1978 in LGBTQ rights

none July 2010 1978 LGBT rights This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1978. Events thumb|Original version of the gay pride flag, first flown in the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco The city of Berkeley, California, prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation in the private sector.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/national/1978/10/12/gay-rights-ordinance-passed/9ec15d7d-ccc1-4d86-a43c-d757f7fb1845/ Gay Rights Ordinance Passed October 11, 1978 The Washington Post August 14, 2025 San Francisco adds Article 33 to the San Francisco Police Code, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation in the private sector.William N. Eskridge Gaylaw: Challenging the Apartheid of the Closet https://books.google.com/books?id=BZTnDgeygHkC&pg=PA130 30 June 2009 Harvard University Press 978-0-674-03658-1 130 April 19 — 1,500 gays and supporters rally on the steps of the state capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, in support of the gay rights provision in the city's human rights ordinance. 25 — St. Paul, Minnesota, voters repeal a provision in the city's human rights ordinance that protects gays and lesbians from discrimination. The ordinance is repealed by a 2-to-1 margin; 54,096 in favor of repeal, 31,694 against.Rutledge, p. 122https://archive.mpr.org/stories/1978/04/25/gay-rights-defeated-in-st-paul Gay rights defeated in St. Paul Kessler Pat April 25, 1978 https://web.archive.org/web/20250726212010/https://archive.mpr.org/stories/1978/04/25/gay-rights-defeated-in-st-paul July 26, 2025 May 9 — Voters in the U.S. city of Wichita, Kansas, repeal a gay rights ordinance by a nearly 5-to-1 margin; 47,276 for repeal, 10,500 against.Rutledge, p. 122—3 23 — Voters in the U.S. city of Eugene, Oregon, repeal an ordinance banning discrimination against gays and lesbians by a 2-to-1 margin. Anita's Group Aims to Help Homosexuals The Ocala (FL) Star-Banner 2B Associated Press 1978-06-05 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OdUTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xwUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5317,1299969&dq=eugene-oregon+gay-rights 2009-09-01 June thumb|upright|Harvey Milk (1930–1978) 24 — In Sydney, a gay and lesbian protest march is held on International Gay Solidarity Day to commemorate the Stonewall riots in the United States. Although the organizers of the march obtain permission, it is revoked on short notice and police break up the march. Fifty-three marchers are arrested, although charges are eventually dropped.Sunshine and rainbows : the development of gay and lesbian culture in Queensland Moore Clive University of Queensland Press 2001 0702232084 St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia 18–19 25 — The rainbow flag is first used as a symbol of gay pride. The original 8-striped version, designed by Gilbert Baker, first flies in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.https://www.britannica.com/story/how-did-the-rainbow-flag-become-a-symbol-of-lgbt-pride#:~:text=The%20first%20versions%20of%20the,flag%20for%20consumption%20by%20all. How Did the Rainbow Flag Become a Symbol of LGBTQ Pride? Gonzalez Nora Britannica March 4, 2021 July 1 — A gay protest rally is held in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, in response to a visit by Anita Bryant.https://moosejawpride.ca/hundreds-protest-gay-rights/ Hundreds Protest for Gay Rights in Moose Jaw (1978) August 25, 2015 Moose Jaw Pride March 4, 2021 October 3, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181003112930/https://moosejawpride.ca/hundreds-protest-gay-rights/ dead 5 — The Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission) rules that a Montreal Catholic school board's refusal to rent facilities to a gay group is discriminatory. This represents the first application of Quebec's anti-sexual-orientation-discrimination law since it was passed in 1977. 27 — U.S. state of New Jersey repeals its anti-sodomy laws.https://www.glapn.org/sodomylaws/sensibilities/new_jersey.htm Painter George New Jersey The Sensibilities of Our Forefathers: The History of Sodomy Laws in the United States March 4, 2021 September 10 — A protest is held in London, Ontario, Canada, in response to a visit by Anita Bryant. November 7 California Proposition 6, the Briggs Initiative, which would have forbidden gays to teach in schools, is defeated in California by a two-to-one margin.Shilts, p. 250 U.S. president Jimmy Carter announced his opposition to this measure at a rally in the state, the first such mention by a U.S. president. Reagan Ronald Editorial: Two Ill-advised California Trends A19 Los Angeles Herald-Examiner November 1, 1978 https://concurringopinions.com/archives/2010/10/ronald-reagan-and-gay-rights.html Magliocca Gerard October 18, 2010 Ronald Reagan and Gay Rights: A reproduction of the op-ed "Editorial: Two Ill-advised California Trends" by Ronald Reagan in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner from Library of Congress Concurring Opinions August 14, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170814221057/https://concurringopinions.com/archives/2010/10/ronald-reagan-and-gay-rights.html August 14, 2017 The attempted repeal of a gay rights ordinance in Seattle, Washington, is also defeated by a two-to-one margin.Rutledge, p. 129 27 — Moscone–Milk assassinations occur in San Francisco. Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated at San Francisco City Hall by former city supervisor Dan White. That night a candlelight march 30,000 people marched from Castro Street to City Hall in memory of the slain men.https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/san-francisco-leaders-george-moscone-and-harvey-milk-are-murdered San Francisco leaders George Moscone and Harvey Milk are murdered History.com March 4, 2021 Deaths November 27 — San Francisco mayor George Moscone and member of the Board of Supervisors Harvey Milk. Milk, a gay activist, was the first openly gay man to hold an office at this high of a level in a major U.S. city. See also LGBTQ Timeline of LGBT history — timeline of events from 12,000 BCE to present LGBT rights by country or territory — current legal status around the world LGBT social movements Notes References Rutledge, Leigh (1992). The Gay Decades. New York, Penguin. 0-452-26810-9. Shilts, Randy (1982). The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. St. Martin's Press. 0-312-52330-0. Category:1970s in LGBTQ rights Category:1978 in LGBTQ history