1998 in LGBT rights

Events

* Chile decriminalises homosexuality for people over 18, however the heterosexual age of consent is 14.

February

*February 10 - Voters in Maine reject a law enacted in 1997 banning sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector with 51.5 per cent against. [ [http://www.jeanhaybright.us/19980103_sexvote.html Jean Hay Bright | Vote on Sexual Fantasies ] ]

August

*August 1 - The fifth Gay Games, "Friendship '98", kicks off in Amsterdam with 14,700 participants.

October

*October 5:
**The United States House of Representatives votes against an amendment introduced by Rep. Frank Riggs, a Republican from California, prohibiting San Francisco from using federal housing money to implement its domestic partner ordinance.
*October 6:
**Matthew Shepard is beaten and pistol-whipped and tied to a fence and left to die in a gay bashing incident near Laramie, Wyoming. He would shortly die of his injuries.
*October 9:
**South Africa's sodomy law is repealed by the Constitutional Court in a landmark decision.
**The Netherlands sanctions adoptions by same-sex couples.
*October 12:
**Matthew Shepard dies of injuries inflicted on him.
*October 28:
**Glen Murray is elected as mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is the first openly gay man to be elected as mayor of a major North American city.

November

*November 20:
**John Lawrence and Tyrone Garner are fined $125 each after being arrested for having sex in their home. They refused to pay the fine, and their challenge of the Texas sodomy law would eventually lead to the nationwide repeal of sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003.
*November 23:
**The Supreme Court of Georgia rules 6 to 1 to invalidate that state's sodomy law.

December

*December 1:
** Officials in Miami, Florida vote 7-6 to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and housing.
*December 18:
**The Maryland Supreme Court rules that a parent's access to his or her children cannot be restricted due to his or her sexual orientation.
*December 22 - New Zealand - Tuariki Delamere, Minister of Immigration, announces equality for gay and lesbian couples applying for permanent residency, to take effect on March 29, 1999. See 1999 in gay rights.

Births

Deaths

*October 12 - Matthew Shepard, 21, American gay-bashing victim

External links

* [http://www.advocate.com Web site for Advocate news magazine]
* [http://www.365gay.com 365gay.com]
* [http://news.google.com/news?as_q=&svnum=10&as_scoring=r&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=gay+lesbian+bisexual+transgender+homosexual&as_eq=&as_nsrc=&as_nloc=&as_occt=any&as_drrb=q&as_qdr=&as_minm=1&as_mind=20&as_maxm=2&as_maxd=19 Google search for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender news]

References