This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1998.
Events
February
10 – Voters in the US state of
Maine reject a law
enacted in 1997 banning sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector with 51.5 percent against.[1]
12 – Matthew Shepard dies from his injuries.[5][6][8]
13 – The
United States Supreme Court refuses an appeal in Equality Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, et al. v. The City of Cincinnati, in which the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit had twice found the city's anti-gay Issue 3 constitutional despite the Supreme Court's ruling in Romer v. Evans that struck down a state constitutional amendment that used substantially the same language.[9]
28 – In Canada,
Glen Murray is elected as mayor of
Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is the first openly gay man to be elected mayor of a major North American city.[10]
20 – In the U.S. state of Texas, John Lawrence and Tyrone Garner are fined US$125 each after being arrested for having sex in their home. They refuse to pay the fine, resulting in a challenge of the Texas sodomy law which would eventually lead to the 2003 nationwide repeal of sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas.[13]
23 – The
Supreme Court of the U.S. state of
Georgia rules 6 to 1 to invalidate that state's sodomy law.[14]
28 – In Allston, Massachusetts, transgender woman of color
Rita Hester is murdered. The ensuing candlelight vigil a few days later was attended by 250 people and inspired the
Transgender Day of Remembrance, observed each Nov 20 worldwide.[15]
December
1 – Officials in
Miami, Florida, vote 7–6 to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and housing.[16]
18 – The
Maryland Court of Appeals rules that a parent's access to his or her children cannot be restricted due to his or her sexual orientation.[17]
22 – In New Zealand, Minister of Immigration
Tuariki Delamere announces equality for gay and lesbian couples applying for
permanent residency, to take effect on March 29, 1999.
November 28 – Rita Hester, transgender murder victim[15]
November 30 –
Simon Nkoli, South African gay-rights and anti-
apartheid activist. He was one of the "first Black anti-apartheid activists to publicly identify as gay and HIV-positive".[18]