1997 in LGBT rights

Events

* Sodomy is decriminalized in People's Republic of China.
* Fiji's becomes the second country in the world whose constitution explicitly protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation, although the Fijian Government does not invalidate or repeal its sodomy laws.
* Maine bans sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector. The ban is later repealed in a referendum. [http://home.att.net/~bill.todd/documents/d02665r.pdf (Adobe Acrobat format)]
* New Hampshire bans sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector. [ [http://www.counseling.org/PublicPolicy/PositionPapers.aspx?AGuid=5cc5633a-a87c-4782-b6b7-40845047dd10 Current Issues ] ]

April

*Ellen DeGeneres' character, Ellen Morgan, comes out on TV, seen by 42 million viewers.

October

*In the United Kingdom, Home Office minister Mike O'Brien announced that same-sex partners were eligible for British residency, based on a 4 year relationship akin to marriage.
*October 3:
**An Ontario court rules that the province's Insurance Act must include same-sex partners in its definition of spouse.

November

*November 25:
**Homosexuality is decriminalized in Ecuador following a landmark decision handed down by the Constitutional Tribunal.

December

*Annise Parker is elected as an at-large member of the Houston City Council alongside mayoral candidate Lee P. Brown.
*December 2:
**David Cantania, a Republican, becomes the first openly LGBT individual to be elected to the city council of Washington, D.C.
*December 10:
**The Constitution Review Committee in Florida votes 6-2 to reject adding sexual orientation as a criterion for protection in the state constitution.
*December 16:
**In New Zealand, the court of appeals rules unanimously not to grant same-sex couples the right to marry.
*December 17:
**In New Jersey, same-sex couples are given the right to jointly adopt children.

Births

Deaths

External links

* [http://www.advocate.com Web site for Advocate news magazine]
* [http://www.365gay.com 365gay.com]
* [http://news.google.com/news?as_q=&svnum=10&as_scoring=r&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=gay+lesbian+bisexual+transgender+homosexual&as_eq=&as_nsrc=&as_nloc=&as_occt=any&as_drrb=q&as_qdr=&as_minm=1&as_mind=20&as_maxm=2&as_maxd=19 Google search for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender news]
* [http://www.stonewall.org.uk/stonewall/information_bank/immigration/index.html Stonewall's article on immigration rights]

References