February

● 1974.02 — The PTL television ministry is founded by Jim Bakker. ● 1985.02 — Representatives from the Catholic church join with Protestant and Jewish leaders for an “interfaith forum on religion and AIDS.” A joint statement is released calling on religious individuals to treat those with AIDS with compassion, not judgment. ● 1999.02 — Televangelist Jerry Falwell claims that Tinky Winky, one of the Teletubbies, is a homosexual role model for children. ● 1986.02.05 — President Ronald Reagan makes a surprise visit to the Department of Health and Human Services and is quoted as saying, “One of our highest public health priorities is going to be continuing to find a cure for AIDS.” He also announces that he will task Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to prepare a major report on the disease. ● 1978.02.07 — Oklahoma passes a “Teacher Fitness” statute, allowing local school boards to fire any teacher who “advocates, encourages or promotes” homosexuality. ● 2004.02.07 — Rainbow Ark LiveJournal community for LGBT Christians in the furry fandom is founded. ● 1988.02.08 — Pat Robertson comes in second in the Republican Iowa Caucus for the party’s presidential nomination. ● 1990.02.08 — The U.S. Senate passes a bill that requires the federal government to compile statistics on hate crimes against gays and lesbians. ● 1981.02.10 — The Moral Majority announces it will spend 3 million dollars in anti-gay advertising. ● 1982.02.10 — President Reagan nominates an evangelist and noted anti-gay, Sam Hart, to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Hart withdraws as protests mount, blaming the homosexuals for “sabotaging” his nomination. ● 2004.02.12 — San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom orders the city clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Nearly 3,200 same-sex couples receive licenses in a nine-day period. ● 1994.02.23 — Pope John Paul II releases a letter in which he states that same-sex unions are “a serious threat to the future of the family and society” and that they should not “be recognized...as a marriage.” ● 1933.02.23-24 — Adolf Hitler’s government launches the Nazi persecution of homosexuality with directives of closing gay and lesbian clubs, banning pornography and homophile publications, and dissolving homosexual rights groups. ● 2014.02.24 — The Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 is signed into law by President Museveni of Uganda. ● 1982.02.25 — Wisconsin becomes the first U.S. state to pass a gay civil rights law.