2006 in gay rights

gay rights

Other topics

LGBT activism homophobia same-sex marriage

Events

January

• January 1
  • Serbia equalized age of consent law to 14 for all.
  • Anti-discrimination laws:
    • California: New laws go into affect that protect transgender individuals from discrimination.
    • Illinois: New state law prohibitting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation goes into effect.
  • Washington: New mayor of Spokane sworn in to succeed James E. West, who was recalled after an Internet gay porn scandal.
• January 24
  • Ireland: Report of Oireachtas committee recommending Civil Unions is launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
• January 26
  • Czech Republic: Bill on Civil Unions is approved by the Senate 65-14
• January 27
  • Washington: State legislators pass a bill banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It passes with a 25-23 vote in the state Senate and by a 61-37 vote in the state House of Representatives. Washington governor Christine Gregoire says she will sign the bill into law on January 31.

March

• March 4 - The 28th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held in Australia.
• March 15 - The Czech Republic’s Chamber of Deputies overrides President Vaclav Klaus’ veto of the registered partnerships bill.

April

• April 2
  • Canada: Lionel Ketola becomes the first noncelibate gay person named vicar (intern) of an Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada congregation.
• April 17
  • Washington, D.C.: More than 100 gay and lesbian families and their children, wearing rainbow-colored leis, attend the annual Egg Roll on the grounds of the White House, the first time a group of such families has conspicuously attended the event. [1]

May

• May 27
  • Moscow: An attempt to stage the first-ever gay pride march in Moscow ended with violence and mass arrests, after activists took to the streets despite the ban by mayor Yuri Luzhkov.

June

• June 5
  • United States: President George W. Bush renews his call for passage of the Federal Marriage Amendment.
• June 7
  • United States: The Federal Marriage Amendment failed to pass the Senate. Of the 60 votes required to invoke the cloture motion, 49 senators voted for putting the amendment to vote and 48 voted against.
  • The Washington State LGBT non-discrimination law enters into effect after a ballot initiaitve to reverse it fails to collect enough signatures
• June 10
  • United States: By revealing his identity on the Outsports.com discussion board, Kyle Hawkins becomes the first openly gay male coach of a men's team at the college level (lacrosse at University of Missouri–Columbia).
• June 13-June 21
  • Despite continuing controversy over the Windsor Report and threats of schism in the Anglican Communion, the triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, meeting in Columbus, Ohio, adopts a resolution that "affirms support of gay and lesbian persons and opposes any state or federal constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex civil marriages or civil unions."
• June 22
  • The first regional Eastern European Pride is held in Zagreb, Croatia, with participants coming from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania.
• June 29
  • United States: Arkansas Supreme Court confirms a lower state court judgment, ruling that it is unconstitutional to restrict foster care to heterosexuals.

July

• July 1
  • Czech Republic: Registered partnerships law comes into effect, the first nation of the former Communist block to sanction same-sex unions.
• July 6
  • Canada: The Biennial Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada's Eastern Synod votes to permit a "local option" for the blessing of same-sex unions, triggering a dispute between the synod and the national church over where authority for such a decision lies.
• July 23
  • Slovenia: Registered partnerships law comes into effect.
• July 26-August 6: the 1st World Outgames takes place in Montreal, including the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights from July 26 to 29.
• July 29: the Declaration of Montreal on LGBT Human Rights is issued by the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights and presented at the opening ceremony of the Outgames.

September

• September 10
  • The New Democratic Party becomes the world's first political party to adopt the Declaration of Montreal.
• September 17
  • Germany: Berlin's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, who is openly gay, wins re-election.
• September 19
  • The National Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada rules that the Eastern Synod lacks the authority to permit a local option of blessing same-gender unions. However, it also promises to bring a motion authorising the local option to the denomination's National Convention in 2007.
• September 29
  • The Anglican Journal reports that the Most Rev. Terence Finlay, retired Archbishop of Toronto and Metropolitan of Ontario, has solemnised the marriage of a lesbian couple, and that Finlay's successor, the Rt. Rev. Colin Johnson, has suspended his licence to conduct weddings.

October

• October 16
  • Hong Kong: The Government accepts the decision of the Appeal Court to equalise the age of consent to 16 (as opposed to 21 for gay men)
• October 25
  • United States: New Jersey's State Supreme Court rules in a 4-3 decision that the state constitution guarantees same-sex couples all the legal benefits of a marriage, but does not explicitly legalize gay marriage in the state.
• October 26 - October 29
  • Bulgaria The 10th annual ILGA-Europe Conference held in Sofia on the eve of Bulgaria's accession to the European Union in 2007

November

• November 6-November 8
  • The Eastern Synod Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada reaffirms (contradicting a National Church Council decision) the Synod's authority to authorise a local option for same-sex blessings, but agrees that it is "prudent" not to implement the authorisation.
• November 7
  • Same-sex marriage in the United States
    • A total of eight states voted on amendments to ban same-sex marriage: Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin approved them, while Arizona defeated the amendment.
• November 8 The UK Government publishes regulations outlawing discrimination in Goods and Services covering Northern Ireland which are due to enter into force on the 1st January , which prove controverial with some religious groups

December

• 1 December
  • Same-sex marriage law comes into force for South Africa. See Same-sex marriage in South Africa.
  • An equalised age of consent law comes into force in Isle of Man, thus reducing the age of consent from 18 to 16 for male-male sex.
• December 7
  • The Canadian House of Commons defeats a motion put forward by the Conservative minority government to revisit the issue of same-sex marriage in Canada. After the motion fails, Prime Minister Stephen Harper tells reporters, "I don't see reopening this question in the future."
  • The Scottish Parliament legislates for same-sex couples to be able to adopt by a majority of 98-11.
• December 11
  • Three LGBT organisations are granted UN ECOSOC consultative status after a hard fought campaign from many NGO's - ILGA-Europe, LBL and LSVD.

• December 14
  • The New Jersey Legislature enacts a bill to establish civil unions in that state. The measure passed 56-19 in the Assembly, and 23-12 in the Senate. It will come into effect 60 days after the governor signs it.
  • The Labour Party of Ireland introduces a civil unions bill in the Dáil, to be debated in early 2007.
• December 21
  • Governor John Corzine signs the New Jersey civil unions bill; the first civil union licenses will be available on February 20, 2007, and after the required three-day waiting period, the first civil unions may take place on February 23.

References

This article is based on a GNU FDL LGBT Wikia article: in gay rights 2006 in gay rights

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