This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2006.
Events
January
* 1
**
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
equalizes
age of consent for homosexual acts to 14, matching the legal age for heterosexual acts.
** In the U.S. state of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, a new state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
goes into effect.
** In the U.S. state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, a new mayor of
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
is sworn in to succeed
James E. West, who was
recalled after a political scandal involving him using his office computer to access gay websites.
* 24 – Republic of Ireland – Report of
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
committee recommending
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s is launched by
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
.
* 25 – The
Ocean County, New Jersey freeholders vote to allow county police and fire department employees to designate someone other than a spouse as a pension beneficiary. The move comes after the case of
Laurel Hester
Laurel Anne Hester (August 15, 1956 – February 18, 2006) was a police lieutenant with the Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office, who came to national attention with her deathbed appeal for the extension of pension benefits to her domesti ...
, a police officer with the Ocean County prosecutor's office with terminal cancer, came to national attention when the freeholders refuse repeatedly to change the spouses-only rule.
* 26 – In the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
registered partnership
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
legislation is approved by the Senate 65–14.
* 27 – In the U.S. state of Washington, legislators pass a bill banning discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
(which is legally defined to include
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
). It passes with a 25–23 vote in the state senate and by a 61–37 vote in the House of Representatives. State governor
Christine Gregoire
Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and ag ...
says she will sign the bill into law on January 31.
March
* 8 – The
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
of Washington, D.C., bans gender identity discrimination in the private sector.
* 15 – The Czech Republic’s Chamber of Deputies overrides president
Václav Klaus's veto of the
registered partnerships bill.
April
* 11 –
Ernie Fletcher
Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician. In 1998, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th ...
, governor of the U.S. state of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, rescinds a 2003 executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the public sector.
May
* 27 – An attempt to stage the first-ever gay pride march in Moscow ends with violence and mass arrests, after activists took to the streets despite the ban by mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
June
* 5 – United States President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
renews his call for passage of the
Federal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA ...
.
* 7
** The Federal Marriage Amendment fails to pass the U.S. Senate. Of the 60 votes required to invoke the
cloture
Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...
motion, 49 senators voted to put the amendment to a vote and 48 voted against.
** Anti-discrimination law in the state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
enters into effect, after a ballot initiative to reverse it fails to collect enough signatures.
* 29 – The
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
of the U.S. state of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
confirms a lower state court judgment, ruling that it is unconstitutional to ban lesbians and gays from being foster parents.
July
* 1 –
Registered partnerships begin in the Czech Republic, the first nation of the former
Communist bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
to sanction same-sex unions.
* 23 –
Registered partnerships begin in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
.
* 29 – the
Declaration of Montreal on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Human Rights is presented at the opening ceremony of the
2006 World Outgames.
September
* 10 – Canada's
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
becomes the world's first political party to adopt the Declaration of Montreal.
* 11 – Responding to pressure from the
American Medical Student Association
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), founded in 1950 and based in Washington, D.C., is an independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. AMSA is a student-governed national organization.They have a membership ...
, the
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality (GLMA) is an international organization of approximately 1,000 LGBT healthcare professionals and students of all disciplines. Its members include physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician ...
and other groups,
Touro University reinstates the medical school's
Gay-Straight Alliance student group.
* 29 – The ''Anglican Journal'' reports that Terence Finlay, retired
Archbishop of Toronto
The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, ...
and
Metropolitan of Ontario
The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and ...
, has solemnised the marriage of a lesbian couple—and that Finlay's successor, Colin Johnson, has suspended his license to conduct weddings.
October
* 16 – The government of Hong Kong accepts the decision of the appeals court to equalise the age of consent from 21 (for homosexual acts) to 16 (the legal age for heterosexual acts).
* 25 – The
New Jersey Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...
rules in a 4–3 decision that the state constitution guarantees same-sex couples all the legal benefits of marriage, but does not explicitly legalize same-sex marriage in the state.
* 26 – 29 – The tenth-annual
ILGA-Europe
ILGA-Europe is the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. It is an advocacy group promoting the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex ( LGBTI) people, at the European level ...
conference is held in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, on the eve of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
's accession to the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
in 2007.
November
* 7
**Eight states vote on amendments to ban same-sex marriage:
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
,
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. All of the bans pass except for Arizona, which defeats the measure.
**
Patricia Todd
Patricia Todd (born July 25, 1955) is an American politician from Alabama. A Democrat, she was elected in November 2006 as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives representing District 54 in downtown Birmingham. She is the current Firs ...
, the first openly gay member of the Alabama legislature, is elected.
* 8 – The UK Government publishes regulations outlawing discrimination in Goods and Services covering Northern Ireland which are due to enter into force on the January 1, which prove controversial with some religious groups
* 9 –
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
's
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
Legislative Assembly passed and approved (43–17) a bill legalizing
same-sex civil unions, under the name ''Ley de Sociedades de Convivencia'' (Law for Co-existence Partnerships), which became effective in March 2007.
* 9 –
Yogyakarta Principles
The Yogyakarta Principles is a document about human rights in the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity that was published as the outcome of an international meeting of human rights groups in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in November 2006. Th ...
was developed at a meeting of the International Commission of Jurists, the International Service for Human Rights and human rights experts from around the world at
Gadjah Mada University
Gadjah Mada University ( jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦥ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦓꦗꦃꦩꦢ; id, Universitas Gadjah Mada, abbreviated as UGM) is a Public university, public research university located in Sleman Regency, Sleman, Yogyakarta (special region) ...
on
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
from 6 to 9 November 2006.
* 14 – The
National Assembly of South Africa
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation syste ...
passes the
Civil Union Bill, which will legalise
same-sex marriage in South Africa, by 230 votes to 41.
* 23 – Days before same-sex marriage becomes legal, the
Constitutional Court of South Africa
The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme court, supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction.
The Court was fi ...
rules in ''
Gory v Kolver NO'' that a same-sex partner is entitled to inherit as a spouse would if the other partner dies
intestate
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
.
* 29 – Having been passed 36–11 by the
National Council of Provinces
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ma ...
of South Africa on the previous day, the
Civil Union Act is signed into law by Acting President
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (; born 3 November 1955), South African Government Information. is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General ...
. The first South African same-sex marriage is solemnised on the following day.
December
* 1 – An equalised age of consent law comes into force in
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
, reducing the legal age for homosexual activity from 18 to 16 to match the age for heterosexual activity.
* 7
** The
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
defeats a motion put forward by the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
minority government to revisit the issue of
same-sex marriage in Canada
Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively introduced in several provinces by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the ''Civil Marriage Act'' on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, th ...
. After the motion fails, prime minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
tells reporters, "I don't see reopening this question in the future."
** The
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
legalizes adoption by same-sex couples, by a vote of 98–11.
* 11 – Three LGBT organisations—
ILGA-Europe
ILGA-Europe is the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. It is an advocacy group promoting the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex ( LGBTI) people, at the European level ...
,
LBL, and
LSVD
Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland (LSVD), German for the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany, is the largest non-governmental LGBT rights organisation in Germany. It was founded in 1990 and is part of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bis ...
—are granted United Nations
ECOSOC
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...
consultative status after a hard fought campaign from many non-governmental organizations.
* 14
**The
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...
enacts a bill to establish
civil unions in that state. The measure passed 56–19 in the Assembly, and 23–12 in the Senate. It will come into effect 60 days after the governor signs it.
**In the Republic of Ireland, the
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
party introduces a
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s bill in the
Dáil, to be debated in early 2007.
* 19 – New Jersey bans gender identity discrimination in the private sector.
* 21 –
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
governor
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...
signs the bill establishing
civil unions in the state. The first civil union licenses become available on February 20, 2007.
Deaths
* January 30 –
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...
, 78, American civil rights activist and advocate of gay rights
* February 18 –
Laurel Hester
Laurel Anne Hester (August 15, 1956 – February 18, 2006) was a police lieutenant with the Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office, who came to national attention with her deathbed appeal for the extension of pension benefits to her domesti ...
, 49, American police officer whose fight to name her domestic partner as her pension beneficiary garnered national attention
* May 24 –
Fritz Klein
Fritz Klein (24 November 1888 – 13 December 1945) was an Austrian Nazi doctor and war criminal, hanged for his role in atrocities at Auschwitz concentration camp and Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the Holocaust.
Early life and edu ...
, 73, American bisexual sex researcher and psychiatrist
* July 3 –
Nimrod Ping, 58, British gay architect and politician
* October 14 –
Gerry Studds
Gerry Eastman Studds (; May 12, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts who served from 1973 until 1997. He was the first openly gay member of Congress. In 1983 he was censured by the House of Re ...
, 69, American
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
for the state of
, first openly gay member of Congress
Studds, first openly gay person elected to Congress, dead at 69
, CNN, October 14, 2006.
See also
*Timeline of LGBT history
A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events.
Timelines can use any suitable scale represent ...
– timeline of events from 12,000 BCE to present
*LGBT rights by country or territory
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 33 ...
– current legal status around the world
*LGBT social movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-s-pride-community-continues-to-fight-beyond-borders-1.4545256
{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 In Lgbt Rights
LGBT rights by year