In 1917, Pennsylvania adopted a new sodomy law that included anyone who “carnally knows any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge[.]” The punishment was 10 years of solitary confinement while working hard labor, and a maximum of a $1,000 dollar fine.

In 1939, the maximum fine was raised from $1,000 to $5,000.

In 1972, the penalty was lowered to a maximum of 2 years imprisonment, and was reclassified from a felony to a misdemeanor. Married couples could not be charged with sodomy.

In 1899, the law that expanded the definition of sodomy to include oral sex was found to be unconstitutional. However, prosecutions for oral sex continued despite the ruling.

In 1816, another case ignored this ruling, perhaps unaware of it, and indicted the defendant with “sodomy”.

In 1879, Pennsylvania passed a law that expanded its definition of sodomy to include oral sex.

In 1786, the punishment for a person convicted of sodomy was lowered to the confiscation of estate and a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. People accused of sodomy were not given the possibility of bail, however.

In 1806, the ability to be freed on bail became available to people convicted of sodomy.

In 1829, the punishment for a first-time conviction of sodomy was lowered to 5 years imprisonment. For a second-time conviction, the penalty was up to 10 years imprisonment. Prisoners were to be kept in solitary confinement doing labor, were not to be allowed visitors, and only be fed coarse food.

In 1860, the penalty was once again changed. This time, the punishment became worse: the punishment for a first-time conviction of sodomy jumped to 10 years imprisonment, solitary confinement with labor, and/or up to a $300 dollar fine.

In 1700, the penalty for a first time conviction of sodomy was raised from 6 months imprisonment to life imprisonment. During the first year of imprisonment, there was a possibility of flogging every 3 months. If the person convicted was a married man, he was castrated and his wife was offered a divorce. For black people only, whether they were a slave or a free person, the punishment for someone convicted of buggery was the death penalty.

In 1706, a new law set the limit of lashes a person convicted of sodomy could receive to 39 for each time the possibility of lashes was permitted. It also allowed both a husband or wife to receive a divorce if their spouse was convicted of buggery, and it eliminated the castration punishment for married men convicted of buggery.

In 1718, the punishment for white people convicted of sodomy was raised to the death penalty.

In 1780, a law was passed that eliminated any difference in punishment between black people and white people for the conviction of sodomy.

In 1694, Williams Penn and the Crown in England reestablished their relationship, and Pennsylvania’s laws from before the fall out took effect.

In 1693, English law was reinstated in Pennsylvania after William Penn and the Crown in England broke ties. The punishment for sodomy once again became the death penalty.

In 1682, William Penn established the Quaker Colony. The punishment for sodomy was a whipping, the forfeit of 1/3 of the offender’s estate, and working six months doing hard labor in the “house of Correction”. For the second offense, the punishment was life imprisonment with hard labor.

In 1676, the Duke of York established his laws in Pennsylvania and Delaware, which included capital punishment for the crime of sodomy.

In 1996, a statute banning same-sex marriage came into effect. The statute defined marriage as between a man and a woman, and also declared that "A marriage between persons of the same sex which was entered into in another state or foreign jurisdiction, even if valid where entered into, shall be void in this Commonwealth."

Before 1996, Pennsylvania neither banned nor recognized same-sex marriage.

Under Pennsylvania’s new policy, which is similar to the process for updating gender markers on US passports, proof of sex reassignment surgery is no longer a requirement in changing one’s gender on their birth certificate. Individuals with a Pennsylvania birth certificate can update the gender by having their physician submit a letter stating that they have had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition. Information about specific treatment is not required, but it can include counseling related to gender identity or living in accordance with their gender identity.

In 2005, Pennsylvania provided for legal gender recognition but required proof of surgery.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not have any laws targeting or protecting gender-affirming care. However, in Philadelphia, previous mayor James Kenny signed an Order in 2023 that protects gender-affirming care.

Before 2020, Pennsylvania did not offer any legal recognition of a third gender.

President Trump's Department of Justice and the EEOC revoked protections for gender identity in employment discrimination. No protections existed at the state level.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that “[A]llegations of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation necessarily state a claim of discrimination on the basis of sex”, and are barred by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This ruling applies at both the state and federal levels.

In a landmark decision, Democratic President Obama's EEOC ruled that gender identity was included under Title VII protections from the Civil Rights Act (originally written to protect people based on sex discrimination). No protections existed statewide.

Before 2012's EEOC ruling, no protections existed at the federal or state level.

This state does not provide any legal protections from discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identification.

However, the Human Rights Campaign states, "The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires grantees and participants of HUD programs to comply with local and state non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and gender identity.
HUD also prohibits inquiries regarding the sexual orientation or gender identity of a prospective tenant or applicant for assisted
housing in every state (March 2012)."

From July 6, 2025 onward, Coast Guard Reserve and Regular Coast Guard service members who were eligible for voluntary separation but did not elect or complete it, and who either have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria and do not receive a waiver, or have a history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery in connection with a sex transition, are placed into the involuntary administrative separation process.

From June 7, 2025 onward, Active Guard Reserve, Marine Corps Active Reserve, Regular Air Force, Regular Army, Regular Marine Corps, and Regular Space Force service members who were eligible for voluntary separation but did not elect or complete it, and who either have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria and do not receive a waiver, or have a history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery in connection with a sex transition, are placed into the involuntary administrative separation process.

On May 8, 2025, the United States Department of Defense (USDoD) began initiating administrative separation proceedings for service members who had already identified themselves for voluntary separation before March 26, 2025. On the same date, it reinstated the ban on transgender enlistment by directing that applicants who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria and do not receive a waiver, or who have a history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery in connection with a sex transition, are denied entry into military service.

On May 9, 2025, the USDoD ended all surgical procedures related to sex reassignment for service members with gender dysphoria. All such procedures—whether planned, scheduled, or not yet scheduled—were canceled, and any previously approved SHCP waivers for these surgeries were revoked. New waiver requests are no longer processed, except in cases involving the necessary treatment of surgical complications, which require special review.

Service members aged 19 or older who were already receiving cross-sex hormone therapy prior to this memorandum may continue treatment temporarily if a provider deems it necessary to prevent harm, but only until their separation is completed. Moving forward, USDoD funding cannot be used to initiate any new hormone therapy treatments for gender dysphoria, though military department leaders may request case-by-case exceptions for non-surgical care if needed to protect a service member’s health, subject to review and approval.

Also on May 9, 2025, the USDoD directed military educational institution libraries to use a standardized set of subject-heading searches to identify post-2010 books potentially associated with “gender ideology,” transgender-related topics, and other targeted concepts, sequester those materials from normal access by May 21, 2025, and hold them for expert review and possible later disposition.

On May 15, 2025, the United States Coast Guard resumed implementation of its transgender service policy by immediately pausing new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria and pausing planned, scheduled, or unscheduled medical procedures related to gender transition.

By May 21, 2025, the US Naval Academy had returned all but about 20 of the 381 books removed on March 31–April 1, 2025, to its shelves, while US Air Force libraries, including the US Air Force Academy, had also pulled a few dozen books for review.

On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard formally made members and applicants with gender dysphoria who did not receive a waiver ineligible for service and subject to separation or disqualification, while allowing temporary continuation of some preexisting hormone therapy until separation.

On June 6, 2025, US Coast Guard restored the Civil Rights Awards Program after completing a review and updating the Civil Rights Manual.

On the evening of March 18th, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes blocked the implementation of Trump's executive order banning transgender people from the military. The judge said that not only was the order unconstitutional but “a solution in search of a problem.”.

On January 27th, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that bans transgender people from serving in the military.
On February 10th, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth filed in court a memo relating to President Trump’s executive order from the previous month.

From then until March 18th, 2025, The U.S. military prohibited transgender individuals from enlisting and ceased providing or supporting gender transition procedures for service members.

In 2021, former President Joe Biden removed then-former President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military.

The Trump administration enacted a new policy barring individuals with a "condition" known as "gender dysphoria." from serving in the military.

In 2011, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was repealed by the Obama Administration. Former President Obama allowed members who were dishonorably discharged under DADT, to receive an honorable discharge.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the historic compromise signed by President Bill Clinton authorizing people who are LGBT to serve in the military provided they didn't disclose sexuality. The law also removed the ability for others in the military from asking for a service member's orientation.

From May 19, 1941 until September 20, 2011, LGB people were banned from enlistment and service in the United States Army, US Coast Guard, US Marine Corps, and US Navy, and, beginning September 18, 1947, in the Air Force. From October 1, 1982, to September 19, 2011, when homosexuality was the sole basis for separation and no aggravating circumstances were present, the characterization of service was determined by the member’s overall record and could be Honorable or General (under honorable conditions), with entry-level cases receiving an uncharacterized separation.

By May 17, 1963, in the United States Army; by 1982, in the United States Air Force; from March 31, 1986, on a U.S. Department of Defense-wide accession basis covering the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and, by agreement, the United States Coast Guard; by August 12, 2005, in the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps; and by April 29, 2011, in the United States Coast Guard, transgender people were banned from enlistment and service until open service was authorized on June 30, 2016.

By February 22, 1956, in the United States Coast Guard; by February 10, 1961, in the United States Army; by January 11, 1962, in an Air Force-specific accession standard; from March 31, 1986, on a Department of Defense-wide accession basis covering the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and, by agreement, the Coast Guard; and, from December 20, 2019, in the United States Space Force through inherited Air Force and DoD standards, applicants with intersex-related conditions identified in military rules as “hermaphroditism,” and later as “hermaphroditism, pseudohermaphroditism, or pure gonadal dysgenesis,” were disqualified from accession under military medical standards.

The FDA announced changes to the blood donor eligibility policy in April 2020, reducing the MSM deferral period from 12 months to 3 months. The change came amid the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, where blood was needed urgently.

After a series of recommendations, the FDA has moved to a 12 months deferral.

Starting in 1983, the United States implemented a full ban on blood donations from gay men. The primary justification for the ban was the perceived high risk of HIV transmission, with health regulators identifying men who have sex with men (MSM) as a significant risk to the safety of the blood supply.

On December 14, 2016, Pittsburgh became the first city in Pennsylvania to pass a bill that bans conversion therapy on minors. The law went into effect on January 1, 2017.

Conversion Therapy is currently legal. However, organizations such as the American Psychological Association denounce it.