France passes sweeping conversion therapy ban
Conversion therapy practitioners can face prison time and fines because “homosexuality and trans identity aren’t sicknesses that can be cured.”
Gay rights
This archive tracks legal victories, policy shifts, and cultural milestones that have expanded rights and recognition for LGBTQ+ people worldwide. Stories span court rulings, legislative wins, and community-led advocacy across dozens of countries. The focus is on documented progress — what changed, where, and how it happened.
Nevada becomes first U.S. state to recognize gay marriage in state constitution
Nevada voters overturned an 18-year-old ban on same-sex marriage, making the state the first to enshrine gay couples’ right to marry in its constitution.
Canada bans conversion therapy
As of January 7, 2022 it will be a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to cause another person to undergo conversion therapy.
Chile to become the 31st country to recognize same-sex marriage
The new law removes restrictions on same-sex couples around parentage, adoption rights, and assisted reproduction.
Botswana decriminalizes homosexuality
Botswana’s Court of Appeal has declared the government’s appeal unsuccessful, effectively decriminalizing homosexuality in the country, a big win for the LGBTQ+ community.
Senate confirms Beth Robinson, the first out lesbian U.S. circuit court judge
Robinson has been an associate justice on the Vermont Supreme Court for the past ten years, where she also made history as the state’s first out LGBTQ supreme court justice.
Josh Cavallo becomes the first openly gay male top-level professional soccer player
Although Cavallo was fearful that his coming out would damage the career he’s worked so hard to build up, he felt that he needed to embody his truth for other players who may be “living in silence.”
Once-a-month PrEP pill shows promising results for HIV prevention
Islatravir, an HIV prevention drug developed by Merck, has already reached its second stage of trials. Following promising results, it looks likely to go to Phase 3 trials, bringing it one step closer to approval.
Joe Biden signs sweeping executive order fighting anti-LGBTQ discrimination
Biden’s order tells the heads of all executive agencies to ensure that they are interpreting bans on sex discrimination in U.S. federal law to also “prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Nevada retroactively recognizes same-sex marriages
The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that the state must honor marriages of same-sex couples performed before the state legalized marriage equality in 2014.