This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2003.
Quick Facts List of years in LGBT rights (table) ...
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January
- 30 — In Belgium, 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 legal rights are not completely equal to opposite-sex marriage because couples lack adoption rights.
March
- 13 — In the United States, The Census Bureau releases figures showing that 34.3 percent of households headed by lesbian couples, and 22.3 percent of those headed by gay male couples are raising children. The report also shows that 99.3 percent of counties in the U.S. have households headed by same-sex couples.[3]
- 24 — New Mexico governor Bill Richardson signs the New Mexico Hate Crimes Act, establishing enhanced penalties for hate crimes, including anti-gay hate crimes.
August
United Nations Human Rights Committee decides the case Young v. Australia, concerning pension rights of surviving partner.[11]
October
- 27 — Statistics from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation show that 16.7 percent of hate crimes committed in the country 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.
- 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.
Limon v. Kansas, [openjurist.org/539/us/955/limon-v-kansas-02-583 539 US 955] (Supreme Court of the United States June 27, 2003).