Serbia equalizes theage of consent for homosexual acts to 14, matching the legal age for heterosexual acts.[1]
In the U.S. state ofIllinois, a new state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation goes into effect.
In the U.S. state ofWashington, a new mayor ofSpokane is sworn in to succeedJames E. West, who wasrecalled after a political scandal involving him using his office computer to access gay websites.
25 – TheOcean County, New Jerseyfreeholders vote to allow county police and fire department employees to designate someone other than a spouse as a pension beneficiary. The move comes after the case ofLaurel Hester, a police officer with the Ocean County prosecutor's office with terminal cancer, came to national attention when the freeholders refuse repeatedly to change the spouses-only rule.[2]
27 – In the U.S. state of Washington, legislators pass a bill banning discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation (which is legally defined to includegender identity). It passes with a 25–23 vote in the state senate and by a 61–37 vote in the House of Representatives. State governorChristine Gregoire says she will sign the bill into law on January 31.
11 –Ernie Fletcher, governor of the U.S. state ofKentucky, rescinds a 2003 executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the public sector.[3]
27 – An attempt to stage the first-ever gay pride march in Moscow ends with violence and mass arrests, after activists took to the streets despite the ban by mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
The Federal Marriage Amendment fails to pass the U.S. Senate. Of the 60 votes required to invoke thecloture motion, 49 senators voted to put the amendment to a vote and 48 voted against.
Anti-discrimination law in the state ofWashington enters into effect, after a ballot initiative to reverse it fails to collect enough signatures.[4]
29 – TheSupreme Court of the U.S. state ofArkansas confirms a lower state court judgment, ruling that it is unconstitutional to ban lesbians and gays from being foster parents.
29 – TheAnglican Journal reports that Terence Finlay, retiredArchbishop of Toronto andMetropolitan of Ontario, has solemnised the marriage of a lesbian couple—and that Finlay's successor, Colin Johnson, has suspended his license to conduct weddings.[7]
16 – The government of Hong Kong accepts the decision of the appeals court to equalise the age of consent from 21 (for homosexual acts) to 16 (the legal age for heterosexual acts).[8]
25 – TheNew Jersey Supreme Court rules in a 4–3 decision that the state constitution guarantees same-sex couples all the legal benefits of marriage, but does not explicitly legalize same-sex marriage in the state.[9]
8 – The UK Government publishes regulations outlawing discrimination in Goods and Services covering Northern Ireland which are due to enter into force on the January 1,[14] which prove controversial with some religious groups[15]
9 –Yogyakarta Principles was developed at a meeting of the International Commission of Jurists, the International Service for Human Rights and human rights experts from around the world atGadjah Mada University onJava,Indonesia from 6 to 9 November 2006.
1 – An equalised age of consent law comes into force inIsle of Man, reducing the legal age for homosexual activity from 18 to 16 to match the age for heterosexual activity.
11 – Three LGBT organisations—ILGA-Europe,LBL, andLSVD—are granted United NationsECOSOC consultative status after a hard fought campaign from many non-governmental organizations.[21]
14
TheNew Jersey Legislature enacts a bill to establishcivil unions in that state. The measure passed 56–19 in the Assembly, and 23–12 in the Senate. It will come into effect 60 days after the governor signs it.[22]
In the Republic of Ireland, theLabour party introduces acivil unions bill in theDáil, to be debated in early 2007.[23][24]
19 – New Jersey bans gender identity discrimination in the private sector.[25]
21 –New Jersey governorJon Corzine signs the bill establishingcivil unions in the state. The first civil union licenses become available on February 20, 2007.[26]
January 30 –Coretta Scott King, 78, American civil rights activist and advocate of gay rights
February 18 –Laurel Hester, 49, American police officer whose fight to name her domestic partner as her pension beneficiary garnered national attention[2]
May 24 –Fritz Klein, 73, American bisexual sex researcher and psychiatrist
July 3 –Nimrod Ping, 58, British gay architect and politician
