Although there were far more milestones for the LGBT community this year than only those listed below, here are just a few memorable moments from 2016 – one for almost every month – that will live on in our minds as we transition into the new year.
January
Santa Clara County in California becomes the first county in the U.S. to establish an office of LGBTQ affairs.
Supervisor Ken Yeager, the first openly gay official elected in the county, declared in a statement, “I am proud to say that Santa Clara County is now the first county in the nation with an office exclusively dedicated to serving the LGBTQ community.”
While Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. both have offices that serve similar purposes, this is the first to exist at a county level.
February
Following a wave of 2015 trans-friendly bathroom laws, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina passes a law allowing transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.
Unfortunately, North Carolina legislature responded to this by passing HB2, a law which forces people to use the bathroom that matches the sex listed on their birth certificate. Although HB2 has yet to be repealed, this controversy has sparked national conversation, and we hope that justice for transgender people everywhere will soon be served.
March
A federal judge rules that Mississippi’s ban on adoption by same-sex couples is unconstitutional, thus making it legal nationwide for married same-sex couples to adopt.
The ruling was issued by U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan, who cited the constitutionality of same-sex marriage as support of his decision. Jordan wrote that last year’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage “foreclosed litigation over laws interfering with the right to marry and the rights and responsibilities intertwined with marriage.”
April
The United States Department of Education issues clarification that transgender students are protected under Title IX, a portion of the United States Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.
The guidance released by the department’s Office for Civil Rights states, “Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity and OCR accepts such complaints for investigation.”
May
Eric Fanning is confirmed as secretary of the Army, making him the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military service.
June
The Stonewall Inn, the site of the famous 1969 protests for LGBT equality, is named a national monument. Many believe that the protests here were the birth of the modern LGBT movement.
In his proclamation of the monument’s establishment, President Obama wrote, “The Stonewall Uprising is considered by many to be the catalyst that launched the modern LGBT civil rights movement. From this place and time, building on the work of many before, the Nation started the march — not yet finished — toward securing equality and respect for LGBT people.”
This comes less than two weeks after the Pulse nightclub shooting, which was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Forty-nine innocent lives were lost in this senseless attack driven by homophobia, and 53 others were wounded.
August
A record number of out athletes compete at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio.
While the exact number is debated — Advocate says there were 48 and Outsports says 56 — there were certainly more openly LGBT athletes competing this year than ever before.
November
Kate Brown, who is bisexual, becomes governor of Oregon, making her the first openly LGBT governor in U.S. history.
December
We end this year on a sad note following the tragic death of singer George Michael.
Michael was a prominent figure in the gay rights movement and a passionate supporter of the Terrence Higgins Trust, an HIV charity. The world honors his memory by celebrating his activism and his pride in being unapologetically himself.
As 2016 comes to a close, we celebrate the good, commemorate the tragic and hope that 2017 brings only peace and justice for LGBT people everywhere.
