This is a list of events in 2011 that affected

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

* 1 — The

Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 is an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) which allows same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships. The Act also provides rights for participants in long ...

comes into effect in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, allowing same-sex couples to enter

civil partnerships 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 ...

. * 3 —

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n High Court Justice V.F. Kibuuka Musoke rules that ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' violated the civil rights of homosexuals when it printed their pictures on the front page with the headline "Hang Them". The court orders the newspaper to pay each of the three lead plaintiffs USh 1.5 million. * 7 — The 3rd Court of Appeals in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, rules that the

Texas Attorney General The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer
of the

does not have standing to intervene in a same-sex divorce case. The ruling, which conflicts with a ruling issued in 2010 by the 5th Court of Appeals, means that a Texas divorce granted to two women who married in Massachusetts is legal. However, the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unaffected. *10 ** The

Saskatchewan Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan (SKCA) is a Canadian appellate court. Jurisdiction and structure The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. There are 8 official judicial positions, incl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

rules that marriage commissioners in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples due to religious objections. The decision is in response to a proposed law which had two versions: One would allow any marriage commissioner to avoid performing a same-sex wedding because of his or her religion; the other version would allow commissioners to opt out of performing a same-sex ceremony only if they were commissioners before Canada enacted marriage equality in 2004. ** Newly sworn-in Ohio Governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

allows a previous executive order prohibiting discrimination in state employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity to expire. * 14 — A

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 ...

circuit court judge reverses his earlier ruling and allows one half of a lesbian couple to change her last name legally to that of her partner. The judge had initially denied the name change, stating that since same-sex marriage is illegal in Virginia and the couple "hold themselves out as a married couple" the name change was for "fraudulent purposes". * 18 — A Bristol County Court judge rules that the owners of a

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, violated the rights of a gay couple in a

civil 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 ...

when they refused to rent them a double room because of the owners' Christian beliefs. * 24 — The

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of ...

passes a bill that would bar the state from recognising legal same-sex marriages performed in other legal jurisdictions, changing a law that though bars same-sex marriage within Wyoming recognises legal marriages performed elsewhere. * 27 — The

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

rejects a proposal for a voter initiative to amend the Iowa constitution to ban same-sex marriage. * 28 **The

Constitutional Council of France The Constitutional Council (french: Conseil constitutionnel; ) is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 to ensure that constitutional principles and rules ...

rules that French laws which restrict marriage to unions between men and women do not violate the

French Constitution The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a Constitu ...

. ** In

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, the

Gary Community School Corporation Gary Community School Corporation serves most students who reside in Gary, Indiana. History In 2017, Gary Community Corp became the first school system in Indiana involved in a state takeover. Control of the district was transferred from the ...

, as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed in 2007 by a transgender former student, announces a new anti-discrimination policy that includes specific protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. * 31 ** Following its passage in December 2010,

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 ...

Governor Pat Quinn signs the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. This act allows all couples, regardless of gender, to enter into

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 provide all of the state benefits of marriage. The law is scheduled to take effect June 1. ** As same-sex marriage is constitutionally prohibited in the state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, an Otoe County judge refuses to grant a divorce to two women legally married in Vermont in 2003. The judge does, however, rule on child support and visitation rights for the couple's four-year-old daughter (specifics not given). ** Representatives at

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

's United Nations Universal Periodic Review announce that upcoming revisions to its Criminal Code will decriminalize homosexual sex in the country. The new code would come into effect four months later.

February

* 1 — The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

begins issuing passport applications that ask applicants for "Mother or parent one" and "Father or parent two" instead of for "Father" and "Mother". The change, announced in December 2010, is "in recognition of different types of families". * 7 — New York City adopts a new policy regarding

transgender marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

license applicants specifying that once an applicant displays a proper photo identification the city clerk may not request further proof of sex. * 17 — The

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction o ...

upholds a lower court ruling giving a woman visitation rights with the child of her former partner. The court rules that even though same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in Arkansas, the woman stood ''

in loco parentis The term ''in loco parentis'', Contemporary Latin, Latin for "in the place of a parent" refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent. Originally derived from ...

'' to the child. * 18 ** Massachusetts governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

signs an executive order banning discrimination against state employees based on gender identity or expression. ** The Alaska Board of Regents votes to add sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination policy. * 23 ** In response to two lawsuits, ''

Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management ''Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management'' is a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, Section 3, which defined the federal definition of marriage to be a union of a man and a woman, entirely excluding ...

'' and ''

Windsor v. United States ''United States v. Windsor'', 570 U.S. 744 (2013), is a landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case concerning same-sex marriage. The Court held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition o ...

'', the US Justice Department announces that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of section 3 of the

Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...

although the department will "remain parties (''

sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...

'') to the cases and continue to represent the interests of the United States throughout the litigation." That section had been ruled unconstitutional in two district court cases, ''

Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services ''Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services'' 682 F.3d 1 is a United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision that affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Massachus ...

'' and ''

Gill v. Office of Personnel Management ''Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management'', 682 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012) is a United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision that affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a lawsuit challe ...

''. **

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

governor

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a graduate of Union College and the ...

signs the state's civil unions bill. The law will take effect on 1 January 2012. * 24 — A New York state appellate court rules that recognising a legal same-sex marriage performed in Canada for purposes of probate does not violate the public policy of the state of New York.

March

*1 — The

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Il ...

rules that

Indian Prairie School District 204 Indian Prairie School District 204 (abbreviated IPSD) serves roughly 27,400 students from the Illinois communities of Aurora, Bolingbrook, Plainfield and Naperville, in DuPage and Will counties. Currently, one preschool, twenty-one elementary s ...

may not bar students from wearing shirts with anti-LGBT slogans finding that a "school that permits advocacy of the rights of homosexual students cannot be allowed to stifle criticism of homosexuality." The district had argued that it barred a shirt reading "Be Happy, Not Gay" on the grounds that it violated the rights of students toward whom the derogatory comment was directed. *2 — The Wyoming Senate defeats a bill that would have prevented the state from recognising same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. * 7 — Citing the 1971

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court wa ...

ruling in ''

Baker v. Nelson ''Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson'', 291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (1971), was a case in which the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that construing a marriage statute to restrict marriage licenses to persons of the opposite sex "does not ...

'' and the local defense of marriage act,

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...

District Judge Mary Dufresne dismisses a lawsuit brought by marriage equality advocacy group Marry Me Minnesota which contended that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the rights of same-sex couples to due process, equal protection, religious freedom and freedom of association. * 9 — Along party lines, the United States House of Representatives Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group votes to defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act after the Obama administration announced it would not support the bill. The Advisory Group vote sidesteps a full House vote on the question. * 16 — Upon its second reading, the Liechtenstein Parliament passes a bill legalising registered civil partnership. The law will take effect on 1 September 2011. * 21 — The

Cook County Jail The Cook County Jail, located on in South Lawndale, Chicago, Illinois, is operated by the Sheriff of Cook County. A city jail has existed on this site since after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but major County prisoners were not generally coll ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

implements a new policy for housing transgender prisoners, allowing for them to be housed based on their gender identity rather than birth sex. * 24 **

announces a pilot programme to provide $100,000 in living assistance funds to refugees facing persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. **

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

-operated

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

announces that it will offer domestic partnership benefits to employees beginning in 2012. * 28 —

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalizati ...

(USCIS) announces that it will no longer deny applications for green cards on the part of bi-national same-sex married couples but will put those cases on hold pending resolution of the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. * 30 ** USCIS later reverses its ruling and announces that it will continue to deny green cards to bi-national applicants in same-sex marriages. ** The

dismisses the complaint of a

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

employee fired in 2005 for anti-gay harassment of another employee. The court rules that Wal-Mart did not violate the fired employee's religious freedom. Wal-Mart's anti-harassment policy includes "sexual orientation" as a category. * 31 — The

Constitutional Court of Korea The Constitutional Court of Korea () is highest constitutional court in judicial branch of South Korea, seated in Jongno, Seoul. Established under Chapter 6 of the Constitution of South Korea, the Court has ultimate jurisdiction over judicial ...

rules in a 5–4 decision that the Korean military ban on homosexual conduct is constitutional and does not discriminate against homosexual military personnel.

April

* 5 — The

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

Metro Council passes a measure requiring businesses with contracts with the city to promise not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. * 7 — The

upholds a 2010 lower court ruling that a 2008 voter-approved ban on adoption by unmarried cohabiting couples is unconstitutional. * 11 — The Maine Human Rights Commission finds that a rental agency that repeatedly delayed an application from a transgender applicant illegally discriminated against her based on her gender identity. * 12 — The

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

rules that a

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

registrar's refusal to list the names of both same-sex adoptive parents on a birth certificate does not violate their child's right to

equal protection The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equa ...

nor does the

Full Faith and Credit Clause Article Four of the United States Constitution, Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, the Full Faith and Credit Clause, addresses the duty that U.S. state, states within the United States have to respect the "public acts, rec ...

, which requires each state to recognize the legal proceedings of the other states, require Louisiana to "confer particular benefits on unmarried adoptive parents contrary to its law." * 13 — Rear Admiral Mark L. Tidd,

Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy (CHC) is the highest-ranking military chaplain in the United States Navy and head of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. As part of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Department of ...

, issues a two-page "guidance" memo stating that following final repeal of the

don't ask, don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...

policy, same-sex couples would be allowed to marry in Naval facilities with Naval chaplains officiating in those states in which same-sex marriage is legal. * 18 ** 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 ...

adopts a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

that among other things explicitly restricts same-sex marriage. However, same-sex couples may obtain the same legal protections through registering as domestic partners. If signed as expected by President

Pál Schmitt Pál Schmitt (; born 1942) is a Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician who served as President of Hungary from 2010 until his resignation in 2012, following his academic misconduct controversy. Schmitt was a successful fencer in his ...

it will go into effect on January 1, 2012. **

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 ...

Governor

Jan Brewer Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine, formerly Warren; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician and author who was the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Brewer is the fourth woman (and was ...

signs into law a bill that requires adoption agencies in the state to "give primary consideration to adoptive placement with a married man and woman." Agencies may place a child with a legally single person if it is in the child's best interest or if there is no married couple applying for adoption. Same-sex marriage is not legally recognized in Arizona. * 20 — The Virginia Board of Social Services votes to strike language from new proposed adoption regulations which would have barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Single people and married mixed-sex couples may adopt children. * 21 —

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock rules against same-sex couples seeking to force the state to extend the benefits of marriage to them, finding that the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and the separation of powers between the courts and the legislature prevents it. * 23 — It is reported that pursuant to a 2008 order by then-Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...

that

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state agencies recognize same-sex unions performed in other jurisdictions, the

New York State Department of Correctional Services New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

has updated its regulations to allow prisoners in same-sex marriages and civil unions to have conjugal visits and seek furloughs if a spouse or partner is terminally ill. * 26 ** In the UK, the

Charity Tribunal Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

upholds an earlier ruling from the

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

that denies an exemption from the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations to the Leeds-based Catholic Care adoption agency. The charity must consider same-sex couples as prospective adoptive parents and may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. * 29 — The

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploym ...

updates its internal equal employment opportunity policy to bar discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

May

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

takes a national census and officially recognises a

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...

in addition to male and female. * 5 ** The

Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for consti ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

rules in a unanimous 10-0 decision, with one abstention, to legalise same-sex stable unions. ** The ACLU announces a settlement in the case of ''

Witt v. Department of the Air Force ''Witt v. Department of the Air Force'', 527 F.3d 806 (9th Cir. 2008) is a federal lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of , the law, since repealed, that excluded openly homosexual people from serving in the United States military, common ...

''. The Air Force agrees to drop its appeal and remove Witt's discharge from her military record and she will retire with full benefits. ** The

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

approves a constitutional amendment allowing for the ordination of clergy in same-sex relationships. ** In the face of political opposition from

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

members of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

who claimed that allowing the use of federal facilities or personnel to perform same-sex marriages would violate the

, Rear Admiral Mark L. Tidd suspends his April 13 "guidance" memo pending further Naval review. * 11 **

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Governor

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...

signs the state's civil unions bill into law, granting same-sex couples in the state all of the rights of marriage. The law will take effect January 1, 2012. ** The

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

approves a proposed constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriage in the state. * 13 — After delaying a vote originally scheduled two day ago, the

Parliament of Uganda The parliament of Uganda is the country's legislative body. Unicameral, the most significant of the Ugandan parliament's functions is to pass laws that will provide good governance in the country. The government ministers are bound to answer t ...

adjourns without taking action on the country's proposed anti-homosexuality bill. * 17 ** The

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislature in ...

passes a bill to bar employment discrimination in the state on the basis of gender identity or expression. ** Moscow mayor

Sergei Sobyanin Sergey Semyonovich Sobyanin (russian: link=no, Сергей Семёнович Собянин; born 21 June 1958) is a Russian politician, serving as the 3rd Mayor of Moscow since 21 October 2010. Sobyanin previously served as the Governor of ...

bans a gay pride march scheduled for 28 May, despite an October 2010 ruling by the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

that similar bans in 2006, 2007 and 2008 violated the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

. Activists plan to defy the ban as they had in past years. * 20 ** The

Tennessee Legislature The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

gives final passage to the "

Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act The Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act is a 2011 Tennessee act that amends the Tennessee Human Rights Act to define the term "sex" to mean an individual person as male or female as indicated on the individual's birth certificate and prohibits, ...

". The bill would repeal an ordinance passed earlier this year in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

that requires companies doing business with the city to adopt anti-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill would also prevent any unit of local government from requiring companies to bar discrimination on any basis that is not illegal under state law. The

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

also passes Senate Bill 49, colloquially known as the "Don't Say Gay bill", which would bar schools from presenting any prepared material or lessons about homosexuality to students before high school. ** United States District Judge Frank Montalvo rules that a voter initiative in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

that stripped health benefits from the unmarried partners of city employees is constitutional. Although supporters of the initiative stated that they only intended to remove benefits from the partners of gay employees, Montalvo finds that the language of the ordinance also strips benefits from city officials and others who are not technically employees of the city. * 23 **

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 ...

governor

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

signs the "

" into law, reversing Nashville's LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinance and barring any local unit of government from requiring that companies bar discrimination on any basis not already covered by state law. ** The

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

votes to allow openly gay ministers, who can live in civil unions. * 24 — A judge in

Wharton, Texas Wharton is a city in and the county seat of Wharton County, Texas, Wharton County, Texas, United States. This city is southwest of Houston. The population was 8,832 at the 2010 census and 8,627 at the 2020 census. Wharton is located on the Colora ...

, ruled that a transgender woman is still legally male and invalidates her marriage to a biological male. * 25 **

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Governor

Brian Sandoval Brian Edward Sandoval (; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...

signs Assembly Bill 211, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. The law will take effect October 1. ** A spokesperson for

ian President

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first w ...

announces that she has suspended an upcoming distribution of

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

videos through the ministries of health and education, saying that the "anti-homophobia kits", as they are known, are inappropriate for children and do not offer an "objective" view of homosexuality.

June

* 2 — Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signs the Nevada Senate Bills 331 and 368, which outlawed discrimination in housing and public accommodation on the basis of gender identity. * 6 — The

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees sub ...

reverses a lower court ruling and allows an LGBT couple married in Canada to divorce. The ruling recognised same-sex marriage in Wyoming only in the context of divorce. * 8 ** The Virginia Board of Juvenile Justice, which oversees the state's juvenile correctional facilities, votes unanimously to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. ** The

Portland, Oregon City Council The Government of Portland, Oregon is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include the mayor, commissioners, and a city auditor. The mayor and commissioners (members of City Council) are responsible for legislative polic ...

votes unanimously to expand health coverage for city workers to cover the cost of sex re-assignment surgery up to $50,000. **

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, announces plans to reimburse city employees in legal same-sex marriages for the federal tax burden they incur for the value of health benefits received by their spouses. Under federal law, employers are required to include the value of such benefits as taxable income, while mixed-sex married couples are not taxed. Reimbursement in the form of quarterly stipends are expected to begin in July. * 10 — The Obama administration issues a "guidance" memo stating that under existing law, states may choose to offer the same level of asset protection to same-sex couples under

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

asset recovery plans as it offers to straight married couples. * 14 **

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

Secretary

Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Du ...

affirms in a letter to educators that gay-straight alliances should be afforded the same rights and protections as any other student-initiated organisation under the

Equal Access Act The Equal Access Act is a United States federal law passed as Title VIII of the Education for Economic Security Act in 1984 to compel federally funded public secondary schools to provide equal access to extracurricular student clubs. Lobbied for b ...

. ** The

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

rejects a bill presented by the opposition

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

seeking to legalise same-sex marriage by 293 votes to 222. ** The

city council votes to restore health benefits to the non-married partners of city employees. The benefits had been stripped by a voter initiative in November 2010. * 15 — The

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

announces its first-ever grant in the amount of $250,000 to create a resource center for LGBT political refugees. * 16 — The

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

passes a declaration which for the first time condemns discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The declaration also commissions a study of anti-gay discrimination around the world. * 19 — Voters in Liechtenstein approve a binding resolution by a margin of 68%–32% that recognises registered partnerships. Same-sex couples will have the same tax, inheritance and welfare rights as married couples but will remain barred from adopting children. * 20 — Dane County Judge Dan Moeser rules that Wisconsin's domestic partnership registry, which offers limited benefits to registered partners, does not violate the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. He finds that the state "does not recognise domestic partnership in a way that even remotely resembles how the state recognises marriage." * 23 — A

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for the ...

judge rules that one member of a same-sex couple legally married in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, may invoke

spousal privilege In the common law, spousal privilege (also called marital privilege or husband-wife privilege) is a term used in the law of evidence to describe two separate privileges that apply to spouses: the spousal communications privilege and the spousal ...

and refuse to testify against her spouse in a criminal case. * 24 ** Following a 36-26 vote passing exemptions for religious organisations, the

New York Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...

approves the same-sex marriage law; the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

also approved the bill to legalise same-sex marriage in the state by a vote of 80-63. Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

signed the bill into law shortly before midnight. The law would make New York the largest state in the United States to recognise same-sex marriage. ** Police in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia, detain 14 gay rights activists holding an unsanctioned gay pride event. * 27 —

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

, Brazil state Judge Fernando Henrique Pinto rules that two men in a civil union may convert their union into a full legal marriage, believed to be the first legal same-sex marriage in the country.

July

*2 —

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Governor

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a m ...

signs a civil unions bill into law. The law, which is effective immediately, grants same-sex couples the same rights as married couples but withholds the word "marriage" from their certificates. Some LGBT rights activists had urged Chafee to veto the bill, saying that exemptions for religious organisations were overly broad and might allow some such groups to discriminate against civil unions. However, some rights, such as tax exemptions based on marital status, remain unavailable because the state uses federal tax law to determine them, which does not recognise any form of same-sex union. *5 — Governor

Dan Malloy Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician, who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. On July ...

of Connecticut signs bill HB-6599, which bars discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit and other laws based on gender identity or expression. The law, which will take effect 1 October, makes Connecticut the 15th state (along with Washington, D.C.) to outlaw some form of gender identity discrimination. *6 — In ''

Log Cabin Republicans v. United States ''Log Cabin Republicans v. United States'', 658 F.3d 1162 ( 9th Cir. 2011) was a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of 10 U.S.C. § 654, commonly known as don't ask, don't tell (DADT), which, prior to its repeal, excluded homosexu ...

'', the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

lifts its stay of a lower court's order and orders an immediate halt to the enforcement of "don't ask, don't tell". The court cites progress implementing the 2010 repeal of the policy and the Obama administration's 1 July brief in a DOMA case that cites the history of government and private discrimination based on sexual orientation. *7 — The United States Department of Justice seeks to withdraw its appeal of a California same-sex couple's joint bankruptcy petition and announces that it will no longer raise objections to "bankruptcy petitions filed jointly by same-sex couples who are married under state law." *14 — California governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

signs the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act. The new law mandates that educational material in California schools includes information on the contributions of LGBT people to California and United States history, prohibits discriminatory material and lessons and adds "sexual orientation" to existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education. *15 — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals grants the government's emergency request to reinstate "don't ask, don't tell" but bars the government from investigating, penalizing or discharging anyone under the policy. * 20 — The

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

confirms that it, along with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, is investigating

Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 The Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 is a school district in Minnesota, northwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The district serves 13 communities: All of Anoka, Champlin and Coon Rapids, and parts of Andover, Blaine, Brooklyn Center, Broo ...

in Minnesota for "allegations of harassment and discrimination in the istrictbased on sex, including peer-on-peer harassment based on not conforming to gender stereotypes." Several students, including four who, according to friends and family, were homosexual or perceived as such and committed suicide within the last two years. The school district has a policy barring any discussion of homosexuality and requires staff to remain neutral on matters of sexual orientation. * 22 — The

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the state ...

rejects an appeal from a lesbian seeking shared custody of the children of her former partner. * 24 — The first legal same-sex marriages are performed in the state of New York. New York City records 659 marriages, a one-day record for the city. * 26 ** The

Constitutional Court of Colombia The Constitutional Court of Colombia ( es, Corte Constitucional de Colombia) is the supreme constitutional court of Colombia. Part of the Judiciary, it is the final appellate court for matters involving interpretation of the Constitution with ...

ruled that same-sex couples in ''de facto'' unions constitute a family. The Court further ruled that the

Congress of Colombia The Congress of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Congreso de la República de Colombia) is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature. The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Re ...

has two years to address marriage equality through the legislative process. If the deadline passes without legislation, same-sex couples would be able to formalise their unions through notary publics. ** The United Nations Economic and Social Council reports that the

International Gay and Lesbian Association The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) is an organization who is committed to advancing human rights to all people, disregarding gender identity, sex characteristics and expression. ILGA participates in a ...

has been granted consultative status. This gives ILGA the right to attend U.N. meetings, speak, and provide information to U.N. bodies on treatment of gays. ** The

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...

rejects a bill that would have outlawed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. ** The

releases a report on employee benefits in the United States which for the first time includes information on the availability of same-sex domestic partnership benefits. * July — The

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC; french: Église évangélique luthérienne au Canada) is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 95,000 baptized members in 519 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–C ...

allowed same-sex marriages in their churches.

August

* 1 — Members of the

Suquamish tribe The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Suquami ...

in the U.S. state of Washington vote unanimously to legalise same-sex marriage. The tribal court may issue a marriage license to two unmarried adults regardless of sex as long as at least one of them is a registered tribal member. * 4 — US President Barack Obama signs a proclamation ordering the State Department to bar from entry into the United States anyone who has engaged in oppression against various groups, including those defined by "sexual orientation or gender identity". * 5 — The

upholds a lower court ruling in ''Fields v. Smith'', striking down Wisconsin's "Inmate Sex Change Prevention Act". The law barred doctors in Wisconsin prisons from prescribing hormone treatment or sex reassignment surgery to transgender inmates. The court found that denial of treatment without a medically necessary reason constitutes

cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisd ...

September

* 2 — The

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

passes AB 9, known as "Seth's Law", after 13-year-old Seth Walsh, who died by suicide in 2010 after constant homophobic harassment at his school. The bill would require every school in California to implement anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and programmes that include actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The state assembly had passed the bill in June. * 6 — California governor

signs SB 117 into law. SB 117, also known as the Equal Benefits Act, bars the state from entering into contracts worth more than $100,000 with vendors that do not offer equal benefits to the spouses of same-sex employees. * 7 — The

issues a finalised guidance memorandum that creates an enforcement mechanism for the policy announced last year by the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

mandating hospitals that receive Medicare and

funding allow patients to designate their choice of visitors during inpatient stays, including same-sex partners. * 15 — The government of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

announces new passport guidelines that will allow

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

people to select "X" as their gender identifier. Only intersex people may select X, transgender people must still select either "male" or "female". * 17 —

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Supreme Court Judge Frank Pfiffner rules that denying same-sex couples the senior citizen and property tax exemptions given to mixed-sex married couples violates the state's constitutional guarantee of equal protection. * 20 —

Don't ask, don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...

, the law which since 1993 has excluded LGB people from serving openly in the United States military, expires nine months after it was legislatively repealed. The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

is the first branch of the military to announce officially that the exclusionary policy is over. * 28 — The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Straßburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

passed a resolution against 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 ...

October

* 3 — The U.K.'s

Identity and Passport Service His Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) is an agency of the Home Office in the United Kingdom. It provides passports for British nationals worldwide and was formed on 1 April 2006 as the Identity and Passport Service before being renamed HM Passpo ...

announces plans to change passport application forms to include options for same-sex parents to identify as "parent one" and "parent two" rather than as "mother" and "father". It would also allow transgender applicants to opt out of selecting a gender for passport purposes. * 5 — California Governor

signs Seth's Law, requiring school districts across the state have a uniform process for dealing with complaints about bullying and mandating that school personnel intervene, when safe to do so, to stop bullying. * 8 —

Andrew Mitchell Andrew John Bower Mitchell (born 23 March 1956) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. A member of the Conservative Party, Mitchell was previously the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 199 ...

, the British

Secretary of State for International Development The minister of state for development and Africa, formerly the minister of state for development and the secretary of state for international development, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The offi ...

, announced that African countries which persecute homosexuals will face cuts in financial aid from the British government. This followed a cut of £19 million in aid to

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

after two men were sentenced in 2010 to 14 years' hard labour for attempting to marry (the men were later released after intercession by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

). * 9 — California Governor Jerry Brown announces the signing of the Gender Nondiscrimination Act (AB 887) and the Vital Statistics Modernization Act (AB 443). AB 887 makes illegal discrimination based on gender identity or expression in employment, education, housing, and other public settings and AB 443 allows transgender people to obtain a court order to protect their gender. * 25 — The

ruled in favour of two women seeking a legal civil marriage. It found that "sexual orientation should not serve as a pretext for excluding families from the legal protection that marriage represents."

November

* 2 ** The U.K. Equalities Commission announced that same-sex couples may use houses of worship in England and Wales for civil partnership ceremonies, although no religious organisation can be forced to perform them. ** The United States

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

announces that it intends to issue a formal agreement, known as a "notice of acquiescence", with the 2010

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Trib ...

decision in '' O'Donnabhain v. Commissioner'', allowing people to deduct the costs for treating

gender identity disorder Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...

from their federal income taxes. * 15 — The

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Council votes to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in city employment. * 22 — An independent arbiter rules that

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

, must extend spousal benefits to the same-sex spouses of two police officers who legally married in other states.

December

* 1 —

n state

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

passes in parliament ''Civil Partnership Bill''. * 6 —

Elio Di Rupo Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politician who has served as the minister-president of Wallonia since 2019. He is affiliated with the Socialist Party (Belgium), Socialist Party. Di Rupo previously served as the prime minister of ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

becomes the first openly gay male leader of a European Union country.

Deaths

* 7 January — Carlos Castro, Portuguese journalist and LGBT rights activist, bludgeoned. * 15 January — Lance Lundsten, American student, suicide. following alleged school bullying. * 19 January — Kameron Jacobsen, American student, suicide following alleged bullying on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. * 26 January —

David Kato David Kato Kisule ( – 26 January 2011) was a Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement and described as "Uganda's first openly gay man". He served as advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities ...

, Ugandan, LGBT rights activist, bludgeoned. * 27 February —

James Gruber James "John" Finley Gruber (August 21, 1928 – February 27, 2011) was an American teacher and early LGBT rights activist. Biography James Gruber was born August 21, 1928 in Des Moines, Iowa. Growing up he considered himself bisexual and was invol ...

, American LGBT activist, last surviving member of the

Mattachine Society The Mattachine Society (), founded in 1950, was an early national gay rights organization in the United States, perhaps preceded only by Chicago's Society for Human Rights. Communist and labor activist Harry Hay formed the group with a collection ...

, following an illness. * 28 February —

Peter J. Gomes Peter John Gomes (May 22, 1942 – February 28, 2011) was an American preacher and theologian, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard Divinity School and Pusey Minister at Harvard's Memorial Church — in the words of Harvard' ...

, American theologian and same-sex marriage advocate, complications following a stroke. * 17 April —

Alfred Freedman Alfred Mordecai Freedman (January 7, 1917April 17, 2011) was an American psychiatrist. A long-time educator and advocate of social justice, Freedman is known for leading the effort to have the American Psychiatric Association de-classify homosexual ...

, American psychiatrist who led the campaign to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973, complications following surgery. * 23 April — Noxolo Nogwaza, South African LGBT activist, possible victim of

corrective rape Corrective rape, also called curative rape, as well as homophobic rape, is a hate crime in which one or more people are raped because of their perceived sexual orientation such as homosexuality or bisexuality. The common intended consequence ...

, murdered. * 7 May —

Doric Wilson Doric Wilson (February 24, 1939May 7, 2011) was an American playwright, director, producer, critic and gay rights activist. He was born Alan Doric Wilson in Los Angeles, California, where his family was temporarily located. Originally from the ...

, American playwright and LGBT activist. * 25 June —

Jean Harris Jean Struven Harris (April 27, 1923 – December 23, 2012) was the headmistress of The Madeira School for girls in McLean, Virginia, who made national news in the early 1980s when she was tried and convicted of the murder of her ex-lover, Herma ...

, American LGBT rights activist. * 22 July —

Ifti Nasim Ifti Nasim (1946 – July 22, 2011) was a gay Pakistani American poet. Having moved to the United States to escape persecution for his sexual orientation, he became known locally for establishing Sangat, an organization to support LGBT south-Asi ...

, Pakistani poet and LGBT rights activist, heart attack. * 3 August —

Rudolf Brazda Rudolf Brazda (26 June 1913 – 3 August 2011) was the last known concentration camp survivor deported by Nazi Germany on charges of homosexuality. Brazda spent nearly three years at the Buchenwald concentration camp, where his prisoner uniform ...

, German survivor of

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

and the last known homosexual internee. * 11 September —

Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on t ...

, author and LGBT rights activist, co-founder of

Gay Activists Alliance The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was founded in New York City on December 21, 1969, almost six months after the Stonewall riots, by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). In contrast to the Liberation Front, the Activists Alliance s ...

, heart attack. * 18 September — Jamey Rodemeyer, United States high school student, suicide following bullying. * 7 October — Paula Ettelbrick, United States lawyer and LGBT rights activist, cancer. * 11 October —

Frank Kameny Franklin Edward Kameny (May 21, 1925 – October 11, 2011) was an American gay rights activist. He has been referred to as "one of the most significant figures" in the American gay rights movement. In 1957, Kameny was dismissed from his po ...

, United States LGBT right activist, heart disease. * 14 October —

Jamie Hubley Allan Hubley (born 1958) is a municipal politician in Ottawa, Ontario, who has served as an Ottawa City Councillor for Kanata South Ward since 2010. Background Born and raised in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Hubley first moved to Kanata in 1978 ...

, Canadian student, suicide following depression and bullying. * 26 October **

Axel Axgil Axel may refer to: People * Axel (name), all persons with the name Places * Axel, Netherlands, a town ** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586 Arts, entertainment, media * ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove * ''Axel'', a Cirque d ...

, Danish LGBT rights activist, complications from a fall. ** Aristide Laurent, United States LGBT right activist and co-founder of ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'' magazine, cancer. * 29 October — Rose Robertson, British, LGBT rights activist, natural causes. * 7 November —

Peter Burton Peter Ray Burton (4 April 1921 – 21 November 1989) was an English film and television actor. Early life Peter Ray Burton, was born in Bromley, Kent, to Frederick Ray Burton and Gladys Maude (née Frazer). Career He is perhaps best known fo ...

, British journalist and LGBT rights advocate, heart attack. * 10 November —

Barbara Grier Barbara Grier (November 4, 1933 – November 10, 2011) was an American writer and publisher. She is credited for having built the lesbian book industry. After editing '' The Ladder'' magazine, published by the lesbian civil rights group Daugh ...

, American lesbian rights activist and co-founder of Naiaid Press, cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011 In Lgbt Rights LGBT rights by year

Events

January

February

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References