Historical Timeline - Landmark Accomplishments
GLAD Celebrates Nearly Thirty Years Of Civil Rights Victories!

1978 GLAD founded in response to a sting operation at the Boston Public Library
	1979 GLAD defends a man arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for posting publicity for a Gay Pride rally
1980 GLAD wins the right of Rhode Island high school senior Aaron Fricke to attend the prom with his boyfriend
	1981  GLAD publishes the First Edition of the "National Lesbian and Gay Attorney's Referral Directory"
1982 GLAD produces and distributes a wallet "Rights Card" for use if a person is arrested
	1983 GLAD successfully defends the constitutionality of the proposed MA "gay rights" bill
1984 GLAD begins work with the national Sodomy Law Project.  GLAD creates the AIDS Law Project to protect the legal rights of people with HIV
	1985 GLAD files case against a dentist refusing to treat a man with AIDS.  GLAD sues to permit gay and lesbian foster parents in MA
1986 GLAD wins one of the first honorable discharges for a U.S. service member targeted for being gay or lesbian
	1987 GLAD files suit (and wins in 1991) on behalf of two men who were harassed and assaulted in Provincetown, MA
1988 GLAD and community members fight for sensible HIV testing policies
	1989 GLAD defeats attempts to overturn MA Gay & Lesbian Civil Rights Act.  GLAD expands work to support domestic partner benefit programs
1990 GLAD sues the Provincetown schools over discrimination against a gay high school teacher
	1991 GLAD fights first round of Maine anti-gay initiatives.  GLAD sues and wins against a Boston bar that ejected couples for holding a "kiss-in"
1992 GLAD co-authors first domestic partner ordinance in MA
	1993 GLAD wins a second-parent adoption case in MA highest court, setting precedent for gay and lesbian couples
1994 GLAD wins the right of a New Hampshire non-biological mother to sue for visitation with the son she jointly raised
	1995 GLAD's founder becomes the first openly gay man to argue a case in U.S. Supreme Court, defending gay marchers in Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade
1996 GLAD wins censorship battle with MA school district over photo exhibit on lesbian and gay families
	1997 GLAD files "Freedom to Marry" case in Vermont with Vermont co-counsel
1998 GLAD appears in U.S. Supreme Court arguing that people with HIV are protected from discrimination
	1999 GLAD and its Vermont co-counsel win ruling that entitles lesbian and gay couples to same benefits and protections of marriage as opposite-sex couples
2000 GLAD wins court order that a transgender 8th grader can wear any clothing allowed to any other male or female student
	2001 GLAD files "Freedom to Marry" case in Massachusetts on behalf of seven same-sex couples
2002 GLAD wins equal membership rates for all families at a Connecticut municipal pool
	2003 GLAD, in its 25th anniversary year, wins a historic victory when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry in Massachusetts.
2004 GLAD defends marriage equality in Massachusetts by filing a suit challenging a 1913 law being used unfairly to prevent out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying, and files suit to end marriage discrimination in Connecticut.
	2005 GLAD files suit on behalf of a 16-year old HIV+ girl to force MassHealth to pay for medically-necessary surgery caused by her medications, and works with partners in Maine on passage of a key anti-discrimination law.
2006 GLAD wins right of Rhode Island same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts, successfully settles a lawsuit on behalf of a transgender woman unjustly fired by a New Hampshire college, and wins a unanimous Vermont Supreme Court ruling affirming child visitation rights for a woman whose former civil union spouse had moved their child out of state.
	2007 GLAD continues to fight for and win Equal Justice Under Law.  See our docket for a listing of current cases.