On this day in queerstory: New York rejects anti-discrimination laws

One of the standout events on this date comes from the early 1980s: on November 23, 1981, the New York City Council, for the tenth time, rejected an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting gay people. This repeated failure exposed just how resistant municipal power could be to protecting queer lives. LGBTQ+ activists had long lobbied for such laws — seeking basic workplace, housing and public-accommodation protections — but the Council’s repeated votes against them revealed how deeply institutional prejudice remained embedded in the city’s governance.

The defeat was more than political obstruction: it underscored how visibility and legal rights diverged. Queer New Yorkers were out and organising, but legal recognition lagged. For activists, the repeated rejection became a rallying cry, symbolising the gap between social presence and civil protection.

That same date, many years later, marks a legal turning point in Georgia. On November 23, 1998, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the state’s sodomy law.

In a 6-1 decision, Chief Justice Robert Benham wrote that “we cannot think of any other activity that reasonable persons would rank as more private and more deserving of protection from governmental interference than consensual, private, adult sexual activity.” The ruling was based on Georgia’s constitution rather than U.S. federal law, but it set a powerful precedent: the court recognised that queer citizens deserved privacy and dignity under the law.

This decision resonated far beyond Georgia. It became an important case in the broader movement to end criminalisation of gay sex, showing that courts could reinterpret restrictive statutes in light of evolving social norms. For queer Georgians, the ruling offered vindication; for the broader movement, it provided legal ammunition.

The tension of November 23 is especially clear when you consider media as another battleground. In 1933, a notorious New York tabloid, Broadway Brevities, ran a scathing, sensational piece headlined “FAGS TICKLE NUDES,” warning readers that “pansy men” were infiltrating public baths.  The article didn’t just reflect prejudice — it helped stoke it, reinforcing harmful stereotypes about queer men and criminal or erotic deviance. The tabloid’s tone was not rare; such coverage fed public fear and reinforced the stigma that legal and political activists would later try to dismantle.

Taken together, the events of November 23 weave a complex narrative: a day when queer lives were under attack, when oral and print histories carried prejudice, and when legal systems began to respond — however imperfectly — to demands for equality. On one hand, a city council said “no” to protections. On another, a high court said “yes” to privacy and dignity. Meanwhile, sensationalist media echoed old bias even as activists worked for change.

The historical lesson is clear: legal victories don’t erase social stigma; policy change doesn’t immediately transform public discourse. But each moment — the court ruling, the failed ordinance, the hateful headline — is also a piece of a longer story about queer visibility, resistance, and legitimacy.

In remembering November 23, queer history claims a complicated legacy — one that acknowledges both the cruelty and the courage, the setbacks and the breakthroughs. And it reminds us that progress rarely comes all at once, but accumulates in legal decisions, policy battles and the relentless insistence to be seen as fully human.