The drive for gay rights

Key moments in the gay-rights movement, locally and nationally:

Nov. 29, 1966: Seattle City Council conducts its first hearing on gay civil rights in deciding whether to revoke the license of a gay bar.

1967: The Dorian Society, Seattle's first gay-rights organization, is founded at the University of Washington.

June 27-28, 1969: Riots follow a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. The event is recognized as the beginning of the gay-rights movement in the United States.

June 28, 1970: First gay-and-lesbian pride march takes place in New York to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

1977: Gay-rights legislation first introduced in Washington state Legislature; Seattle's first gay-pride parade draws 1,500.

1982: Wisconsin becomes first state to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

1987: Cal Anderson, representing Seattle's 43rd District, becomes the first openly gay member of the Legislature after he is appointed to the House in 1987; he served in the Legislature until his death in 1995.

March 1, 1990: Seattle becomes one of the first cities in the country to extend domestic-partner benefits to city employees.

April 25, 1993: A Washington, D.C., march for equal rights for gays draws hundreds of thousands.

1997: Actress and comedian Ellen DeGeneres "comes out" as a lesbian on her TV sitcom "Ellen," further pushing gays into the mainstream of popular culture.

Dec. 20, 1999: Vermont Supreme Court rules that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to the same rights under the law as married couples.

June 10, 2003: First legal gay marriage takes place in Canada after Ontario appeals court rules the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

Feb. 4, 2004: Massachusetts Supreme Court says same-sex couples are entitled to marry. It becomes the only state where gay marriage is legal.

Feb. 12, 2004: San Francisco issues the first same-sex marriage licenses in the nation, triggering similar efforts in other cities and states. Courts overturn all the licenses as unconstitutional.

March 8, 2004: Gay and lesbian couples sue King County seeking the right to marry. A month later, couples file a similar suit against Washington state. A decision from the state Supreme Court is expected at any time.

April 21, 2005: Legislation banning discrimination against gays and lesbians reaches the floor of the state Senate for the first time but falls one vote short of becoming law.

Jan. 28, 2006: Gay-rights legislation passes the state Senate and House, and Gov. Christine Gregoire says she'll sign it into law.

Compiled from Seattle Times archives