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]
