This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1956, Roy Simmons was born. He became the second former NFL player to come out as gay and the first to disclose his HIV-positive status, bringing visibility to queer athletes in professional football.

On this day, San Francisco drag queen Jose Sarria became the first openly gay candidate to run for political office, winning nearly 6,000 votes for the Board of Supervisors and proving queer people could be a political force.

On this day in 1978, writer Janet Flanner died after fifty years as The New Yorker's Paris correspondent, a life shaped by her enduring love for partner Solita Solano.

On this day, California voters defeated the Briggs Initiative, which would have barred lesbians and gay men from teaching in public schools. The victory was a defining triumph for queer civil rights.

On this day, Seattle voters soundly rejected Initiative 13, voting to keep the city's gay rights ordinance intact and refusing to follow Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade sweeping the country.

On this day in 1996, the LGBTQ group People Like Us applied for registration as a society, asserting queer community's right to organize and exist in public life.

On this day in 1998, British MP Nick Brown came out as gay after learning a former lover planned to sell his story. Rather than be outed on someone else's terms, the Labour politician took control of his own narrative.

On this day, Oregon voters rejected Measure 9, which would have banned any affirming discussion of LGBTQ people in schools. The people chose education over erasure.

On this day in 2006, Arizona became the first state to reject a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage. Voters said no to discrimination at the polls.

On this day in 2014, a court unanimously ruled that a local law against cross-dressing violated the state constitution. The right to dress as yourself, affirmed by law.

On this day, Andrea Jenkins became the first Black openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States. The writer, poet, and activist won a seat on the Minneapolis City Council and later became its vice president.

On this day in 2017, Danica Roem became the first openly transgender person elected to a U.S. state legislature, unseating a 26-year Virginia incumbent who had championed anti-trans legislation.

On this day in 2017, Lisa Middleton became the first openly transgender person elected to a city council in California, winning decisively in Palm Springs.