First, a correction from last week's post. In my haste, Bill Tilden was born on February 10, 1893. I incorrectly stated that he was born on February 20th.
On February 21, 1903, the New York Police Department staged the first recorded law enforcement action targeting gay bathhouses when it raided the city's Ariston Baths. Dozens of men were arrested, with some actually sentenced to jail time.
On February 22, 1892, the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay was born.
On February 23, the New York Supreme Court, in People v. Uplinger et al. ruled in favor of a gay man who had brought a case against the loitering law. The loitering and solicitation statutes were overturned by this decision.
On February 24, 1977, the State of Wyoming repeals its sodomy laws.
On February 25, 1982, Wisconsin became the first US State to ban discrimination based upon sexual orientation
.
On February 26, 2004: Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli Carpenter were married in a ceremony in San Francisco. When newly elected Mayor Gavin Newsom took office, he issued an order to the city clerk that required city officials to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. O'Donnell and Carpenter, along with hundreds of other gay and lesbian couples immediately descended on San Francisco to get their marriage licenses. The marriages were all subsequently invalidate by the California Supreme Court.
On February 27, 1992, The UK Transgender Rights group Press for Change was formed in a London Coffee House.
Comments