▸ 

1995 in LGBT Rights

View All Years

In 1995, there were 70 recorded legal changes made affecting LGBT people. In the previous year, there were 73 changes made and 121 in the following year. A total of 637 legal changes were made in the 1990s.

  • December 29
    Same-sex marriage becomes banned.
    Articles 1 and 12 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, which took effect in 1995, define marriage as between a man and a woman. In 2020, Russian voters approved amendments to Russia's constitution. One of the amendments defines marriage as a union strictly between a man and woman.
  • November 23
    LGBT employment discrimination becomes sexual orientation only.
    Ley Orgánica núm. 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal.
  • LGBT discrimination becomes illegal in some contexts.
    Art. 22.4 criminal code. In the current penal code is considered an aggravating.
  • Equal age of consent becomes equal.
    Actually the criminal code in Spain is under review in order to increase the age of consent.
  • November 14
    Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    There are no law specifically preventing homosexual
  • November 2
    Homosexual activity becomes illegal (imprisonment as punishment).
    The Sexual Offences Act of 1995 criminalises "buggery" with fifteen years imprisonment in Antigua and Barbuda. Lesbianism is also criminalised under "serious indecency".
  • September 22
    Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires medical diagnosis.
    Gender marker change requires initiating a court procedure in which the applicant must file an “assessment suit”, manufacturing proceedings between the applicant and their family. This procedure is very subjective and can result in summary dismissal of the applicant’s suit. Conditions can include a “real-life test”, requiring the applicant to have expressed their gender identity publicly for two years (often without any medical intervention) and medical testing, both psychological and physical. This procedure is based on the Supreme Court decision of 22 March 1991 which interprets the sense of belonging to a gender as “a personal good”, per Article 23 of the Civil Code (1964), meaning that a suit can be brought on this basis under Article 189 of the Code. Another Supreme Court judgment of 22 September 1995 established that parents or guardians of the applicant are the defendants in the lawsuit taken. Reports produced by Transfuzja showed that a diagnosis of “transsexualism” can be obtained through a series of tests and examinations, both psychological and physical, including head x-rays, genitalia examination and karyotype check. As there are no unified standards to diagnose a person of “transsexualism” in Poland, healthcare providers “recommend” a two-year “real life” test, during which the applicant is required to live full-time as their preferred gender, but they are not prescribed any hormonal treatment and they are still unable to change their legal status. While it is possible to receive hormonal treatment without a diagnosis, this practice can complicate legal gender recognition court procedures. In the resolution of the Court Supreme Court (ref. no. III CZP 100/77), the court found admissible gender change without surgery. In the same judgment, the court decided that it was possible to rectify the birth certificate.
  • September 20
    Censorship of LGBT issues becomes no censorship.
    In Chaco, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics since the repeal of laws criminalising "dressing as the opposite sex" in 1995.
  • July 29
    Censorship of LGBT issues becomes state-enforced.
    In 1995, North Carolina passed a health education law that explicitly promoted a "mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship" as the best way to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS. The homophobic language was repealed in 2006.
  • July 10
    Equal age of consent becomes unequal.
    When Moldova decriminalised homosexuality in 1995, the age of consent was higher than for heterosexual relations until a reform passed in 2003. This also applied in Gagauzia.
  • Equal age of consent becomes unequal.
    When Moldova decriminalised homosexuality in 1995, the age of consent was higher than for heterosexual relations until a reform passed in 2003. This also applied in Chişinău.
  • Equal age of consent becomes female equal, male n/a.
    Unlike the rest of Moldova, male homosexuality remained illegal in Transnistria until 2002.
  • Equal age of consent becomes unequal.
    When Moldova decriminalised homosexuality in 1995, the age of consent was higher than for heterosexual relations until a reform passed in 2003.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Cahul.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Taraclia.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Straseni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Criuleni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Cantemir.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Cimislia.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Briceni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Ungheni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Ialoveni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Nisporeni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Soldanesti.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Tighina.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Orhei.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Leova.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Falesti.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Dubăsari.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Drochia.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Basarabeasca.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Telenesti.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Riscani.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Edinet.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Singerei.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Floresti.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Hincesti.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Donduseni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Ocnita.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Calarasi.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Anenii Noi.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies in Balti.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applied to Soroca.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies to Causeni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies to Chișinău.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies to the Moldovan-controlled areas of Stinga Nistrului.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applied in Glodeni.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applied to Rezina.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This also applies to Stefan Voda.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    In 1995, Moldova decriminalised homosexuality. This law applies to Gagauzia.
  • Homosexual activity becomes male illegal, female legal.
    Although Moldova decriminalised homosexuality in 1995, it remained illegal in the breakaway territory of Transnistria until 2002.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    Homosexuality was decriminalised in Moldova in 1995 under Law No. 500.
  • June 1
    Equal age of consent becomes unequal.
    The age of consent was 18 years for homosexual intercourse and 13 years for heterosexual intercourse (for girls).
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    The Penal Code passed on January 27, 1995 decriminalized consensual homosexual intercourse. Article 116 - the crime of "homosexuality" which punished homosexual intercourse when conducted forcefully, with minor people, or with persons unable to protect themselves has been completely repealed by amending the law from 2001.
  • May 24
    Same-sex adoption becomes legal.
    In May of 1995, an Ontario court ruled that restricting same-sex couples from adopting was discriminatory and therefore against the law.
  • May 19
    Gender-affirming care becomes legal.
    In Portugal, there are no major or excessive restrictions on the ability of transgender people to transition medically.
  • May 18
    Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.
    Surgery is required in the Vital Statistics Act.
  • April 13
    Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.
    Arkansas will amend after receipt of a court order verifying that they have undergone sex-reassignment surgery and that their names have been changed.
  • March 31
    Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.
    The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act of 1995 provided for legal gender recognition but until 2008, it required surgery.
  • February 25
    Same-sex marriage becomes banned.
    Until 2016, Jalisco defined a marriage as between a man and a woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage. In 2014, civil unions would be recognised.
  • January 5
    Censorship of LGBT issues becomes state-enforced.
    There are no restrictions on LGBT content, but the authorities of Djibouti prosecute the public display of same-sex sexual conduct under laws prohibiting attacks on “good morals" under Sections 353 and 354 of Djibouti's Penal Code in 1995.
  • (date unknown)
    Homosexual activity becomes illegal (imprisonment as punishment).
    In 1995, Sri Lanka amended its laws against homosexuality to also include women. The change was made after the laws were criticized for being discriminatory on the basis of sex. The punishment for homosexuality is up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine, and there is evidence that the law has been enforced in recent years. In 2022, a bill was introduced that would repeal Sri Lanka's laws against homosexuality, but it has not passed.
  • Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires medical diagnosis.
    While surgery is not explicitly a requirement, Utah requires medical documentation of transition in order to recognise a change in one’s legal gender.
  • Serving openly in military becomes n/a.
    Owing to a history of military influence in politics and several coups, Haiti abolished its military in 1995. However, it would be restored in 2017.
  • January 1
    Same-sex marriage becomes civil unions (marriage rights).
    Sweden became the second country of the world after Denmark to recognize gay couples with registered partnerships, these partnerships were equal to marriage. However registered partners were not allowed to adopt before 2003.
  • (date unknown)
    Censorship of LGBT issues becomes no censorship.
    In Tucumán, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics since the removal of provisions criminalising "dressing as the opposite sex" in public in 1995.
  • Same-sex adoption becomes legal.
    Single and joint adoption are permitted per N.J. Stat. §9:3-43. Second-parent adoption is permitted via case law in H.N.R, 666 A.2d 535 (N.J.Super, 1995)
  • Same-sex adoption becomes illegal.
    The 1995 Administrative Memorandum of the Nebraska Division of Children and Family Services introduced a ban on fostering and adoption by individuals identifying as "homosexual" as well as unmarried individuals.
  • LGBT discrimination becomes illegal.
    Equal Opportunity Act commenced in 1995, recent amendment 21 December 2010; religious exemptions apply
  • January 1
    LGBT discrimination becomes illegal in some contexts.
    Article 141 of Slovenian Penal Code adopted on September 29, 1994, strictly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. This protection applies to any of the human rights or fundamental freedoms recognized by the international community or determined by the constitution or laws of Slovenia.

LGBT Organizations Founded in 1995