This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2007.

Events

January

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. **

Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 was secondary legislation in the United Kingdom, outlawing discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities, services, education and public functions on the grounds of sexual orientation. ...

comes into effect in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. * January 11 – The Mexican northern state of

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

, which borders Texas, passes (20–13) a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions, under the name ''Pacto Civil de Solidaridad'' (Civil Union Pact). After a similar measure was approved in

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 ...

in November 2006.

February

* 28 – Equalised

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...

comes into effect in United Kingdom territory of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

March

* 17 – The

Soulforce Soulforce is a U.S.-based social justice organization that works to end the religious and political oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people. The organization's co-executive directors are Alba Onofrio ...

Equality Ride visits 32 schools in the United States that ban enrollment of openly gay students. * 27 – A group of 29 human rights experts including seven United Nations Special Rapporteurs and a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights releases the

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 ...

on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

April

* 10 – The legislature of 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 on ...

passes S5336, giving final approval to

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...

legislation, which would give same-sex couples many state rights of marriage. * 26 – The legislature of the U.S. state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

passes legislation for

civil unions 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 ...

, which give same-sex couples many state rights of marriage. * 30 –

Regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

covering the provision of goods, facilities and services, outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation enter into force in Great Britain.

May

* 8 – In the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

, New York congressman

Jerrold Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who since 2013 has served as the U.S. representative for , which includes Manhattan's west side and parts of Brooklyn. A member of the Democratic Party, he is in ...

and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

senator

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

reintroduce the

Uniting American Families Act The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA, , ) is a U.S. bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to eliminate discrimination in immigration by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and of lawful permanent resid ...

(UAFA) (H.R.2221 & S.1328). * 9 – U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

bans discrimination based on sexual orientation (which is legally defined to include gender identity) in the private sector. * 17 –

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...

, governor of the U.S. state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, issues an executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the public sector. * 22 – U.S. state of

bans gender identity discrimination in the private sector. * 24 –

Jenny Bailey Jenny Bailey is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician who was the civic leader of Cambridge City Council, England, Cambridge City Council in Cambridge, England. Bailey served her mayoral term from 2007 to 2008. Bailey be ...

becomes the first

transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

mayor in the United Kingdom. * 25 ** U.S. state of

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 ...

bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the private sector.PrideDEPOT.com – Everybody Has A Right
** U.S. state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the private sector.

June

* 1 – Registered partnerships begin in South Australia.

August

* 9 – '' Visible Vote '08: A Presidential Forum'', the first ever LGBT issues debate is hosted by the

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

cable television channel. Six candidates for the Democratic party's presidential nomination participate in the event. * 31 –

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebeli ...

, governor of the U.S. state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, issues an executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the public sector.

September

* 17 – The

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the state supreme court, highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The cou ...

overturns a lower court ruling in ''Deane & Polyak v. Conaway'' and rules that the Maryland constitution does not require the state to recognize or sanction same-sex marriage.

November

* 13 – Charles Iavarone, Supervisor of the Town of Salina, proposes human rights legislation which included a domestic partnership registry for the town. The board's only Democrat sided with two Republicans to defeat the law. * 21 –

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...

, governor of the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, issues an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination based on gender identity or expression in the public sector. * 29 ** The first foreign gay wedding is held in Hanoi, Vietnam, between a Japanese and an Irish national. **

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

becomes the first Latin American country to pass a national

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 ...

law.

December

* 16 – In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, the

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 (Act No. 32 of 2007; also referred to as the Sexual Offences Act) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that reformed and codified the law relating to sex offence ...

comes into force, setting an equal

at 16; previously it had been 16 for heterosexual sex and 19 for homosexual sex. * 17 – The

National Assembly of Hungary The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proporti ...

passes registered partnerships, to become effective on January 1, 2009. The law gives the same rights to registered partners as to married spouses except for adoption.

Deaths

* February 18 –

Barbara Gittings Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) was a prominent American activist for LGBT equality. She organized the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) from 1958 to 1963, edited the national DOB magazine ''The Ladd ...

, 75, U.S. gay rights activist * March 14 – Ryan Skipper, 25, U.S. victim of an anti-gay hate crime * May 15 –

Yolanda King Yolanda Denise King (November 17, 1955 – May 15, 2007) was an African-American activist, actress and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was also known for her artistic and entertainment e ...

, U.S. civil rights and gay rights activist * November 29 –

Jane Rule Jane Vance Rule (28 March 1931 – 27 November 2007) was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed works. Her first novel, ''Desert of the Heart'', appeared in 1964, when gay activity was still a criminal offence. It turned Rule into a reluctant m ...

, 76, U.S. lesbian author and advocate of gay rights

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007 In Lgbt Rights LGBT rights by year

LGBT rights 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 ...

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

August

September

November

December

Deaths

See also

References