2003 in LGBT rights

January

 * January 30
 * Same-sex marriage in Belgium:
 * Belgian legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry becomes active. Because of Belgian requirements for marriage, it will take until June before the first same-sex marriages are actually performed. The legislation is not equal to heterosexual marriage because couples lack adoption rights.

March

 * March 13 - The U.S. Census Bureau releases figures that show 34.3 percent of all households headed by lesbians and 22.3 percent of those headed by gay men are raising children. The report also shows that same-sex couples live in 99.3 percent of all the counties in the United States.
 * March 24 - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, signs the New Mexico Hate Crimes Act, which establishes enhanced penalties for biased for hate crimes, including those motivated by homophobia.

May

 * May 21 - Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican from Colorado, introduces the Federal Marriage Amendment in the United States House of Representatives with 108 co-sponsors.
 * May 28 - Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, signs the Texas Defense of Marriage Act which allows Texas to deny recognition of same-sex marriages or civil unions entered into in other states.
 * May 30 - Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton, a Democrat, signs an executive order making it the 10th state to ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. In addition, Kentucky became the first state to ban such discrimination based upon gender identity.

June

 * June 10 - The United States Department of Justice reverses an earlier decision banning the annual employee gay pride event.
 * June 10 - The Michaels are wed in Ontario, making their marriage the first legal same-sex marriage in Canada.
 * June 18 - Ontario appeals court rules that civil same-sex marriages will be recognized as valid by the government, making Canada the first country in the Americas to honor legal same-sex marriage.
 * June 26 - The United States Supreme Court strikes down all remaining U.S. state sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas. A victory rally was held in front of Houston's City Hall upon the Supreme Court's decision days before the 25th annual Houston Gay Pride Parade.

July

 * July 2 - Wal-Mart adds "sexual orientation" to its corporate non-discrimination policy.
 * July 30
 * Same-sex marriage in the United States:
 * George W. Bush says he supports "codifying marriage in the United States as being between one man and one woman."
 * July 31 - Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy introduces the Permanent Partners Immigration Act (PPIA) in the United States Senate.

September

 * 18 September - The bill to repeal Section 28 in the remaining parts United Kingdom (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) receives Royal Assent. It had previously been repealed in Scotland on 21 June 2000. It became active on 18 November.

October

 * October 27
 * Hate Crime:
 * Statistics from the FBI show that 16.7 percent of hate crimes committed in the United States in 2002 were due to bias against the victim's perceived sexual orientation, the highest rate in the 12 years federal records have been kept.
 * October 29 - A Human Rights Campaign study shows 60 percent of American adoption agencies accept applications from gay and lesbian couples and 40 percent claim to have placed children in homes headed by same-sex couples.

November

 * November 1
 * The first gay pride parade in Republic of China is held in Taipei.
 * November 15
 * Same-sex marriage in Canada
 * Canadian politician Ted Nebbeling marries his partner of 32 years in what is believed to be the first same-sex marriage of a cabinet minister.
 * November 18
 * Same-sex marriage in the United States:
 * The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules it violates the state constitution to bar same-sex marriage.
 * Repeal of Section 28 becomes effective.
 * November 20 - United States Congress passes a resolution condemning all violations of internationally-recognized human rights norms based on the real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of an individual.
 * November 26
 * In the United Kingdom, the Queen's Speech which gives the government's program of legislation for the year ahead, includes a bill to allow same-sex civil unions
 * Same-sex marriage in the United States:
 * Federal Marriage Amendment introduced in the United States Senate by Wayne Allard of Colorado, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, and Jeff Sessions of Alabama, all Republicans.

December

 * December 1 - The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 are introduced in the United Kingdom, making discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual employees unlawful. This does not apply, however, to pension rights, or to employees of religious organisations.
 * December 6 - Houston City Councilmember Annise Parker defeats fellow councilmember Bruce Tatro as Houston's first lesbian city controller.
 * December 23 - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm signs an executive order banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Michigan is the 11th state to take such an action.
 * December 31 - American AIDS activist Cleve Jones is fired from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt organization, which he founded in 1987.

Deaths

 * January 19 - Morris Kight, 83, gay rights activist
 * January 22 - Sarah Pettit, 36, co-founder of Out Magazine
 * December 10 - Bob Ross, 69, founder and publisher of the Bay Area Reporter