In 1974, there were 18 recorded legal changes made affecting LGBT people. In the previous year, there were 15 changes made and 22 in the following year. A total of 203 legal changes were made in the 1970s.
- November 1Homosexual activity becomes legal.Massachusetts legalised homosexual activity through a court ruling in 1974, although dormant sodomy laws still exist in its state laws.
- Homosexual activity becomes ambiguous.Manus falls under Papua New Guinea, making homosexuality illegal under Section 212. But this has not been enforced since 2015.
- Equal age of consent becomes equal.It was determined in 'E.C.O. v. Compton' that a 16 year old is able to consent to sex with an adult over online communication.
- October 16Right 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.
- Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.Trans people can change their legal gender based on a clause from the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act 81 of 1963 under an amendment passed in 1974. It was reported in 2015 that applications for change of sex are done on a case-by-case basis and are not problematic, as long as a person can provide medical reports of their sex change, which includes undergoing sex reassignment surgery. Once the application is granted, a transgender person can apply for a new identity document and passport.
- May 3Homosexual activity becomes illegal (imprisonment as punishment).The 1974 Penal Code punished sodomy with 1 to 3 years in prison. In 1992, Nicaragua passed legislation that criminalized “anyone who induces, promotes, propagandises or practices sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex commits the crime of sodomy,” with a punishment of one to three years of imprisonment.
- May 2Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.On May 2 1974, Marcia Alejandra became the first person in Chile to have her gender legally changed after surgery the previous year, the first such recognition in Latin America. Despite no law regulating gender recognition, in practice Chile recognised such after surgery was performed.
- April 15Homosexual activity becomes legal.People v. Gibson, Colorado Supreme Court (1974)
- January 2Same-sex marriage becomes banned.Article 1 of Law No. 1 of the Year 1974 on Marriage states unequivocally that marriage is "a physical and spiritual bond between a man and a woman as husband and wife, having the purpose of establishing a happy and lasting family founded on the Belief in God Almighty", effectively banning same-sex marriage in Indonesia.
- (date unknown)Serving openly in military becomes illegal.In 1974, the ban on homosexuality in the military became official in Australia when the services of the ADF adopted consistent rules persecuting gay and lesbian soldiers, whether real or suspected, having them subjected to witch-hunts, surveillance, secret searches and intimidating interviews.
- January 1Homosexual activity becomes legal.In 1974, Ohio repealed its sodomy and solicitation laws. However, the sex offender registration law was not repealed, and a new solicitation law was adopted that said "no person shall solicit a person of the same sex for sexual activity with the offender, when the offender knows such solicitation is offensive to the other person, or is reckless in that regard." The penalty was up to 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $1,000. However, the solicitation law required that the solicited person be offended by the solicitor and if they were not, regardless of if it was between two people of the same sex, it was not to be considered a crime. In 2002, in the case of State v. Thompson, the Supreme Court of Ohio found that the solicitation law was unconstitutional. The decision also removed the provision of the sex offender registration law that required registration by people convicted two or more times under the offensive solicitation law.
- (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.
- JanuaryLGBT discrimination becomes varies by region.Currently, Ohio state laws protect civil servants from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Several cities and localities in Ohio have protections extended to non-civil servants with the first being Colombus in January of 1974.
- (date unknown)Serving openly in military becomes legal.The Netherlands became the first country to allow gay soldiers to serve in the military openly.
- 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.
LGBT Organizations Founded in 1974
Seta ry
A sexual equality rights organization in Finland. It's goal is a equal society where human rights and wellbeing are realised regardless of ones sexual orientation, identity or…