This Day in Queer History

On this day, Michelangelo Buonaroti was born. The genius who painted the Sistine Chapel and sculpted David wrote exquisite love sonnets to Tommasso Cavalieri, the great love of his life.

On this day in 1972, the American Bar Association passed a resolution recommending decriminalization of consensual same-sex acts. The legal profession's own advocacy body declared that criminalizing queer intimacy was unjust.

On this day in 1981, the Toronto Gay Community Council held its founding meetings, becoming Canada's first city-wide coordinating body for gay and lesbian organizations.

On this day in 1987, Vermont became the first state to distribute condoms to prisoners on request, a quiet but groundbreaking step in the fight against HIV/AIDS behind bars.