It seems that now more than ever we must stand up for our rights. Equality isn't just something that would be virtuous; it is something that is our inalienable right, we shouldn't have to fight for it. But as some people move forward, others do not. People are banding together to show the world that we are human beings just as they are. We want the same rights, and these are the rights given to us under the Constitution of the United States of America. How many of us have to die and be made to suffer because of ignorance?

New York City: The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (Act Up) is formed as a direct action group by Larry Kramer and some 300 other activists.

October 11, 1987
Washington, DC: The largest lesbian and gay rights rally to date convenes. According to organizers, more than half a million people participate in the second March on Washington.
The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is shown publicly for the first time as part of the March on Washington. Stretched out over two city blocks, the Quilt integrates 1,920 panels, commemorating more than 2,000 persons who have died of AIDS.

October 11, 1988
Urging thousands of lesbians and gay men across the country to be open about their sexuality with friends, families, and coworkers, Robert H. Eichberg, a psychologist and activist, and Jean O'Leary, executive director of National Gay Rights Advocates, launch the first National Coming Out Day.

June 25, 1989
The US Postal Service becomes the first federal agency to extend official recognition of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement by "Lesbian and Gay Pride" stamp in suing al1 commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
Levi Strauss & Co. makes domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees eligible for health insurance coverage. With 23,000 employees, Levi Strauss is the largest company in the US to do so to date.

The World Health Organization officially deletes "homosexuality" from its list of "diseases.

May 7, 1993
The Hawaii Supreme Court rules that the state must prove a "compelling interest" for denying same-sex Partners a marriage license.

September 21, 1993
Amanda Bearse talks about being a lesbian in an Advocate interview. She is the first prime time television star to come out.

June 27, 1994
Deborah Batts becomes the first openly lesbian or gay US federal judge.

December 6, 1994
Delegates of the American Medical Association declare their opposition to medical treatments administered to "cure" lesbians or gay men, urging "nonjudgmental recognition of sexual orientation."
The first US. Government-sponsored advertising targeting gay men debuts on the eve of World AIDS Day when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases a public service television announcement cautioning men to have "smart sex."

September 20, 1996
President BID Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars same-sex partners from receiving federal spousal benefits marriage.

Fort Collins, US: Matthew Shepard (left) died after being brutally tortured in a hate crime. He was twenty-one. The Wyoming murder brought national attention to anti-gay violence.

Television show Queer As Folk debuts on Showtime.

2003
The United States Supreme Court strikes down the Texas law criminalizing gay sex in a 6-3 vote of Lawrence v. Texas. The Court announced that the anti-sodomy law "demeans the lives of homosexual persons [who] are entitled to respect for their private lives. It is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter."

Friday, December 24, 2004.
Former President Jimmy Carter confirmed this week that he supports state-sanctioned civil unions for gay couples, in response to a letter from two veteran Atlanta gay rights activists and questions from Southern Voice.
"President Carter opposes all forms of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and
believes there should be equal protection under the law for people who differ in sexual orientation,"

Moral Majority Leader "Jerry Falwell" adds another childrens cartoon chacacter to his list of evil influences on the American Family. "Sponge Bob" now joins the "Hall of Shame" with Barney , Bert and Ernie, and the TeleTubbies Tinky Winky.

James C Dobson, Focus on the Family, was on Hannity & Colmes to set the record straight on reports that he claimed that Sponge Bob Square Pants promotes homosexuality. Turns out that Dobson has problems with a video produced by the the We Are Family Foundation which brings together characters like Sponge Bob, Big Bird and Barney with the Sister Sledge song We Are Family.

It is true, we are all family and we should be able to be proud about it, however there are still people that just don't want to understand, or maybe they just can't. If that is the case, I say keep your mouth shut and let people do what they want as long as they are not hurting anyone else. We are a viable part of the American structure and we are only asking for the same freedoms as anyone else has. We have come along way but still have so far to go.

When I first decided to run this feature, I thought I could do it in two issues. Well, I was so overwhelmed at the vast amount of recorded history that we as a gay people have that it became a very difficult task to edit this down. This is the longest running feature story BOI Magazine has ever run, and I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading about the rich history of the GLBT community as much as I did researching and writing it.
Tim McCanless