In 1974, there were 15 recorded legal changes made affecting LGBT people. In the previous year, there were 11 changes made and 9 in the following year. A total of 162 legal changes were made in the 1970s.
- November 1Homosexual activity becomes legal.Massachusetts legalised homosexual activity via a court ruling in 1974, although dormant sodomy laws still exist on its state constitution.
- Homosexual activity becomes ambiguous.Manus falls under Papua New Guinea, making homosexuality illegal under Section 212. But this has not been enforced since 2015.
- June 15
- Equal age of consent becomes equal.
- Homosexual activity becomes legal.The penal code does not mention homosexuality explicitly and thus is assumed to be legal
- April 15Homosexual activity becomes legal.People v. Gibson, Colorado Supreme Court (1974)
- February 16Homosexual activity becomes illegal (imprisonment as punishment).According to Article 33 of the Omani Penal Code: "The following are deemed as disgracing crimes: [...] Homosexual and lesbian intercourses." Article 223, "Homosexual and Lesbian Intercourses" states: "Any one who commits erotic acts with a person of the same sex shall be sentenced to imprisonment from six months to three years. The suspects of homosexual or lesbian intercourse shall be prosecuted without a prior complaint, if the act results in a public scandal. The suspects of lesbian intercourse among ascendants, descendants or sisters shall only be prosecuted upon a complaint from a relative or a relative by marriage forth-degree removed."
- January 1Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 51 of 1974 provided the legal foundation for—ostensibly white—South Africans who had “undergone a change of sex” to alter their “sex description” in the country’s birth register.
- (date unknown)Same-sex adoption becomes legal.Alaskan State Statute provides any unmarried individual may petition for adoption; married individuals must petition together. Second parent adoption has been permitted by some lower court judges, but it is not confirmed by appellate court case law or state statute.
- Serving openly in military becomes legal.The Netherlands became the first country to allow gay soldiers to serve in the military openly.
- Equal age of consent becomes unequal.The age of consent for males and females engaged in heterosexual activity is 19 and 16 in a marriage respectively. For homosexual activity, the age of consent is 18.
- Homosexual activity becomes illegal (imprisonment as punishment).Kentucky Revised Statutes were revised in 1974 to criminalize non-procreative sexual acts only between people of the same sex. A conviction could have led to up to 12 months in prison and a fine of up to $500.