2012 in LGBT rights

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2012.

Events

January

• 1 – In the United States, civil union laws in Delaware and Hawaii take effect.^[1]
• 6 – After a judge's ruling, the Brazilian state of Alagoas becomes the first to recognise same-sex marriages.^[2]
• 12 – Civil union laws on the British Isle of Jersey take effect.^[3]
• 20

• Following a ten day trial in the United Kingdom, three Muslim men are convicted at Derby Crown Court of inciting hatred on the grounds of sexuality after distributing leaflets calling for gay men to be killed. Two other defendants are acquitted.^[4] This was the first such prosecution under hate crime legislation.^[5]
• In the United States, Texas A&M adds sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the university's non-discrimination policy.^[6]

February

• 7 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that California's Proposition 8, which restricts marriage to mixed-sex couples, is unconstitutional.^[7]
• 20 — Three women in rural Camaroon go on trial for "practising homosexuality". It is believed to be the first time women have been tried on such charges.^[8] Three days later ten women are arrested on accusations of being lesbians, an illegal activity.^[9]
• 21 — In the United States, the Baltimore County, Maryland, County Council passes a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity.^[10]
• 22 — United States District Judge Jeffrey White rules that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.^[11]
• 29 — The Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly in Russia passes a bill making "public actions directed at the propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism among minors" punishable by fines of up to US$17,000.^[12]

March

• 1 — Malaysian High Court Judge Rohana Yusuf rules that police have the power to ban a gay arts festival.^[13]
• 25 — Slovenian voters reject the new family code granting registered same-sex partners all the rights of married couples, except with regards to joint adoptions, that was passed by the then-coalition government.^[14]

April

• 12 — In the United Kingdom, Transport for London bans an advertising campaign due to run on buses by a Christian group suggesting that gay people can be cured by therapy.^[15]

May

• 8 — In the United States, North Carolina bans same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships.^[16]
• 9 — In a sit-down interview with ABC America, Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to announce his support for same-sex marriage.^[17]
• 28 — In Moldova, a bill which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, is signed into law by the country's president.^[18]
• 31 — In the United States, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Boston, strikes down the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional.^[19]

Deaths

• March 1 — Andrew Breitbart, United States, former advisory board member of the United States Republican party's GOProud, undetermined cause.^[20]
• March 11 — Agnes Torres Hernandez, Mexican, LGBT rights activist, murdered.^[21]
• March 27 — Adrienne Rich, United States, credited to have brought "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse,"^[22] rheumatoid arthritis.^[23]
• April 19 — Bettie Naylor, United States, LGBT rights activist and founding member of the Human Rights Campaign. She died in her sleep.^[24]

See also

LGBT portal

• 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

References

External links

• Media related to LGBT history in 2012 at Wikimedia Commons