LGBTQIA+ Protest and Reform Records at the National Archives
The LGBTQIA+ community has faced generations of discrimination, forcing many to spend their lives in quiet silence. But starting with Frank Kameny and his firing from federal employment because of the "Lavender Scare," the LGBTQIA+ community began to stand up for their equal protection rights.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) holds important records documenting acts of protest and reform within military records and the records of federal courts and federal agencies.
National Archives holdings include:
Frank Kameny
Petition for Writ of Certiorari - Number 676 - Kameny v. Brucker, January 27, 1961 (Record Group 267: Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1772 - 2007). NAID 26318494.
Stonewall National Historic Landmark Nomination
The nomination for National Historic Landmark status for the Stonewall Inn granted by the Secretary of the Interior in 2000.
The first page of the item "New York NHL Stonewall" from the file unit National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York in the series National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017 (Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006). NAID 75315976.
The Courts
Equal protection rights of the LGBTQIA+ community have often been determined within the courts of the United States.
One, Incorporated v. Otto K. Olesen
In 1953, the Los Angeles chapter of the Mattachine Society began to publish ONE: The Homosexual Magazine, considered the first magazine widely distributed for the LGBTQIA+ community. Postal authorities in Los Angeles, CA, seized the October issues of the magazine citing that it violated federal obscenity laws. On January 13, 1958, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower courts, which meant that pro-LGBTQIA+ writing was not per se obscene.
One, Incorporated v. Otto K. Olesen, et al. [Civil Case 18764]
James Michael McConnell v. Elmer R. Anderson
Michael McConnell and Jack Baker of Minnesota became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in the United States, on September 3, 1971. McConnell and Baker fought for the legality of same-sex marriage but lost in Minnesota state courts and with their appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court being denied. McConnell's activism was used as justification by the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to deny him a promotion. McConnell sued the university and won in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on September 9, 1970, but lost on October 18, 1971, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The case was never heard by the Supreme Court.
James Michael McConnell v. Elmer R. Anderson, et. al. Appellate Case File
James Michael McConnell v. Elmer R. Anderson, et. al. Briefs and Appendices
Gay Students Organization of the University of New Hampshire v. Thomas N. Bonner
The Gay Students Organization of the University of New Hampshire sued the university for its ban on the organization's dances. In its 1974 opinion, the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire ruled that social events were considered expressive conduct and association as protected by the First Amendment. The court said that the university could not prohibit or restrict social functions or the use of university facilities by the Gay Students Organization; nor could they treat the group differently than any other student organization.
Aaron Fricke v. Richard B. Lynch
Aaron Fricke sued Cumberland High School (Cumberland, Rhode Island) after he was denied the right to bring a same-sex friend to a school dance. On May 28, 1980, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island ruled that gay and lesbian students' rights to attend their dances with same-sex dates was protected by the First Amendment.
Aaron Fricke v. Richard B. Lynch [Civil Case 80-214]
Karen Frances Ulane v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., Frank Borman, Thomas R. Buttion, David P. Millett, and Robert Shipner
Karen Frances Ulane—then known as Kenneth Ulane—was hired as a pilot for Eastern Airlines in 1968. Ulane was fired in 1981 and filed a charge of sexual discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which issued a right to sue letter. Ulane stated she was discriminated against as a transgender woman in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of Ulane on both counts. The case was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where the trial court's decision was reversed.
Transcript of Proceedings, April 5, 1984
John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner v. Texas
In 1998, John Geddes Lawrence Jr. and Tyron Garner were arrested for engaging in homosexual sexual acts under Texas’ anti-sodomy laws. On June 26, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws which restricted intimate consensual sexual activity were an unconstitutional violation of the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause.
Docket 02-102 John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner, Petitioners v. Texas, July 19, 2002
U.S. v. Edith Windsor
This case challenged the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) statute, a federal law that defined marriage on a federal level as a legal union between one man and one woman. Edith Windsor had married her long-time partner Thea Spyer in Canada in 2007. Due to Section 3 in the DOMA, Spyer's death in 2009 meant that the estate tax marital deduction that is available to a surviving spouse of the opposite sex was denied to Windsor. Windsor sued in 2010. Section 3 of the law was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, a ruling confirmed on appeal by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, both in 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court, on June 26, 2013, confirmed that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional.
Obergefell v. Hodges
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, numerous states began to legalize same-sex marriage, while others reaffirmed restrictions on same-sex marriage. Multiple lawsuits were merged into Obergefell v. Hodges, which challenged the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans. The lawsuits won in all the District Courts and in multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals except the Sixth Circuit Court. This prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was protected by the 14th Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.
Sound Recordings of Oral Arguments - Gold Series: ARGUMENT: Obergefell v. Hodges [14-556] Question 2
Sound Recordings of Oral Arguments - Gold Series: OPINIONS: Obergefell v. Hodges [14-556]
Letter from Jim Obergefell on Marriage Equality
Bostock v. Clayton County / Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda / R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Gerald Bostock, an employee for Clayton County, GA, was fired after he joined a gay softball league and begin to promote the league to find volunteers for it. At the time, Georgia had no law protecting LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination in the workplace. Donald Zarda was a skydiving instructor for Altitude Express who tried to calm the fears of a female skydiver of being attached to him on her first skydive by letting her know he was gay. The female customer and her boyfriend complained to the company, which fired Zarda. Aimee Stephens worked for R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes and informed the company that she would be undergoing gender reassignment surgery and would begin coming to work afterwards dressed in proper female work attire. Stephens was fired shortly thereafter.
Originally separate cases working their way through the District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeals, these would be combined into a single case before the Supreme Court. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected gay and transgender people from discrimination.
Executive Actions
Executive Order 13087
On May 28, 1998, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13087, which prohibited sexual orientation discrimination in the federal civilian workforce's competitive service. The order was an amendment to Executive Order 11478, which had prohibited discrimination based on age, color, handicap, national origin, race, religion, and sex. Executive Order 13087 added sexual orientation to the list of protected classes from discrimination in federal employment.
Executive Order 13672
On July 21, 2014, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13672, which prohibited discrimination in hiring by federal contractors on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, and in the civilian federal workforce on the basis of gender identity. Executive Order 13672 also amended Executive Order 11478 by adding gender identity to the list of protected classes. It also amended Executive Order 11246, which prohibited discrimination by federal government contractors and subcontractors on the basis of color, national origin, race, religion, and sex. Executive Order 13672 added gender identity and sexual orientation to the list of protected classes.
Legislation
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
In 1998, the lynching of James Byrd Jr. and the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard for being gay led to activism by the victims' families and other groups to expand and strengthen federal hate crimes legislation. Their efforts culminated with the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act being passed by Congress on October 22, 2009. The act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009.
President Barack Obama Commemorates Enactment of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act at the White House
President Barack Obama greets Louvon Harris, left, Betty Byrd Boatner, right, both sisters of James Byrd, Jr., and Judy Shepard, center, mother of Matthew Shepard, following his remarks at a reception commemorating the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in the East Room of the White House, October 28, 2009.
From Presidential Photographs, 1/20/2009 - 1/20/2017 (Collection BHO-WHPO: Records of the White House Photo Office (Obama Administration), 1/20/2009 - 1/20/2017). NAID 176552406.