2000 in LGBT rights

Events

• Voters in Maine reject a proposal to reinstate the ban on sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector, with 50.5 per cent against and 49.5 per cent for.^[1]

  January

  • 12 January - the ban on lesbians and gay men serving in the United Kingdom armed forces is lifted.

  February

  • February 14 - Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduces the Permanent Partners Immigration Act (H.R 3650) in the U.S. Congress.^[2]

    March

    • March 7 - Same-sex marriage in the United States: California voters approve Proposition 22, a preemptive proposition stating that California will not recognize same-sex marriages, even if the marriages took place in states that permitted them.
    • March 15 - Equality Mississippi is formed in response to a hate-crime murder and attempts in Mississippi to ban adoption by same-sex couples.

    April

    • April 28 to April 30 - Millenium March on Washington in the United States.

    June

    • 2 June - President Bill Clinton declares June "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month". ^[3]
      • 21 June - The Scottish Parliament repeals Section 28, the law that banned local authorities from "promoting homosexuality". It is the first part of the United Kingdom to do so.

      July

      • July 1 - Vermont civil unions law goes into effect, granting most state-level marriage rights to registered same-sex couples.
      • July 1 - Mississippi became the third state to ban adoption by same-sex couples.

      November

      • November - Montana governor Marc Racicot, a Republican, issues an executive order banning sexual orientation discrimination in the public sector.^[4]
        • November 9 - The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, in the Declaratory Ruling on Behalf of John/Jane Doe, ruled that gender identity discrimination is included in the existing ban on sex discrimination in the private sector.^[5]

          December

          • December - The age of consent in the United Kingdom is equalised at 16 in all cases (previously it had been 18 for sex between males and 16 for sex between males and females). The equalisation took place after a long struggle, in which the Labour Party eventually invoked the Parliament Act due to repeated House of Lords opposition. See: Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000.
          • December - Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, rescinds an executive order he issued in 1999 banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the public sector.^[6] Vilsack would later reinstate the order for sexual orientation only.
            • December 15 - Delaware governor Thomas Carper, a Democrat, issues an executive order banning sexual orientation discriminiation in the public sector.^[7]

              Births

              Deaths

              See also

              • Timeline of LGBT history.
              • Table of years in LGBT rights.
              • 1925 in LGBT rights - 1934 in LGBT rights
              • 1943 in LGBT rights - 1969 in LGBT rights (Stonewall)
              • 1980 in LGBT rights.

              External links

              • Web site for Advocate news magazine
              • 365gay.com
              • Google search for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender news
              • UK age of consent timeline
              • Stonewall's page on the armed forces ban being lifted

              References

              1. ^ Crzy House - Print Page
              2. ^ U.S. House. 106th Congress, 2nd Session. H.R. 3650, Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2000. ONLINE. Thomas. Available: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR03650:/ [14 Feb 2000]
              3. ^ "Clinton Declares June 2000 Gay & Lesbian Pride Month". 
              4. ^ http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-connor052203.asp (Warning: this article is heavily biased.)
              5. ^ GLAD Cases: Our Docket
              6. ^ HRC | Page Not Found
              7. ^ http://www.dupontbglad.com/Library/Newsletters/n0601.pdf (Adobe Acrobat format)