On this day in queerstory: Connecticut decriminalizes same-sex acts

October 1 isn’t just the day we finally admit that summer’s over and drag our jumpers out of the cupboard. For queer history, it’s a date with layers – legal victories, cultural launches, and reminders that progress often begins with both tiny steps and giant leaps.

Let’s start in the courts. On this day in 2013, Connecticut officially struck down one of those archaic laws that had been lurking in the background for far too long. Until then, consensual same-sex intimacy between adults technically remained a crime under old sodomy statutes. The kind of dusty, moralistic law that everyone knows shouldn’t exist, but somehow still does – like a bad smell no one admits to. When Connecticut decriminalized, it wasn’t just tidying up its legal house; it was affirming that queer people had the same right to privacy and dignity as anyone else. A quiet, powerful win.

But October 1 is also the birthday of LGBT History Month in the U.S. Back in 1994, a high school teacher named Rodney Wilson had an idea. He wanted a dedicated month where queer stories weren’t just footnotes in textbooks but were celebrated front and center. He chose October deliberately: it already held key dates like National Coming Out Day (October 11) and anniversaries of marches on Washington. By placing queer history month in October, Wilson created a sort of annual queer harvest season – a time for gathering stories, honoring heroes, and nourishing younger generations with the knowledge that they’re part of something bigger.

Every October since, the month has kicked off on the first with a bit of a drum roll: the opening act of thirty-one days dedicated to queer memory-making. Think of it as Pride Month’s studious but equally fabulous cousin — less glitter cannon, more archive magic, but just as vital.

And to make the month extra delicious, there’s even a tradition of assigning an “icon of the day.” For October 1 in 2024, that spotlight landed on Ron Ansin, a philanthropist from Boston whose generosity has bankrolled queer health services, advocacy campaigns, and safe spaces. It’s a nice reminder that queer history isn’t just built by protestors on the streets, but also by the folks who quietly write checks, fund clinics, and make sure our communities have the resources to thrive. Sometimes revolution wears a suit and carries a check book.

So, October 1 weaves together several threads. The legal one: Connecticut shaking off the last remnants of decriminalization. The cultural one: Rodney Wilson planting the flag for LGBT History Month. And the community one: unsung allies like Ansin, who prove that activism takes many forms.

What’s the takeaway for today? That queer history isn’t a single story, but a patchwork quilt stitched together by lawmakers, teachers, activists, donors, artists, and everyday people. That progress is both loud and quiet, legal and cultural, public and personal. And that we don’t need to wait for anniversaries to remember – history is living, and we’re making it right now.

So maybe mark the date by picking up a queer memoir, sending love to an LGBTQ+ elder, or scribbling down your own story. Because when October 1 rolls around, it’s not just the start of a month – it’s an invitation. An invitation to remember, to celebrate, and to add your own thread to the vibrant, ongoing tapestry of queer life.