January 1 - National
National Gay Task Force is formed
June 1 - California
First San Diego LGBT Community Center opened on 2250 “B” Street
April 6 - Ohio
Cincinnati Gay Community - Washington Park through Fountain Square.
April 7- Ohio
Cincinnati Gay Community - Washington Park through Fountain Square.
April 8- Ohio
Cincinnati Gay Community - ParadeJune 24, 1973
September 1 - Colorado
The Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire forms, giving gays and lesbians a fun way to raise money for charitable organizations.
January 1 – Colorado
Angered by the 214 “lewd offer” arrests of gay men, the Gay Coalition of Denver manages to pack city hall with protesters. 36 brave souls stood before the crowd and gave impassioned speeches concerning their rights to freedom and happiness as gay citizens of Colorado.
January 1 – Michigan
Gay Radio Collective begins "Gayly Speaking," weekly program on WDET-FM in Detroit.
January 1 – Wisconsin
Lou Sullivan a writer and activist for trans men publishes “"A Transvestite Answers a Feminist" in the Gay People's Union News
January 1 - California
United Church of Christ Rev. William Johnson of San Francisco becomes the first open homosexual fully ordained into a “major American Christian body.”
Upstairs Lounge
State equality and discrimination bills
April 1 - California
Lesbian Beth Elliott was ejected from the West Coast Women's Conference because she was a transgender woman, following Robin Morgan's keynote address which denounced Elliott as a man and an infiltrator.
February 18 - National
Lance Loud became a gay icon when his movie The American Family premiered. It was a documentary of his family life and his sexuality was on display for the country to see.
October 22 - Georgia
“Sandy and Madeleine’s Family” becomes the first U.S. documentary about a lesbian-headed family.
Lance Loud
January 1 - Oregon
Under the leadership of the Second Foundation, groups from around Oregon meet for the first Oregon Gay Political Caucus. They include the Klamath Gay Union, Southern Oregon College Gay Students Union, Eugene Gay People’s Alliance, Salem Area Gay Activists, Portland Gay Women’s Liberation, Portland Gay Men’s Liberation, Portland Lesbian Mothers, and the Second Foundation of Oregon. They make plans for the first statewide Oregon gay civil rights bill which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation throughout Oregon. (CPP)
June 1 - Michigan
Republican-controlled Ann Arbor City Council revokes a Pride Week endorsement.
September 1 - Oregon
The U.S. District Court rules that the firing of Oregon public school teacher Peggy Burton based on her lesbianism was "wrongful". It awards her $10,000 in damages, plus a modest amount of attorney fees. However, the court refuses to reinstate her to her old position, on the grounds that reinstatement "would not work" in the small town where she had taught.
January 1 - Utah
LDS psychologist Allen E. Bergin of BYU and Victor L. Brown, Jr. of LDS Social Services wrote “Homosexuality: Welfare Services Packet I” to use to counsel gay Mormons. The packet indicated that “an essential part of repentance” was to disclose to Church authorities the names of other homosexuals, in order “to help save others”. The packet also stated that the lesbian “needs to learn feminine behavior” while the gay man “needs to learn…what a manly priesthood leader and father does.” It also explained that “excommunication cleanses the Church…There is no place in God’s Church for those who persist in vile behavior.”
January 1 – Utah
Joe Redburn opened The Sun Tavern on the northwest corner of South Temple and 400 West making it the first official gay bar for the Salt Lake gay community.
January 1 - National
Joseph Hansen published his novel with an openly gay character “Death Claims”. This second book in Joseph Hansen's groundbreaking, critically acclaimed Dave Brandstetter mystery series find's Dave sifting through the elaborate lies surrounding the murder of John Oats, whose drugged body was found washed up on the beach. Left behind are April Stannard, John's lover, and his son Peter, who was the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. The trouble is, Peter is missing.
November 1 - National
“That Certain Summer” airs on ABC. The ending was changed from the son being guilt-ridden at failing to say goodbye to his father to one where he shows no regret, in order to “avoid controversy.”
January 1 – National
The Gay Academic Union (GAU) was a group of LGBT academics who aimed at making the academia more amenable to the LGBT community.
January 1 – National
Lambda Legal becomes the first legal organization established to fight for the equal rights of gays and lesbians. Lambda also becomes their own first client after being denied non-profit status; the New York Supreme Court eventually rules that Lambda Legal can exist as a non-profit.
Beth Elliott
The Sun Tavern Salt Lake City
May 1 - National
Andrew Tobias a writer and political activist published “The Best Little Boy in the World” which is a memoir. The classic account of growing up gay in America.
"The best little boy in the world never had wet dreams or masturbated; he always topped his class, honored mom and dad, deferred to elders and excelled in sports...The best little boy in the world was...the model IBM exec…The best little boy in the world was a closet case who 'never read anything about homosexuality...John Reid comes out slowly, hilariously, brilliantly. One reads this utterly honest account with the shock of recognition." The New York Times
"The quality of this book is fantastic because it comes of equal parts honesty and logic and humor. It is far from being the story of a Gay crusader, nor is it the story of a closet queen. It is the story of a normal boy growing into maturity without managing to get raped into, or taunted because of, his homosexuality... He is bright enough to be aware of his hang ups and the reasons for them. And he writes well enough that he doesn't resort to sensationalism" San Francisco Bay Area Reporter
Reverend William Johnson
September 1 - Colorado
The First Metropolitan Community Church is established, providing a welcoming home of worship to the gays and lesbians of Denver.
February 4 - Rhode Island
The Rev. Arthur Cazeault celebrates the first service of the Metropolitan Community Church in Rhode Island.
January 1 - Kansas
Lawrence Gay Liberation Front changes its name to Gay Services of Kansas.
KU’s Student Senate issues new guidelines concerning student groups. All can be registered, but they cannot all be recognized. The new policy on recognition states: “To be recognized and eligible for Student Senate funds, an organization cannot be substantially oriented in support or in opposition to: a.) particular religious institutions, activities or beliefs, b.) particular political party activities or programs, or c.) particular and customarily private activities, habits or proclivities.” GLF is the only group to fall under section c.
January 1 - Oregon
A Gay father in Oregon who has had sole custody of his two sons for 11 years is told by a court that he has to end his relationship with another man in order to keep custody of his sons.
March 1 - Colorado
Big Mama Rag, a feminist lesbian news journal, is created.
June 24 - Louisiana
New Orleans the burned out Up Stairs Lounge after a fire killed 32 people. The anti-LGBT attack was never solved and also widely ignored by politicians and churches. The French Quarter attacks was one of the largest massacres at a gay bar. Many of the burned bodies were only identifiable by their dental records.
January 1 - California
United Church of Christ Rev. William Johnson of San Francisco becomes the first open homosexual fully ordained into a “major American Christian body.”
October 1 - Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution fires employee Charles St. John for putting flyers advertising Gay Pride activities in newsroom mailboxes.
United States LGBT History for 1973
President Richard Nixon
April 17 - Oregon
The Oregon District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association issues a statement supporting HB 2930, stating that it is in the best interest of mental health. “No evidence exists that proves that homosexuals function less well in occupations than heterosexuals,” it reads. Thus, “A policy of judging job applicants on their individual merit would be most consistent with the furthering of each person’s mental health."
An Oregon House committee holds a hearing on HB 2930. Among those who testify are ally Rita Knapp, who would later be a cofounder of PFLAG Portland; Randy Shiltz, who went on to become a pioneering gay newspaper reporter and historian; gay activist Steve Fulmer who later becomes a founder of a number of Oregon LGBTQ related groups; ACLU attorney Charlie Hinkle; Peggy Burton, a schoolteacher who had been fired for being a lesbian; and lobbyist George T. Nicola.
HB 2930 misses Oregon House passage by two votes short of a majority. However, it creates a sense of purpose and identity instrumental in building today’s large statewide LGBTQ movement.
January 1 - National
Tom Eyen produces a play “Three Drag Queens from Daytona”
March 26 - California
First meeting of "Parents and Friends of Gays," which goes national as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
January 26 - California
The first gay temple, Beth Chayim Chadashim (House of New Life), opens in Los Angeles. They are initially housed within the Metropolitan Community Church and later relocate to 10345 West Pico Boulevard.
December 15 - National
By a vote of 5,854 to 3,810, the American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in the DSM-II Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
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