Municipal Corporation.[373]
Health Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay government member in the history of Ireland.[374]
Nepal adopted its first democratic constitution, which is the first in Asia to specifically protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.[375]
Tamara Adrián was elected to the Venezuelan National Assembly, thus becoming the first openly transgender Venezuelan to be elected to their national legislature, as well as the first openly transgender person in the entire Western Hemisphere to do so.[376]
US Politics:
Aisha Moodie-Mills became the new president and CEO of the Victory Fund, which made her the first woman, first black woman, first lesbian, and first black lesbian to become the head of a national leading LGBT organization.[377][378]
Pennsylvania State Representative Mark B. Cohen introduced the first transgender rights bills in Pennsylvania's history.[379]
Kate Brown became the first openly bisexual governor in the United States, as governor of Oregon.[380][381][382]
Nancy VanReece won the Metro Council District 8 seat in Nashville, thus becoming the first out lesbian elected to a legislative body in Tennessee.[384][385]
Randy Berry is appointed the first Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons.[388]
President Barack Obama became the first president to use the words "lesbian," "bisexual", and "transgender" in a State of the Union speech.[389]
President Obama appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan to serve as an Outreach and Recruitment Director in the Presidential Personnel Office, making her the first openly transgender appointee to work inside the White House.[390]
Arts and Culture:
Cambodia got its first LGBT magazine, Q Cambodia.[391]
Jamaica held its first LGBT Pride celebrations.[392]
Zoey Tur joined INSIDE EDITION as a Special Correspondent during February, thus becoming the first openly transgender television reporter on national TV in America.[393][394]
Thomas Roberts became the first openly gay evening news anchor on network television when he anchored NBC's "Nightly News" for a day.[395]
Lance Bass and Michael Turchin became the first same-sex couple to exchange vows on cable television.[396]
Screenwriter Jason Rothenberg of The 100 confirmed that that TV show's lead character, Clarke Griffin (played by Eliza Taylor) was bisexual; this makes her the first openly bisexual lead character on the CW network.[397]
St. Patrick's Day Parades: The first gay groups (Boston Pride and OutVets) marched in Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade;[398]OUT@NBCUniversal, an organization of gay employees of NBCUniversal, became the first gay group to march in the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade;[399] and The D.C. Center for the LGBT Community became the first gay group to march in the Washington, D.C. St. Patrick's Day parade.[400][401]
The National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts ratified a resolution that removed the national restriction on openly gay adult leaders and employees.[402]Pascal Tessier became the first openly gay adult Boy Scout in the nation to be hired as a summer camp leader when he was hired by the Boy Scouts' New York chapter, Greater New York Councils.[403]
In February 2015, Patricia Velásquez released her memoir Straight Walk, discussing her struggles growing up in poverty in Venezuela and how her relationship with Sandra Bernhard made her realize she was a lesbian.[404] This makes her the world's first openly lesbian Latina supermodel.[405]
In April 2015, the Rev. Ángel David Marrero is ordained as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and thus becomes the first openly gay (Caribbean) Latino ordained in this denomination.[406]
Andreja Pejic became the first openly transgender model profiled by Vogue, in its May 2015 issue.[407]
Laverne Cox (among others) posed nude for the Allure annual "Nudes" issue, becoming the first openly transgender actress to do so.[408] She also became the first openly transgender person to have a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussauds.[409] She also won a Daytime Emmy Award in Outstanding Special Class Special as Executive Producer for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.[410][411] This made her the first openly transgender woman to win a Daytime Emmy as an Executive Producer; as well, The T Word is the first trans documentary to win a Daytime Emmy.[410]
Caitlyn Jenner became the first openly transgender woman on the cover of Vanity Fair.[412]
Fun Home, the first Broadway musical with a lesbian protagonist, premiered on Broadway.[413][414]
The first American federally approved monument honoring LGBT veterans was dedicated; it is located at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.[415]
On 29 May 2015, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission announced it would officially consider designating the Stonewall Inn as a landmark, the first city location to be considered based on its LGBT cultural significance alone.[416] On 23 June 2015, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the designation of the Stonewall Inn as a city landmark, making it the first landmark honored for its role in the fight for gay rights.[417]
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern became the first-ever building in the UK to be given a special "listing" status based on its LGBT history; it was accorded Grade II listed status by the UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport.[418]
The UK-based bisexual women's website Biscuit created the Purple List; the first known list of its kind, the Purple List seeks to recognize bisexuals who have contributed to fighting biphobia and increasing bisexual visibility.[419][420]
Audrey Middleton became the U.S. television show Big Brother's first openly transgender houseguest.[422]
Scott Turner Schofield became the first openly transgender actor to play a major role on daytime television, as the character Nick on the show The Bold and the Beautiful.[423] On the same show, the character Maya Avant (played by Karla Mosley) became the first transgender bride to be married on daytime television when she married Rick Forrester (played by Jacob Young).[424]
Hari Nef became the first openly transgender model signed to IMG.[425]
Andrew Guy became Australia's first openly transgender TV host, as a guest presenter on The Project.[426]
The first Oscar campaigns for openly transgender actresses supported by a movie producer were launched for actresses Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor of the movie Tangerine.[429]
EastEnders chose Riley Carter Millington as the first openly transgender actor in UK TV soap history; he played 'Kyle', a man who has transitioned from female to male, which Riley did in real life.[430] Shortly after, Hollyoaks cast transgender actress Annie Wallace.[431]
Inga Beale, CEO of Lloyd's of London, became the first woman and the first openly bisexual person to be named number one in the OUTstanding & FT Leading LGBT executive power list.[432]
Loiza Lamers won "Holland's Next Top Model", making her the first openly transgender winner of the "Top Model" franchise.[433]
Abby Stein came out as transgender and thus became the first openly transgender woman (and the first woman) to have been ordained by an ultra-Orthodox institution, having received her rabbinical degree in 2011 from Yeshiva Viznitz in South Fallsburg, N.Y. However, this was before she was openly transgender, and she is no longer working as a rabbi as of 2016.[437] She is also the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community, and is a direct descendant of Hasidic Judaism's founder the Baal Shem Tov.[438]
Family/Relationships:
Thomas Sawicki and his boyfriend Shawn Brier became the first male same-sex couple chosen to share the first kiss upon a U.S. Navy ship's return.[439]
Mikhail Ivan Gallatinov and Mark Goodwin became the first couple to have a same-sex wedding in a UK prison after marrying at Full Sutton Prison in East Yorkshire.[440]
Argentina became Latin America's first nation to recognize same-sex partners and a biological parent on a child's birth certificate; specifically, it allowed a lesbian couple and their son's biological father, who donated sperm for their pregnancy, to be included on the child's birth certificate.[441] The child's name is Antonio and his two mothers are Susana Guichal and Valeria Gaete, and his father is Hernan Melazzi.[441]
When President Obama declared May to be National Foster Care Month in 2015, he became the first president to explicitly say gender identity should not prevent anyone from adopting or becoming a foster parent.[442]
Shawn MacIver and James Moccia became the first openly gay couple to graduate from a police academy together when they graduated from the Boston Police Academy[443]
Tokyo's Shibuya ward passed a local ordinance granting same-sex couples the right to partnership certificates; this makes it the first place in Japan – or anywhere in East Asia – to recognize same-sex partnerships.[444]
Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.[445]
Trans:
On 12 February 2015, USA Today reported that the commandant of Fort Leavenworth wrote in a 5 February memo, "After carefully considering the recommendation that (hormone treatment) is medically appropriate and necessary, and weighing all associated safety and security risks presented, I approve adding (hormone treatment) to Inmate [Chelsea] Manning's treatment plan." According to USA Today, Chelsea Manning remains a soldier, and the decision to administer hormone therapy is a first for the U.S. Army.[446]
In a first for the state, California's Department of Corrections was ordered by a federal judge to grant a transgender prisoner (Michelle-Lael Norsworthy) access to gender-affirming surgery.[447]
The U.S. Justice Department announced that it had filed its first civil lawsuit on behalf of a transgender person (Rachel Tudor); the lawsuit was United States of America v. Southeastern Oklahoma State University and the Regional University System of Oklahoma, filed in federal court in that state.[449]
Maka Brown, an 18-year-old senior at the Salt Lake School for Performing Arts, was crowned Utah's first openly transgender prom queen.[450]
Michael Sam made his CFL debut on 7 August 2015, against the Ottawa Redblacks, and thus became the first publicly gay player to play in a CFL regular season game. He did not record a tackle in the game.[461][462]
Chris Mosier became the first known out trans athlete to join a U.S. national team that matched his gender identity, rather than the gender assigned him at birth, when he won a spot on Team USA in the men's sprint duathalon.[463]
Sean Conroy became the first openly gay baseball player to appear in a professional game; Conroy pitched nine scoreless innings to lead the Sonoma Stompers to a 7-0 win over the Vallejo Admirals in the Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs, an independent league featuring teams from Northern California.[464]
Benjamin Thomas Watt from New Zealand became the first openly gay professional boxing judge.[465]
David Denson came out as gay, making him the first active minor league player affiliated with a Major League Baseball organization to do so.[466]
Keegan Hirst became the first British rugby league professional to come out as gay.[467]
Sam Stanley, nephew of Joe Stanley, became the first English rugby union player to come out as gay.[468]
Chris Burns, an assistant coach at Bryant University, came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay coach in Division I men's basketball.[469]
Breanna Sinclairé became the first openly transgender person to sing the national anthem at a professional sporting event, which she did at a Major League Baseball game.[470]
Phuti Lekoloane came out and thus became South Africa's first openly gay male footballer.[471]
Military:
Adrianna Vorderbruggen died in combat; she is believed to be the first American active duty, openly gay, female service member to die in combat, and is the first openly gay American Air Force officer to die in combat.[472]
Amelia Gapin became the first openly transgender woman to be featured on the cover of Women's Running.[478]
Chris Mosier was chosen as the first openly transgender athlete to be featured in the "Body Issue" of ESPN The Magazine,[479] and appeared in Nike's first ad with an openly transgender athlete.[480]
Lea T became the first openly transgender person ever to participate in the opening ceremonies of an Olympics when she led the Brazilian team into the stadium on her bike during the 2016 Rio Olympics.[484][485]
The British women's field hockey team won gold at the Olympics; as Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh were both on that team, this made them the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic medals.[486]
British Government minister Justine Greening revealed that she was in a same-sex relationship, thus becoming the first out LGB female cabinet minister.[488]
Prince William became the first member of Britain's royal family to appear on the cover of a gay magazine when he appeared on the cover of the July issue of Attitude; in the cover story, he also became the first British royal to openly condemn the bullying of the gay community.[491]
Lord Ivar Mountbatten came out as gay and revealed that he was in a relationship with James Coyle, an airline cabin services director whom he met whilst at a ski resort in Verbier.[492] While not being a member of the British royal family, he is the first member of the extended family to come out as gay.[493]
Nicola Sturgeon becomes the first UK prime minister or First Minister to deliver an address at a Gay Pride event when she appeared at Glasgow Pride 2017. She addressed the crowd vowing to continue fighting for equality and respect throughout the UK, Closing with the statement "Love is Love".
US Politics:
President Barack Obama appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan as the White House's primary LGBT liaison, making her the first openly transgender person in the role.[495]
Maite Oronoz Rodríguez became Puerto Rico's first openly gay chief justice and, as such, the first openly gay chief justice in U.S. history.[496]
Eric Fanning became the first openly gay Secretary of the United States Army.[497]
Trans United Fund was founded; it is the first group of its kind, a 501(c)(4) organization of transgender leaders focused on transgender issues.[499]
Misty Plowright became the first openly transgender candidate to win a major party primary for the US House of Representatives.[500]
Misty Snow became the first openly transgender candidate to win a major party primary for the US Senate.[500]
At the GOP Convention, Peter Thiel became the first person to publicly announce in a speech that he is gay,[501] Rachel Hoff became the first openly gay person to sit on the Republican Party's Platform Committee,[502] and Donald Trump became the first Republican nominee to mention the LGBT community in a GOP nomination address, saying in his acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention on 21 July 2016: "As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology."[503]
Hillary Clinton wrote an op-ed for Philadelphia Gay News, which was the first time a major-party presidential candidate wrote an op-ed for an LGBT newspaper,[508] and was the first presumptive presidential nominee from any major party to march in the NYC Pride March.[509]
Kate Brown was elected as governor of Oregon, and thus became the first openly bisexual person elected as a United States governor (and indeed the first openly LGBT person elected as such).[512]
Indonesia's president Jokowi stated that he is defending the protection of LGBT rights in Indonesia[513]
For the first time two openly gay men ran for parliament in Russia.[515]
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull became the first sitting Australian Prime Minister to attend the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras,[516] also attended by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.[516]
Icelandic President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson became the first president of a country to participate in a pride parade when he gave a speech at Reykjavík Pride 2016 in Iceland.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the first Canadian Prime Minister to march in a pride parade.[517]
Geraldine Roman became the first openly transgender woman elected to Congress in the Philippines.[518]
The UN Security Council condemned the Orlando nightclub shooting; this statement marked the first time the U.N. Security Council used language recognizing violence targeting the LGBT community.[519]
Arts and Culture:
in August, using a high-altitude balloon, activists launched the first pride flag into the Stratosphere as it floated 21.1 miles (34.1 km).[520][521][522]
On 24 June 2016, President Barack Obama officially designated the Stonewall National Monument, making it the United States' first National Monument designated for an LGBT historic site. The National Monument status encompasses the Stonewall Inn, Christopher Street Park, and the block of Christopher Street bordering the park.[523][524]
The house at 219 11th St. SE which was home to the Furies Collective was named as the first lesbian-related historic landmark in Washington, D.C. when it was unanimously voted into the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites.[525]
The USNS Harvey Milk was officially named at a ceremony in San Francisco on 16 August 2016.[527] It was the first U.S. Navy ship named for an openly gay leader (Harvey Milk, who served as a diving officer in the Navy from 1951 to 1955.)[528][529]
A Nickelodeon cartoon, called The Loud House, introduced the first animated married same-sex couple to its channel.[540]
Elle printed special collectors' covers for their September 2016 issue, and one of them featured Hari Nef, which was the first time an openly transgender woman had been on the cover of a major commercial British magazine.[541]
Tracey Norman and Geena Rocero became the first two openly transgender models to appear on the cover of an edition of Harper's Bazaar.[542]
Chile's Hugo Alcalde became that country's first gay police officer to have a civil union.[543]
The 1st annual World LGBT Conference for Criminal Justice Professionals[544] was held in August of this year with the theme of "To Connect And Inspire".
The USNS Harvey Milk was officially named at a ceremony in San Francisco on 16 August 2016.[527] It was the first U.S. Navy ship named for an openly gay leader (Harvey Milk, who served as a diving officer in the Navy from 1951 to 1955.)[528][529]
Trans:
In January 2016, the Ministry of Health of Chile ordered the suspension of unnecessary normalization treatments for intersex children, including irreversible surgery, until they reach an age when they can make decisions on their own.[545][546]
Aiden Katri, 19, became the first Israeli transgender woman to be jailed for refusing to serve in the military.[548]
On 10 June 2016, an Oregon circuit court ruled that a resident, Elisa Rae Shupe, could obtain a non-binary gender designation. The Transgender Law Center believes this to be "the first ruling of its kind in the U.S."[549]
An important legal victory for transgender people occurred in April 2016, when the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of transgender male student Gavin Grimm, which marked the first ruling by a U.S. appeals court to find that transgender students are protected under federal laws that ban sex-based discrimination.[550] The ruling came on a challenge to the Gloucester County School Board's policy of making transgender students use alternative restroom facilities.[550]
It was announced on 30 June 2016 that, beginning on that date, otherwise qualified United States service members could not any longer be discharged, denied reenlistment, involuntarily separated, or denied continuation of service because of being transgender.[551]
Israel held its first transgender beauty pageant, which was called "Miss Trans Israel", and was held at a club in Tel Aviv.[552]
Family/Relationships:
The ceremonial first kiss shared between a sailor and their partner after returning from active duty in the Canadian Navy was done by two men for the first time.[553]
An anonymous couple held the first same-sex wedding in Cyprus,[554] while Marios Frixou and Fanos Eleftheriades held the first public same-sex wedding in Cyprus.[554]
Tom Swann and Guillermo Hernandez became the first same-sex couple to marry in a United States federal immigration detention center.[555]
The first Jewish same-sex wedding ceremony in Latin America was celebrated in Buenos Aires; the wedding was for Victoria Escobar and Romina Charur and was officiated by Rabbi Karina Finkielstein.[556]
In the first such ruling in Italy, a lesbian couple won the right to legally adopt each other's biological children.[557]
Luke Carine and Zak Tomlinson became the first same-sex couple to get married on the Isle of Man.[558]
Mexico had rallies for and against marriage equality.[559]
250,000 pro-gay marriage protesters gathered at Ketagalan Boulevard, Taipei, Taiwan the main artery around the presidential office[560] Less than a week earlier, 80,000 people protested against same-sex marriage in Taipei, with an additional 90,000 across the country.[561]
Canada passed bill C-16, which bans discrimination against trans people and recognizes bias against trans people as an aggravating factor in crime (hate crime); the province of New Brunswick, and the territories of Nunavut and Yukon also passed laws banning discrimination against trans people and allowing people to change their legal gender without surgery, meaning trans people are now protected from discrimination in all provinces and territories.[563]
India: Supreme Court of India rules that the right to privacy is intrinsically protected under Article 21 and Part 3 of the Constitution of India, and lambasts the reasoning behind the earlier 2013 Supreme Court ruling Koushal v. Naz Foundation for its dismissal of LGBT rights as "so-called" and of LGBT persons as "a miniscule fraction of the country's population" in its reinstatement of Section 377 of the IPC. The new ruling protects sexual orientation as a constitutional "sanctity" of privacy alongside "preservation of personal intimacies", "family life, marriage, procreation, the home" and "a right to be left alone". The ruling leaves room for a stronger legal challenge against Section 377.
Arts and Culture:
In the 2017 live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, Le Fou is gay, making him the first gay character in a Disney film.[564]
Marshall Bang became the first singer in Korea to debut as an openly gay musician.[565]
Queer British Art show leads Tate 2017 programme.[566]
The January 2017 issue of National Geographic has a 9-year-old transgender girl on the cover (Avery Jackson); she is thought to be the first openly transgender person on National Geographic's cover.[567]
Joe Maldonado became the first openly transgender member of the Boy Scouts of America.[570] In 2016, he was rejected from the Cub Scouts for being transgender, but this policy was changed in 2017 after his story became nationally known.[570]
M Barclay became the first openly non-binary trans person to be commissioned as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church.[576]
Alex Hai came out as a transgender man, thus becoming the first openly transgender gondolier in Venice.[577][578]
Ryan Atkin became the first openly gay official in English soccer.[579]
San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers came out as gay, thus becoming the NFL's first openly LGBT coach, and the first openly LGBT coach in all of U.S. men's professional sports.[580][581]
In August 2017, the first West Africa LGBT-Inclusive religious gathering occurred. Over 30 participants indigenous to ten West African countries, including Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Togo participated in an interfaith diversity event hosted by Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa with the theme of "Building Bridges, Sharing Stories, Creating Hope"[583]
MOGA, a Muslim Women's fashion designer becomes the first fashion designer in the world to release a rainbow hijab.[584]
Politics:
Jess Herbst, mayor of New Hope, came out as transgender and thus became the first known openly transgender elected official in Texas history.[585]
Japan became the first country in the world to elect an openly transgender man to a public office when Tomoya Hosoda was elected as a councilor for the city of Iruma.[586][587]
Two openly gay candidates were elected to the Anchorage Assembly (Christopher Constant and Felix Rivera), becoming the first openly LGBT elected officials in Alaska.[589][590]
Andy Street became the United Kingdom's first openly gay directly elected metro mayor.[591]
Leo Varadkar became the new Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland and leader of the Fine Gael party, after winning 51 of the 73 votes in the parliamentary party. He was the first openly gay Taoiseach, as well as the youngest and the first of half-Indian descent.[592]
Ana Brnabić was elected as the first openly gay (and first female) prime minister of Serbia,[594] and was the first head of government of any Balkan country to attend a gay pride march; she attended one in Belgrade.[595]
Andrea Jenkins became the first openly transgender black woman elected to public office in the United States when she was elected to the Minneapolis City Council.[596]
Tyler Titus, a transgender man, became the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Pennsylvania when he was elected to the Erie School Board.[597] He and Phillipe Cunningham, elected to the Minneapolis City Council on the same night, became the first two openly trans men to be elected to public office in the United States.[598]
America's first all-LGBT city council was elected in Palm Springs, consisting of three gay men, a transgender woman and a bisexual woman.[599]
Taiwan's Constitutional Court declared the statutory ban on same-sex marriage in Taiwan's Civil Code was "in violation of both the people's freedom of marriage as protected by Article 22 and the people's right to equality as guaranteed by Article 7 of the Constitution."[600] The accompanying official press release from the court stated that if the Legislature fails to amend the law within the two-year time frame, then "two persons of the same-sex...may apply for marriage registration [and] shall be accorded the status of a legally recognized couple, and then enjoy the rights and bear the obligations arising on couples".[601]
Trans:
Denmark became the second country in the world to officially remove transgender identities from its list of mental health disorders.[602]
The Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly voted to create inclusive wordings for non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, intersex, two-spirit and polygender people, replacing the words "men and women" with the word "people." Of the six sources of the living tradition, the second source of faith, as documented in the bylaws of the denomination, now includes "Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love."[603]
Philippa York, formerly Robert Millar, came out as transgender, thus becoming the first former professional cyclist to have publicly transitioned.[604]
The United StatesDefense Health Agency for the first time approved payment for sex reassignment surgery for an active-duty U.S. military service member. The patient, an infantry soldier who identifies as a woman, had already begun a course of treatment for gender reassignment. The procedure, which the treating doctor deemed medically necessary, was performed on 14 November at a private hospital, since U.S. military hospitals lack the requisite surgical expertise.[606]
Charitable Services United Kingdom:
Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, United Kingdom got its first youth provision specifically aimed at LGBTQ+ young people. [1]Archived 4 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine LGBT Melton was established on 21 January and opened its doors for the first time a few weeks later on 6 March. LGBT Melton was founded by Anthony Marvin who has been recognised for his efforts and his support for the LGBTQ+ by receiving the Leicester Pride Unsung Hero Award. LGBT Melton has expanded its services to the wider county of Leicestershire and Rutland.
The prime minister of the UK, Theresa May, issues an apology expressing "deep regret" for Britain's role in imposing colonial laws that criminalize LGBT people across the Commonwealth and the legacy of violence and discrimination that persists today. At the time of the apology, 36 of 53 Commonwealth countries still had colonial-era criminalization laws.[607][608]
Arts and culture
Wyatt Pertuset became the first openly gay college football player to score a touchdown.[609]
This year was the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics that male athletes competed who were openly gay.
On 9 June, around 30 to 40 researchers, 12 of whom identified as LGBT, held the first Pride celebration at a bar in McMurdo Station in the Ross Dependency, making it the first pride celebration in Antarctica.[611][612][613]
Stav Strashko became the first openly transgender actress ever to receive an Ophir Award nomination for Best Actress.[614]
Sandra Lawson was ordained and thus became the first openly gay, female, black rabbi in the world.[615][616]
Adam Rippon became the United States' first openly gay athlete ever to qualify for any Winter Olympics.[617] That year he won an Olympic bronze medal as part of the figure skating team event, thus becoming the first openly gay U.S. athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.[618][619]
Daniel Hall and Vinny Franchino became the first active-duty, same-sex couple to marry at West Point.[622]
Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for producing Strong Island, which he also directed.[623][624] As such, Ford was the first openly transgender man to be nominated for any Academy Award, and the first openly transgender director to be nominated for any Academy Award.[625]
Laverne Cox became the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of any Cosmopolitan magazine (specifically, Cosmopolitan South Africa's February 2018 issue)..[626]
Paris Lees became the first openly transgender woman featured in British Vogue.[627]
Holland, the first openly gay K-pop singer, debuted his first single, "Neverland."[565]
Canadian Eric Radford became the first openly gay man to win a gold medal at any Winter Olympics.[633]
Jhon Botia Miranda was consecrated as a pastor by Bishop Juan Cardona and thus became the first openly gay pastor consecrated in the Colombian Methodist Church, as well as the first in all of Latin America in the Methodist Church.[634]
Sharon Afek became the Israel Defense Forces' first openly gay major general.[644]
Land O'Lakes named Beth Ford its first female CEO, making her the first openly gay woman CEO to run a Fortune 500 company.[645]
Bradley Kim of the Air Force Academy came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay football player to play for any military academy in the United States.[646]
Mike Jacobs became the first sitting judge in the United States to come out as bisexual.[647]
A bill was signed into law designating the LGBTQ Veterans Memorial at the Desert Memorial Park as California's official LGBTQ veterans memorial. Due to this, California became the first state in the nation to officially recognize LGBTQ military veterans.[648]
Tadd Fujikawa came out as gay during a post on Instagram, becoming the first male professional golfer to publicly come out as gay.[649]
Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes were awarded an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for producing Strong Island, which made Ford the first openly transgender man and the first black openly transgender person to win an Emmy award, as well as the first openly transgender filmmaker to win a Creative Arts Emmy.[650][651][652]
Lord Ivar Mountbatten married his same-sex partner, James Coyle, on 22 September 2018,[653][654] becoming the first member of the British monarch's extended family to have a same-sex wedding.[654][655][656]
Patricio Manuel became the first openly transgender male to box professionally in the United States, and, as he won the fight, the first openly transgender male to win a pro boxing fight in the U.S.[658]
Christine Hallquist became the first openly transgender candidate for governor nominated by a major political party in the United States when she was nominated for governor of Vermont by the Democrats.[664]
Mike Jacobs became the first sitting judge in the United States to come out as bisexual.[647]
Kyrsten Sinema became the first openly bisexual person to win a major party nomination to run for a U.S. Senate seat.[665]
Kyrsten Sinema became the first openly bisexual person elected to the U.S. Senate.[666]
Graça Fonseca became the first openly gay government minister in Portugal.[667]
Jared Polis won election as governor of Colorado, becoming the first openly gay person elected governor of any US state.[670] (He is not, however, the first gay person to serve as a state governor; on 12 August 2004, Jim McGreevey, 52nd of New Jersey, came out as gay after being elected, but resigned during his term. Likewise, in 2016, Kate Brown, who is bisexual, was elected Governor of Oregon and became the first openly LGBT person to be elected Governor in the US.)[671][672]
Sharice Davids was elected as the first openly gay Native American in the US Congress, the first openly LGBTQ member of the Kansas congressional delegation, and the first openly gay person representing Kansas on the federal level.[673][674]
Angie Craig became the first openly lesbian mother to be elected to the US Congress, and the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Minnesota.[675][676]
Ahmad Zahra was elected to Fullerton city council, thus becoming the first openly gay Muslim to be elected to office in the USA[677][678]
Chris Pappasbecame the first openly gay person representing Congress for New Hampshire.[675]
Katie Hill was elected as California's first openly bisexual person, and first openly queer woman, to be a member of Congress.[679][680]
Ricardo Lara was elected as California's insurance commissioner, making him the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in California's history.[681]
Megan Hunt, who was openly bisexual,[682] became the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the state legislature of Nebraska.[683]
Trans
Angela Ponce made history on 29 June 2018 as the first openly transgender woman to be crowned Miss Spain,[684] and became the first openly transgender contested at Miss Universe.[685][686]
Laverne Cox became the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of any Cosmopolitan magazine (specifically, Cosmopolitan South Africa's February 2018 issue)..[626]
Paris Lees became the first openly transgender woman featured in British Vogue.[627]
Transgender Health reported that a transgender woman in the United States breastfed her adopted baby; this was the first known case of a transgender woman breastfeeding.[687][688]
Canadian Women's Hockey League player Jessica Platt came out as a transgender woman, making her the first transgender woman to come out in North American professional hockey.[620][621]
Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for producing Strong Island, which he also directed.[623][624] As such, Ford was the first openly transgender man to be nominated for any Academy Award, and the first openly transgender director to be nominated for any Academy Award.[625]
Marvia Malik became the first openly transgender newsreader to appear on Pakistani television in 2018.[692][693][694]
Peppermint made her Broadway debut in The Go-Go's-inspired musical Head Over Heels. The show began previews on 23 June 2018 and officially opened 26 July; playing the role of Pythio, Peppermint became the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway.[695]
Christine Hallquist became the first openly transgender candidate for governor nominated by a major political party in the United States when she was nominated for governor of Vermont by the Democrats.[664]
Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes were awarded an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for producing Strong Island, which made Ford the first openly transgender man and the first black openly transgender person to win an Emmy award, as well as the first openly transgender filmmaker to win a Creative Arts Emmy.[650][651][652]
Patricio Manuel became the first openly transgender male to box professionally in the United States, and, as he won the fight, the first openly transgender male to win a pro boxing fight in the U.S.[658]
Colombia prosecuted a transgender woman's murder as a femicide for the first time in 2018, sentencing Davinson Stiven Erazo Sánchez to twenty years in a psychiatric center for "aggravated femicide" a year after he killed Anyela Ramos Claros, a transgender woman.[696]
Pete Buttigieg became the first-ever openly gay Democratic presidential candidate in American history[704] and the first in a nationally televised American presidential debate.[705]
Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, Army Capt. Jennifer Peace, Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King and Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Akira Wyatt became the first openly transgender members of the United States military to testify publicly in front of Congress.[706]
Utah County Commissioner Nathan Ivie came out as gay, making him the first openly gay Republican officeholder in Utah history.[711]
Donald Trump became the first Republican president to acknowledge LGBT Pride Month, which he did through tweeting.[712]
The governors of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado, and California fly the LGBT pride flag from their state capitals or governor's office buildings for the first time during LGBT Pride Month.[713][714][715][716][717][718]
In November 2019, transgender community leader Lauren Pulido raised the transgender pride flag over the California state capitol for Trans Day of Remembrance, reportedly the first time the transgender flag was raised over a state capitol building in the United States.[719]
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić's partner Milica Đurđić gave birth to a boy; Brnabić is therefore believed to be the first prime minister in a same-sex couple whose partner gave birth while the prime minister was in office.[723]
Amir Ohana became the first openly gay person to be appointed as a minister in the Israeli government.[729]
Nitzan Horowitz successfully challenged incumbent Tamar Zandberg for the leadership of Meretz, which made Meretz the first Israeli party to elect an openly gay person as its leader.[730][731]
Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister of the UK on 23 July 2019, becoming the first British Prime Minister to have attended a Pride Parade (in 2008 and 2010).[732]
On 23 August 2019, The New York Times reported a complaint against Anne McClain through the Federal Trade Commission accusing her of illegally accessing financial information while residing in the International Space Station.[736][737][738] This accusation "outed" McClain as a LGBT woman, making her the first openly LGBT NASA astronaut.[739]
Bernd Mönkebüscher became the first Catholic priest in Germany who outed himself in public without problems by his bishop, in February 2019.[740]
Pierre Valkering became the first Catholic priest in the Netherlands who outed himself in public.[741]
Co-director of Avengers: Endgame Joe Russo (credited as Gozie Agbo) has a cameo appearance in that film as a man grieving the sudden loss of a loved one, which is the first time an openly gay character has been portrayed in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.[742]
Lucia Lucas, normally based in Germany, made her debut as Don Giovanni with the Tulsa Opera, becoming the first openly transgender person to sing a lead role in a standard operatic work in the US.[743]
Rocketman premiered; the film made Paramount the first major Hollywood studio to show gay male sex onscreen.[744]
Daniel Atwood became the first openly gay Orthodox person to be ordained as a rabbi; he was ordained by the rabbi Daniel Landes, in Jerusalem.[745][746]
Nigeria's first lesbian-focused documentary film premiered; it is called "Under the Rainbow," and largely focuses on the life of Pamela Adie, an out Nigerian lesbian.[747]
Janet Mock signed a three-year deal with Netflix giving them exclusive rights to her TV series and a first-look option on feature film projects; this made her the first openly transgender woman of color to secure a deal with a major content company.[749][750]
The Discovery Family cartoon series My Little Pony had a same-sex couple on the show for the first time; this occurred in the episode "The Last Crusade," with a lesbian couple, Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty.[753]
After a performance of The Prom at Broadway's Longacre Theatre, Broadway's first-known onstage wedding occurred on that stage; it was a wedding between two women, and was Broadway's first-known onstage same-sex wedding.[659]
Songs of Praise showed its first gay wedding, which was the wedding of Jamie Wallace and Ian McDowall at the Rutherglen United Reformed Church in Glasgow.[755]
Meghan Stabler became the first openly transgender member of Planned Parenthood's National Board of Directors. The Advocate editors named Meghan as one of The Advocate magazine's 2019 Champions of Pride.
Indya Moore became the first openly transgender person to be featured on the cover of the U.S. version of Elle magazine.[763]
Zach Barack became the first openly transgender actor in the Marvel Universe when he played a classmate of Peter Parker's in Spider-Man: Far From Home.[764]
Laverne Cox was one of fifteen women chosen by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue; this made Cox the first openly transgender woman to appear on the cover of British Vogue.[765][766][767]
Alison van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen, both from Belgium, became the first openly gay couple to team up in the doubles at Wimbledon.[785]
June Eastwood became the first openly male-to-female transgender athlete to compete in NCAA Division I cross country; she competed for the University of Montana women's team.[786]
Amanda Sauer-Cook became the first openly gay referee to work in a major professional football league, when she served as a center judge for the Alliance of American Football.[787]
Peyton Rose Michelle Theriot won election in Louisiana to the women's Democratic State Central Committee seat for the 46th District (seat A), representing St. Martin, Iberia and St. Landry, becoming the first out transgender woman elected to a political position in the state.[795]
Karine Jean-Pierre became the first openly gay woman to serve as a vice presidential chief of staff.[796]
Stormie Forte became the first openly LGBTQ woman to serve on the Raleigh City Council.[797]
Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres became the first openly gay black men elected to Congress.[801] This also made Torres the first openly gay Afro Latino elected to Congress.[802]
Mauree Turner became the first non-binary state legislator elected in the United States.[805]
Stephanie Byers became the first Native American transgender person elected to office in America, when she was elected to the Kansas state House of Representatives; she is a member of the Chickasaw Nation. This election also made her the first transgender person elected to the Kansas state legislature.[806][807]
Joe Biden became the first president-elect to mention the transgender community in a victory speech.[808]
Christy Holstege became the first openly bisexual mayor in America, as mayor of Palm Springs, California.[809][810]
Alex Lee became the California State Assembly's first openly bisexual member.[811]
Ryan Fecteau became the first openly-gay person to serve as Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.[812][813]
Sean Patrick Maloney became the first openly gay person to be elected as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[814]
Martin Jenkins was sworn in as the first openly gay Justice of the California Supreme Court.[815]
David Ortiz became the first openly bisexual person elected to serve in Colorado as a legislator.[820]
World Politics
UK MPLayla Moran revealed in an interview that she is pansexual; she is believed to be the first UK parliamentarian to come out as pansexual.[821][822]
Curdin Orlik became the first athlete in the sport of Schwingen to come out as gay, and also the first openly gay male active in Swiss professional sports.[826][827][828]
Sebastian Vega came out as gay, making him the first openly gay professional basketball player in Argentina.[829]
Chris Mosier became the first openly transgender male athlete to ever compete in an Olympic trial alongside other men; however, he was unable to finish the race due to injury.[830]
Megan Youngren became the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympic marathon trials in U.S. history.[831]
Camille Balanche became the first out lesbian to win the UCI Downhill Mountain Biking World Championship.[832]
Mara Gómez became the first trans footballer to play in a top-flight Argentinian league.[833]
FaZe Clan's Soleil 'Ewok' Wheeler came out as transgender, making him the first transgender male on a T1 esports organization.[834]
American rugby player Devin Ibanez came out as gay, making him the first openly gay Major League Rugby player.[835]
Nyla Rose won the AEW Women's World Championship on Dynamite, becoming the first openly transgender woman to win a world championship in a major United States wrestling promotion.[836]
Arts & Culture
Out was released; it is Disney's and Pixar's first short to feature a gay main character and storyline.[837]
Approved by referendum: Switzerland (to come into effect in July 2022)
Passed and came into effect: Mexican states of Baja California (codification), Sonora, Sinaloa, Querétaro, Guanajuato (by government decree), Zacatecas
Passed and pending: Chile[854] (comes into effect March 2022), Mexican state of Yucatan
Anti-discrimination laws: came into effect in Angola (protections with regard to sexual orientations for employment, discrimination and hate crimes), Namibia (court ruling), Botswana (2019 court ruling upheld by Supreme Court)
Politics
Kamala Harris became the first sitting American Vice President to participate in an LGBTQ+ Pride march (the Capital Pride Walk in Washington, D.C.)[857][858]
Eduardo Leite came out in July 2021 making him the first openly gay governor in Brazil's history.[citation needed]
Nicholas Yatromanolakis became the first openly gay person to hold a ministerial rank in the government of Greece.[859]
Rachel Levine was confirmed March 24 as U.S. assistant secretary for health, making her the first openly trans person confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a U.S. federal government position.[873]
Colton Underwood came out as gay on April 14, 2021, making him the first openly gay Bachelor lead in the franchise's history. He is also the second openly gay NFL free agent to come out after Michael Sam.[886]
Carl Nassib came out as gay on June 21, 2021, making history as the first openly gay active NFL player.[887]
In 2021, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Quinn became the first openly transgender, non-binary athlete to compete at the Olympics,[891] the first to medal, and the first to earn a gold medal.[892]
Anti-Discrimination Law:Spain, Nevada (The measure Question 1 formally appeared on Nevada's ballot within November 2022, and was given 58% approval from voters - making Nevada the first US state in history to approve adding the words "sexual orientation and gender identity or expression" to its state-based Constitution.[895][896][897])
George Santos ran against Democrat Robert Zimmerman;[908][909] Santos and Zimmerman were both openly gay, making this the first instance of two openly gay candidates competing against one another in a general election for a seat in the U.S. Congress.[910]
George Santos became the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican elected to the U.S. Congress.[911]
Becca Balint became the first openly gay person elected to represent Vermont in Congress.[912]
Leigh Finke became the first openly transgender person elected to Minnesota's legislature.[913]
James Roesener became the first openly transgender man to win election to any state legislature in the United States upon being elected to New Hampshire's 22nd state House District, Ward 8.[915]
Alicia Kozlowski became the first openly non-binary person elected to the Minnesota legislature.[916]
SJ Howell became the first openly non-binary person elected to the Montana legislature.[917]
Davante Lewis became the first openly LGBTQ person elected to state office in Louisiana.[919][920]
Corey Jackson became the first openly gay black person elected to California's state legislature.[921][922]
Maura Healey was elected as Massachusetts' first openly gay governor, and America's first openly lesbian governor.[923]
Eric Sorensen became the first openly gay man to be elected to Congress from Illinois.[924]
Erick Russell was elected Connecticut state treasurer, and thus became the first openly gay African American elected to a statewide office in the United States.[925][926]
Jolanda Jones became the first openly gay black person elected to the Texas state legislature.[927]
L. Morgan Lee became the first openly transgender person nominated for a Tony Award in an acting category; she was nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Thought 1 in A Strange Loop.[931]
Amy Schneider became the first openly transgender person to compete in, and to win, the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions.[940]
Walt Disney Animation Studios' introduced its first openly LGBTQ main character, by having an openly gay main character in the film Strange World.[941]
Dani Oliva, a transgender man, became the first openly transgender executive at a major music company, as Venice Music's Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs.[943]
Sports
Carl Nassib became the first openly gay player in an NFL playoff game on January 15, 2022.[944][945]
Ryan Resch came out while working for the Phoenix Suns, making him the first openly gay person in league history to work basketball operations in an NBA front office.[949]
Igor Benevenuto became the first FIFA-ranked soccer referee to come out as gay.[950]
Peter Caruth came out as gay, becoming the first Irish men's international hockey player to do so.[951]
Travis Shumake became the first openly gay driver to compete in a national event on the National Hot Rod Association racing circuit.[954]
Ellia Green became the first Olympian to come out as a trans man.[955]
Jamie Hunter became the first openly transgender snooker player to win a women's tour ranking event in snooker when she won the U.S. Women's Open.[956]
Zander Murray became Scotland's first senior male soccer player to announce he was gay.[957]
Lucas Krzikalla came out as gay, making him the first openly gay player in Handball-Bundesliga, and the first active male player in a professional team sport in Germany to come out as gay.[959]
For the first time, the New York City Marathon awarded prize money for non-binary athletes, with a top prize of $5,000 for the fastest non-binary finisher. The prize money for the non-binary category was awarded by New York Road Runners, whereas the World Marathon Majors awarded prize money for athletes in the male and female gender categories.[967]
Therese Stewart was confirmed as the first openly lesbian presiding justice on any California appellate court; specifically, she was confirmed as presiding justice of the 1st District Court of Appeal's Division Two.[972]
Criminalization of Homosexuality: The Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 of Uganda prescribes up to twenty years in prison for "promotion of homosexuality", life imprisonment for "homosexual acts", and the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality".[974][975]
Laphonza Butler became the first black out lesbian in Congress,[982] the first openly LGBT member of the U.S. Senate from California and its first out black LGBT member, when she was sworn in on October 3, 2023.[983][984]
Stefanos Kasselakis became the first openly gay leader of a major political party in Greece, upon being elected the leader of Syriza.[985][986]
Rue Landau became the first openly gay person elected to the Philadelphia City Council.[987]
Hogwarts Legacy introduced the Harry Potter franchise's first transgender character, Sirona Ryan.[989]
Rikkie Kollé won the Miss Nederland 2023 beauty pageant, becoming the first openly transgender person to win a national beauty pageant.[990]
Ezra Miller became the first openly nonbinary person to play the lead role in a major superhero franchise film, doing so in The Flash, which was released in 2023.[991]
The character Lake of the 2023 film Elemental was Pixar's first non-binary character.[992]
Hallmark's first lesbian holiday romance, called Friends and Family Christmas, premiered.[995]
Lío Mehiel became the first openly trans actor to win the Sundance Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Acting, for his performance in Mutt.[996]
Marina Machete became the first Portuguese openly transgender woman to participate in the Miss Universe contest; she represented Portugal at the Miss Universe 2023 pageant in El Salvador and finished as a top 20 semifinalist, becoming the first openly trans woman to place.
The nonbinary division of the Boston Marathon was first included in 2023; it was won by Kae Ravichandran with a time of 2:38:57.[998]
Kevin Maxen, an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Jaguars, came out as gay, making him the first openly gay male coach in major American men's professional sports.[999]
Seth Marnin became the first openly transgender judge in New York and the first openly transgender male judge in the United States.[1004][1005]
Danica Roem was elected to the Virginia Senate, becoming the first openly transgender person to be elected to a state senate in the Southern United States.[1006]
The Seoul High Court decided that the state's health insurer – the National Health Insurance Service – should provide spousal coverage to a same-sex couple.[1007][1008] This marked the first time any court recognized the rights of a same-sex couple in South Korea.[899]
The Olivera Fuentes vs. Peru case was the first reported case of discrimination based on sexual orientation in the Peruvian justice system that reached the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,[1009] and its ruling, issued in 2023, was also the first in the entire inter-American system in favor of a complainant for being discriminated against for their sexual orientation by a consumer company.[1010]
On September 17, 2023, Jeff R. Johnson was elected as the first openly gay bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod.[1013]
On October 1, 2023, the Black Cat Tavern became California Historical Landmark #1063, with a marker designating it as such being unveiled, which made it the first marker for a California Historical Landmark associated with LGBTQ history.[1014]
Danica Roem became the first openly transgender person to be elected to and serve in both chambers of a state legislature (specifically, Virginia’s) in U.S. history.[1006]
Monica Márquez became the first openly gay Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court.[1018]
Arts & Culture
Colman Domingo became the first American openly gay man to receive an Academy Award nomination for playing a gay character.[1019][1020]
Andrew Mortensen, of Texas, became the first openly gay man to officially cycle around the world, which he did non-continously from 2020 until 2024.[1027]
Other
Stacie Gregory became the first openly LGBTQ+, and the first openly lesbian, police chief of Sausalito, California.[1028]
^Ladin, Joy (15 March 2012). Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey between Genders (Living Out: Gay and Lesbian Autobiog): Joy Ladin: 9780299287306: Amazon.com: Books. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN978-0-299-28730-6.
^Selna, Robert; Sward, Susan; Vega, Cecilia M. Renne Quits Police Commission, San Francisco Chronicle (11 May 2007), pp. B-9. Retrieved on 13 May 2007.
^Vingan, Alyssa (4 November 2014). "Transgender Model Lea T Lands Big Redken Contract". Fashionista.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014. Now, Lea T has received her most groundbreaking campaign yet: She's signed on to be a brand muse for global haircare brand Redken, with print and digital campaigns set for a January 2015 release.
