1990s

This number of gay pride parades and events around the nation really began to take off in the 1990s. With LGBT visibility at record breaking numbers, the country begins to witness more public acts of violence and discrimination against gays and lesbians. The 1990s also demarcates political and ideological differences within the LGBT community itself.

Hate Crimes & Discrimination

Many hate crimes (including murder and attempted-murder) make national headlines during the 1990s. One of the best known crimes was the murder of Scott Amedure who was killed after appearing on the Jenny Jones talk-show by the man he told on the show that he had a crush on. 

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Sean McBride

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Randy Bloch and Gerry Crane

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Scott Amedure

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Beth Karas and Jeffrey Montgomery

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Bon Egan and Cheryl VanDeKerckhove

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Trish Brown

Gay Pride: People & Events

These images show that gay pride was alive and kicking all over the state during the 1990s.

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Jan Stevenson and Craig Covery at Pride Banquet

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Living Legends Night at Gigi's

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Miss Leather Legacy 1996

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Mr. Leather Michigan Contest 1999

Activism & Culture

The cultural landscape shifted greatly for Michigan's LGBT community during the 1990s. From a prominent GM leader publically coming out, to the establishment of gay churches in the Detroit area, to a fight between Michigan's trans community and the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.

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Allan Gilmour

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Lev Raphael

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Agape Community Church First Anniversary

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Flyer for Radical Faeries Gathering

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Cool Jerk and Homo Gal Mini Comic

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Camp Trans Flyer

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Hot Cops 3

Event Timeline: 1990s

1990: 10% of U, new group for gay and lesbian students, forms at Grand Valley State University.

1990: ACT UP targets University of Michigan Regent Deane Baker for anti-gay stance.

1990: Activists protest arrest of 17 men in two-month surveillance of sex at an Adrian park.

1990: Bruce Dettloff, former owner of the Gold Coast Saloon in Detroit, is shot and killed in his home.

1990: Cumulative number of AIDS cases in Michigan surpasses 2,000.

1990: Fire strikes Lesbian Center and offices of the Lesbian Connection in Lansing.

1990: Following furor over his blessing of same-sex couples, Rev. Zal Sherwood resigns from Jackson church.

1990: Former Allen Park postal worker Ernest Dillon sues U.S. Postal Service for anti-gay harassment on the job.

1990: General Motors agrees to stop using term "little faggot trucks" in promotional video.

1990: General Motors issues a company directive barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.

1990: Greater Lansing Gay Men's Chorus is expelled from River Terrace Church.

1990: Kate Burkhardt and Lynden Kelly open Common Language Bookstore in Ann Arbor.

1990: Knights of Columbus protests speaker from Dignity at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Park.

1990: Mark Weinstein and Spree Vance help form ACT UP/Ann Arbor.

1990: Men of Color Motivational Group forms in Detroit as outgrowth of AIDS awareness project for blacks.

1990: Michigan Department of Corrections forbids condoms for AIDS prevention in state prisons.

1990: Michigan holds first Human Rights Campaign Fund black-tie fund raiser at Hyatt Regency in Dearborn.

1990: Michigan State University trustees revise non-discrimination bylaw to expressly protect sexual orientation.

1990: Monthly lesbian and gay cable TV program begins airing in Oakland County.

1990: Motherwit Books and More closes in Lansing.

1990: Noel Siksai of Royal Oak founds Queer Nation-Detroit.

1990: Organizers of Michigan Womyn's Music Festival issue statement prohibiting S/M activities.

1990: Parents demand dismissal of gay English teacher from Zeeland schools.

1990: Steve Culver launches newspaper Ten Percent, later re-named the Michigan Tribune.

1990: Twenty-six Michigan athletes take part in Gay Games III in Vancouver, Canada.

1990: Vandals hit office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Students Association at Eastern Michigan University.

1990: Wayne County judge strikes down Michigan sodomy and gross indecency statutes.

1991: Activists protest newly opened Cracker Barrel restaurant in Belleville over anti-gay employment policy.

1991: Ann Arbor City Council unanimously enacts state's first domestic partnership ordinance.

1991: Author Jenifer Levin resigns from University of Michigan due to lack of non-discrimination by-law.

1991: Birmingham includes protections for sexual orientation in new Fair Housing Ordinance.

1991: Eastern Michigan University bans discriminatory acts against minority students, including lesbians and gays.

1991: Eight Michigan State University students pledge new gay fraternity Delta Lambda Phi.

1991: Ferndale voters defeat proposed civil rights ordinance with protections for lesbians and gays.

1991: Flint City Council unanimously enacts non-discrimination ordinance.

1991: Flint man Jecquin Stitt, an Oprah Winfrey look-alike, is finalist as Ladie's Home Journal contest.

1991: Genesee County Clerk denies marriage license to couple Michael Burton and Jim Patterson.

1991: Grand Rapids group AWARE, As We Are, forms for lesbians and gays in the Christian Reformed Church.

1991: Great Lakes Bears, a gay male social group, forms in Detroit.

1991: Hundreds of copies of Ten Percent are stolen from distribution sites at the University of Michigan.

1991: Lesbian and Gay Foundation of Michigan evolves into the Triangle Foundation.

1991: Longtime Lansing bars Joe Covello's and Trammp's close to make way for urban redevelopment.

1991: Michigan Womyn's Music Festival evicts attendee believed to be transsexual.

1991: MOHR issues Michigan Lesbian Health Survey.

1991: Newly-elected Network president resigns over criticism that she is not out.

1991: Okemos author Lev Raphael wins Lambda Book Award for his story collection Dancing on Tisha B'Av.

1991: PRIDE Gay/Lesbian Community Center opens at Unitarian Universalist Church in Flint.

1991: Public station WTVS Channel 56 in Detroit refuses to air documentary "Tongues Untied."

1991: Report of campus study committee recommends by-law change at the University of Michigan.

1991: Scholarship established at Wayne State University in memory of gay student Michael LaGatela.

1991: Tony Garneau, founder and owner of Gigi's in Detroit, dies at age 53.

1991: Ypsilanti resident Steve Roberts loses job after kissing his lover on WXYZ-TV talk show.

1992: Detroit News writer Deb Price begins first regular column on lesbian and gay issues in a major U.S. daily.

1992: Michigan Tribune ceases publication.

1992: Affirmations board members Susan Pittman and Christine Puckett are slain by neighbor.

1992: Birmingham City Commission includes sexual orientation protection in Fair Housing Ordinance.

1992: Birmingham parents voice outrage over inclusion of homosexuality in high school curriculum.

1992: Club Flamingo opens on Oakland in Pontiac.

1992: Club Paradise opens on S. Washington in Lansing.

1992: Fire guts TNT Health Club in Detroit.

1992: Grand Rapids City Commission votes down proposal to add "gender orientation" to civil rights ordinance.

1992: Jim Dressell dies from AIDS at age 48.

1992: LGBT swim team the Ann Arbor Queer Aquatics forms.

1992: Michigan State University trustees revise anti-bias policy to prohibit only unlawful discrimination.

1992: Michigan Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America votes to welcome lesbians and gays.

1992: University-wide task force recommends domestic partnership benefits at Michigan State University.

1992: Ypsilanti enacts protections for lesbians and gays in housing.

1993: Activists blast Maxie's owners for sponsoring homophobic rapper at their straight bar Harpo's.

1993: Bay County fish farmer launches state ballot drive to block gay rights in Michigan.

1993: Cumulative number of AIDS cases in Michigan surpasses 5,000.

1993: Dignity/Flint disbands after 18 years.

1993: First South East Michigan Pride Film Festival is held at the Magic Bag in Ferndale.

1993: Michigan Campaign for Human Dignity forms to combat anti-gay ballot effort.

1993: Minister protests gay tourist outing at Gaylord resort.

1993: Original printer refuses to print first issue of Between The Lines.

1993: Sailor from Westland held in beating death of gay shipmate.

1993: Three suburban Detroit newspapers refuse ads for Right Guy-Right Gal computer dating service.

1993: University of Michigan regents pass by-law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.

1994: Ann Arbor group begins effort to form Rainbow Oasis Center.

1994: Club Triangle opens on Dort Highway in Flint.

1994: Curtis Lipscomb launches Kick! magazine in Detroit.

1994: Ford LGBT employees form Ford GLOBE.

1994: Gay Ford executive Gary Rocus killed by two men he invited home from Ken's Pub in Detroit.

1994: Gay Republicans form local Log Cabin clubs in Detroit and Lansing.

1994: Gov. John Engler expresses opposition to anti-gay referendum because it would hurt tourism.

1994: Grand Rapids City Council adopts non-discrimination ordinance protecting "gender orientation."

1994: Jack Thurman's restaurant, popular 1960s Kalamazoo gay hang-out, is demolished.

1994: Jennifer Walters is ordained an Episcopal priest in Ann Arbor as an out lesbian.

1994: Prisoner in process of Male-to-Female sex change perplexes Michigan Department of Corrections.

1994: Stinger's opens on Sherwood in Detroit.

1994: University of Michigan Medical Center launches Comprehensive Gender Services Program.

1994: University of Michigan Regent Deane Baker accuses university of ignoring sex in Mason Hall as board considers domestic partnership benefits.

1995: Black Sisters and Brothers United forms in Grand Rapids.

1995: Chapter of national gay fraternity Delta Lambda Phi is established at Eastern Michigan University.

1995: Detroit Police investigate allegations that TNT Health Club permits gay men to have unprotected sex.

1995: Detroit's first gay rodeo held at the State Fairgrounds.

1995: Eight are arrested at their homes on felony counts of gross indecency in a Meridian Township roadside park.

1995: Eighth annual National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change conference is held in Detroit.

1995: Jonathan Schmitz kills Scott Amedure three days after taping "Jenny Jones" segment.

1995: Keith Orr and Martin Contreras open aut Bar on Braun Court in Ann Arbor.

1995: Lesbian performance artist Holly Hughes receives award as distinguished graduate of Kalamazoo College.

1995: The Copa Nite Club in Flint closes.

1995: Trustees at Michigan State University vote two-year delay of decision on domestic partnership benefits.

1995: Washtenaw County chapter of MCHD becomes the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project.

1996: OutPost reports that Steve Knollenberg, son of U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, is gay.

1996: Activists picket Chrysler Headquarters in Auburn Hills demanding non-discrimination policy.

1996: Allen Park School officials postpone addressing harassment of gay student Josh Winowiecki.

1996: Closeted Lansing State Journal sportswriter Bob Gross found murdered in his home.

1996: Eastern Michigan University trustees amend non-discrimination policies to include sexual orientation.

1996: Ferndale residents form LGBT neighborhood association F.A.N.S.

1996: Flint's PRIDE Gay/Lesbian Community Center folds.

1996: Gay-Straight Alliance forms at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor.

1996: Gov. John Engler signs bill into law banning same-sex marriage in Michigan.

1996: Legendary Detroit disc jockey Ken Collier dies.

1996: Lesbian couple Leza Olsen and Joy Goldsmith are attacked in their Union Pier home. Olsen died as a result of her injuries, while Goldsmith recovered.

1996: Northern Michigan University president blocks effort to extend health benefits to same-sex partners.

1996: Officers arrest twenty in undercover operation against homosexual activity at a Grand Rapids area rest stop.

1996: Pronto! Video Bar opens on Washington Street in Royal Oak.

1996: Steve Culver launches new newspaper OutPost.

1997: Grand Rapids Press reporter Theresa McClellan comes out in Ellen-inspired column.

1997: AIDS billboards spark controversy among Detroit area agencies.

1997: Anti-gay crime wave sweeps Ferndale.

1997: Area 51 opens in Waterford.

1997: Asian lesbians in Detroit area form social and political group.

1997: Detroit Zoning Board denies request for expansion of Club Gold Coast.

1997: EDS extends domestic partnership benefits to employees.

1997: Erasing of National Coming Out Day chalkings causes furor at the University of Michigan.

1997: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network issues study of climate in Detroit area schools.

1997: Holly Van Scoy becomes first openly lesbian candidate for Grand Rapids City Council.

1997: Lapeer school board approves text book despite parental protests over homosexual content.

1997: Michigan State University trustees approve domestic partnership benefits for LGB faculty and staff.

1997: One-X opens on Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

1997: Parents request anti-homosexual point-of-view to counter gay speaker at high school in Muskegon.

1997: People of Diversity forms as official LGBT employee group at Chrysler.

1997: Sterling Heights police claim ten-month crackdown has reduced homosexual activity in park.

1997: Wayne-Westland school board removes sexual orientation from non-discrimination policy.

1997: Ypsilanti City Council enacts non-discrimination ordinance.

1998: Ann Arbor's legendary Flame Bar closes.

1998: Anti-gay vandalism reported at Central Michigan University.

1998: Christian Reform Church strips Grand Rapids minister of credentials for pro-gay views.

1998: Cumulative number of AIDS cases in Michigan approaches 10,000.

1998: Detroit City Council extends domestic partnership benefits to LGB city employees.

1998: Eastern Michigan University extends domestic partnership benefits to LGB faculty.

1998: Female-to-Male transsexual sues Birch Run schools to change sex on transcript.

1998: Marci Devernay is charged with running gay and straight escort services out of her Huntington Woods home.

1998: Michigan Supreme Court overturns murder conviction of Jonathan Schmitz and orders new trial.

1998: Real World Emporium in Lansing closes.

1998: Snub by Mayor Dennis Archer angers organizers of Detroit's Hotter Than July celebration.

1998: State Rep. Lynne Martinez of Lansing introduces bill to add lesbians and gays to Michigan's hate crimes law.

1998: WDIV Channel 4 in Detroit airs three-part undercover expose on sex in public restrooms.

1998: Ypsilanti voters uphold non-discrimination ordinance.

1999: Ann Arbor amends to non-discrimination ordinance to protect gender identity.

1999: Black gay and lesbian organizations in Detroit announce boycott of MAPP women's health conference.

1999: Jury awards $25 million to Amedure family in wrongful death suit against the "Jenny Jones" Show.

1999: Legacy 2000 opens on Warren in Detroit.

1999: Michigan chapter of Intersex Society of North America forms in Lansing area.

1999: Michigan State Police post sex offender registry on its Internet website.

1999: Police make a series of drug arrests at Detroit gay bars.

1999: Question of human rights ordinance in Ferndale to go to voters.

1999: Ruth Ellis turns 100.

1999: Triangle Foundation issues report blasting undercover police operations targeting gay men

1980s

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