2003 in LGBTQ rights

Events

March 13 - The U.S. Census Bureau releases figures that show 34.3 percent of all households headed by lesbians and 22.3 percent of those headed by gay men are raising children. The report also shows that same-sex couples live in 99.3 percent of all the counties in the United States. [1]

March 24 - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, signs the New Mexico Hate Crimes Act, which establishes enhanced penalties for biased for hate crimes, including those motivated by homophobia.

May 28 - Texas Gov. [[Rick Perry, a Republican, signs the Texas Defense of Marriage Act which allows Texas to deny recognition of same-sex marriages or civil unions entered into in other states.

May 30 - Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton, a Democrat, signs an executive order making it the 10th state to ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. In addition, Kentucky became the first state to ban such discrimination based upon gender identity.

June 10 - The United States Department of Justice reverses an earlier decision banning the annual employee gay pride event.

June 18 - Ontario appeals court rules that civil same-sex marriages will be recognized as valid by the government, making Canada the first country in the Americas to honor legal same-sex marriage.

July 2 - Wal-Mart adds "sexual orientation" to its corporate non-discrimination policy.

July 30
- Same-sex marriage in the United States:
  - George W. Bush says he supports "codifying marriage in the United States as being between one man and one woman."

18 September - The bill to repeal Section 28 in the remaining parts United Kingdom (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) receives Royal Assent. It had previously been repealed in Scotland on 21 June 2000. It became active on 18 November.

October 27
- Hate Crime:
  - Statistics from the FBI show that 16.7 percent of hate crimes committed in the United States in 2002 were due to bias against the victim's perceived sexual orientation, the highest rate in the 12 years federal records have been kept.
October 29 - A Human Rights Campaign study shows 60 percent of American adoption agencies accept applications from gay and lesbian couples and 40 percent claim to have placed children in homes headed by same-sex couples.

November 20 - United States Congress passes a resolution condemning all violations of internationally-recognized human rights norms based on the real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of an individual.

December 23 - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm signs an executive order banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Michigan is the 11th state to take such an action.