1980 in LGBTQ rights

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1980.

Events

New York (in People v. Onofre)^[1] and Pennsylvania (in Commonwealth v. Bonadio)^[2] become the first U.S. states to hold same-sex sodomy laws unconstitutional. No other state's highest court will do so again until the Kentucky Supreme Court issues its holding in Kentucky v. Wasson in 1992.^[3]

23 - Serving openly in the Colombian military becomes legal, however Sentence T-099 of the Colombian Supreme Court exempts trans women from serving.^[4]

2 - The Canadian Union of Postal Workers ratify a federal government document that includes a no-discrimination clause protecting sexual orientation.^[5]
3 — Voters in San Jose and Santa Clara County, California, vote to repeal the city and county gay rights ordinances.^[6]

5 — The Liberal Party of Canada adopts an official resolution to include sexual orientation in the Canadian Human Rights Act.^[7]
7 - Vancouver's first gay TV program, Gayblevision, airs.^[5]
31 — The Toronto Board of Education (since merged into the Toronto District School Board) votes to consider whether to establish a permanent liaison committee with the gay community.

Mel Boozer is nominated by petition for the vice presidency of the United States at the 1980 Democratic National Convention.^[8] After addressing the convention, Boozer withdraws himself from consideration.^[9] Boozer was separately nominated for the office by the Socialist Party USA.^[10]

9 — The former municipality of Metropolitan Toronto passes a declaration about being an equal opportunity employer, but refuses to pass a stronger Metro Bill of Rights which explicitly includes sexual orientation.
15 — At its first meeting, the subcommittee established by the Toronto Board of Education to explore the possibility of establishing a liaison with the gay community votes to disband.
10 - Germany passes the Transsexuellengesetz, allowing trans people to change their legal gender only if they get surgery, sterilization, and divorce.^[4]
18 — The Toronto Board of Education adopts a policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation while adding a clause forbidding "proselytizing of homosexuality in the schools".^[11]

^ "People v. Onofre". Historical Society of the New York Courts. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
^ "Com. v. Bonadio". Justia. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
^ "Kentucky v Wasson". American Psychological Association. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "1980 in LGBT Rights". Equaldex. Archived from the original on May 5, 2025. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2SLGBTQ+ History". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
^ "Income tax cut rejected by voters in California". The Wingman (AZ) Daily Miner. Associated Press. 1980-06-04. p. A3. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
^ "Canadian Human Rights Act". Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. 11 September 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
^ Shilts, p. 32
^ Sears, p. 389
^ Smith, et al., p. 193
^ Annetta, Michael (September 18, 2013). "September 18 in LGBTQ History". The Lavender Effect. Retrieved March 5, 2021.

Sears, Thomas James (2001). Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2964-6.
Shilts, Randy (1987). And the Band Played on: Politics, People, And the AIDS Epidemic. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-00994-1.
Smith, Raymond A. and Donald P. Haider-Markel (2003). Gay and Lesbian Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-256-8.