Jan 1, 1928—The First Lesbian Novel to Be Published in the United States and Britain,The Well of Loneliness, was banned for obscenity when published in 1928. It became an international bestseller, and for decades was the single most famous lesbian novel.
January 1, 1957—United Kingdom’s sexual offense act becomes law.
January 1, 1973—Naiad, one of the first publishing company’s dedicated to lesbian literature is founded by partners Barbara Grier and Donna McBride, with headquarters in Tallahassee, FL.
January 1, 1988—Canada decriminalizes sex practices between consulting adults.
January 1, 2013—A majority of Maryland voters approved The Civil Marriage Protection Act on November 6, 2012; it went into effect on January 1st.
January 5, 2015—Catherina Pareto & Karla Arguello and Todd and Jeff Delmay become the first gay couples to marry in Miami-Dade County hours before the midnight launch of same-sex weddings statewide.
January 6, 2015—Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Florida, as a result of a ruling in Brenner v. Scott from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The court ruled the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional on August 21, 2014.
January 12, 1939—Thompson vs Aldredge dismisses sodomy charges against lesbians. The Georgia Supreme Court found that the definition of “sodomy” as outlined in Georgia State law, cannot be applied to sex between women.
January 12, 2000—United Kingdom lifts bans on gays and lesbians in the military.
January 18, 1977—Miami’s Dade County Commission approved a law that would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public services. Commissioner Ruth Shack proposed the bill on December 7, 1976, at the request of a gay lobbying organization, named the Dade County Coalition for the Humanistic Rights of Gays, that was less than a year old. An American political coalition, “Save Our Children,” headed by Anita Bryant formed that year to overturn the county ordinance.
January 21, 1989—Transgender jazz musician Billy L. Tipton (born Dorothy Lucille Tipton) dies at age 74. He was suffering from a hemorrhaging peptic ulcer.
January 21, 1993—Melissa Etheridge comes out publicly as a lesbian at the Triangle Ball, a gay celebration of President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration.
Jan 21, 2021—President Joe Biden issues an executive order extending existing federal non-discrimination protections from LGBTQ people.
Jan 22, 1973 —Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion.
January 25, 1892—Alice Mitchell, 19, cut the throat of her lover, 17-year-old Freda Ward. Mitchell was found insane by means of a jury inquisition and placed in a psychiatric hospital until her death in 1898. The case drew discussion of lesbianism into public light due to press coverage.
January 1975—Elaine Noble (D) starts serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for two terms. She becomes the first openly lesbian or gay candidate elected to a state legislature.
January 1976—The Consenting Adult Sex Bill passed in California in 1975 and became effective the following year, repealing the sodomy law in CA making gay sex legal for the first time.
January 1986—LGBT South Asian newsletter “Trikone” begins publication.
January 2006—Elsa Patria Jimenez Flores is the first open lesbian elected to the Mexican senate.
Sources: Historic calendar project, Wikipedia, Library of Congress, gay & Lesbian Issues.
