On this page you will find resources that cover the history of LGBTQ+ people and the law, including criminalisation of gay relationships and other forms of legal discrimination.
This article from The National Archives looks at the history of Section 28, a part of the 1988 Local Government Act which prohibited 'promoting homosexuality by teaching or by publishing material.'
This contains investigative reports by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into the activities of the Gay Activist Alliance, a gay activist group formed after the Stonewall riots in 1969.
This is a transcript of a debate in the House of Lords in 1954 regarding criminal activity involving homosexuality. The debate also involves members of the chamber speaking against intentions to legalise homosexuality.
This is a transcript of a debate that took place in the House of Commons in 1958 about the Wolfenden Report, a government report which had recommended that 'homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence'.
This is a collection of newspaper reports, from 1818 and 1819, concerning The Marylebone Gang. This was a gang of men based in Marylebone, London who were arrested and accused of being a 'gang of sodomites'.
"This project, based on thousands of police records located in several Parisian repositories, involves the creation of an interactive database that will allow students and scholars to analyze patterns and changes in same-sex relations from the 1720s to the 1780s."
Trial account from 1805, describing the trial of Margaret Eyres for theft (grand larceny), resulting in a not guilty verdict. She is described as wearing men’s clothes (coat, waistcoat, and breeches).
Trial account from 1865, describing the trial of Sarah Geals for breaking the peace (wounding), resulting in a guilty verdict for which she served penal servitude. The trial concerns her being found for dressing as a man (by the name of William Smith) whilst at work as a clicker/cutter of boots and shoes. She is also described as living with a woman called Caroline and holding herself as a married man.
This is a transcript of a debate in the House of Commons in 1988 regarding the prohibition on promoting homosexuality by teaching or by publishing material (more commonly referred to as Section 28).
This US government report from 2002 discusses the legal status of employment discrimination of the basis of sexual orientation, at both the federal and state levels.
This is a transcript of a debate in the House of Commons in 1967 concerning amendments to the Sexual Offences Bill of 1967 (known for legalising homosexual acts between two consenting adults over the age of twenty-one)
This is a resource for lessons on this history of LGBTQ+ rights and laws in Britain using 15 historical documents (1701-1998) from the National Archive. Created in collaboration with the Bishopsgate Institute, it demonstrates how this topic is currently being taught to students.
"This timeline gives an overview of this history of the criminalisation of LGBT people, tracing in particular the evolution of the specific forms of criminalisation that originated in Europe and which are the source of many of the laws that still blight the lives of LGBT people across the world today."
This article discusses Trevor Thomas (1907–1993), art historian and curator of Leicester Art Gallery, who was dismissed from his job after being arrested for public indecency in 1946.
This article discusses the 1394 trial of John/Eleanor Rykener, a person who was assigned male at birth but presented as female. They were put on trial for presenting as a woman and for having sex with a man.
"This is an overview of key dates not just in Stonewall's history, but in the development of lesbian, gay, bi and trans history in terms of social, political and legislative change, representation and visibility."
This article explores the insight that trial records from the 18th and 19th centuries can give us about gay and lesbian communities in London at that time. It includes a list of key terms that are useful when searching for material on homosexuality in this period.
This blog post contains a bibliography including a number of resources relevant to LGBTQ+ legal research, including material with a historical dimension. It was curated by Alexander Salopek, a collection development specialist in the Collection Services Division of the Law Library of Congress.
"This exhibition outlines the legal history surrounding sex between men and how these developments affected the rural county of Berkshire. This project diversifies the traditional narratives that are preserved within archives and museums."
"This chronology surveys the history of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's surveillance of homosexuals and alleged homosexuals. It includes references to what was considered gender and sexual deviance. It also includes surveillance of the activities of members of homosexual rights groups and anti-homosexual persons and groups."
This article discusses the decriminalisation of Sodomy in the United States. Laws prohibiting sodomy existed in a number of states throughout history. This article looks at two challenges to these laws that ended up in the in Supreme Court.
