1989 – Chicago’s new gay rights ordinance takes effect. It mandates fines up to $500 for discrimination based on sexual orientation. WOW $500 dollars.

2011 – Facebook expands relationship language to add civil unions and domestic partners. In the next 10 years Facebook will be accused repeatedly for having a double standard and treating the LGBT community to different standards including recently ejected an ad of a same-sex couple, but took no issue with a similar ad of a heterosexual couple.

2011 – The Obama administration announced that it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. DOMA was a federal law that defined marriage as between one man and one woman and denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages. The decision not to defend the law marked a significant shift in the federal government’s stance on marriage equality.

2012 – Iraq – “Emo Killings” begin in Iraq. The series of killings targets young men who appear outside the mainstream, especially gay and “emo” youth. Emo is a style of fashion including skinny jeans. On this day, Saif Raad Asmar Abboudi, 20, is beaten to death with a brick.

2016 – The city of Charlotte, North Carolina passed a non-discrimination ordinance that included protections for LGBT people. The ordinance was controversial, and opponents of LGBT rights launched a campaign to repeal it. In response, the North Carolina legislature passed HB2, a law that nullified the Charlotte ordinance and prohibited cities from passing similar laws. The law was widely criticized as discriminatory, and led to boycotts and protests.

2017 – The Trump administration revoked federal guidelines that had been issued by the Obama administration to protect transgender students in schools. The guidelines had instructed schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that corresponded with their gender identity. The Trump administration’s decision was widely condemned by LGBT rights advocates

2020 – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as employment, housing, and public accommodations. The bill has not yet been passed by the Senate. The original Equality Act was introduced 49 years ago by Bella Abzug on January 14th of 1974 — the first piece of federal legislation to address discrimination based on sexual orientation.  To this day it has till not passed both the House and the Senate.