List of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Firsts By Year - 2010s - 2013

2013

• Barack Obama mentioned the word "gay" and the issue of gay rights for the first time in a speech at the U.S. presidential swearing in; specifically, he did so in his inaugural address.
• Kathleen Wynne became the first openly LGBT premier of a Canadian province, namely Ontario, after defeating Sandra Pupatello in the third round of voting of the Ontario Liberal party's leadership race on January 26, 2013. Sworn in on February 11, 2013, she is the party's first openly LGBT leader and Ontario's first female premier.
• Robbie Rogers announced he was gay on February 15, 2013, becoming the only male fully capped international association footballer to do so.
• Jason Collins on April 29, 2013, became the first active male professional athlete in a major North American team sport to publicly come out as gay.
• Rep. Mark Pocan's spouse Philip Frank became the first same-sex spouse of a federal lawmaker to officially receive a House Spouse ID. In 2009, Marlon Reis, the spouse of Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), was issued a congressional spouse ID, but later card services told him that he had been given the designation accidentally.
• Autumn Sandeen, a U.S. veteran and transgender woman, received a letter from a Navy official stating, “Per your request the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) has been updated to show your gender as female effective April 12th, 2013.” Allyson Robinson of Outserve declared, "To our knowledge, this is the first time that the Department of Defense has recognized and affirmed a change of gender for anyone affiliated, in a uniformed capacity — in this case a military retiree."
• For the first time the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decided to allow the same-sex spouse of a military veteran to be buried in a U.S. national cemetery. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki gave permission for retired Air Force officer Linda Campbell, 66, to bury the ashes of her same-sex spouse Nancy Lynchild at Williamette National Cemetery in Oregon.
• The first same-sex kiss ever on a Eurovision stage occurred at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest when Krista Siegfrids, who sang "Marry Me", ended her semi-final performance by kissing one of her female dancers.
• Dr. Saul Levin was named on May 15, 2013 as the new chief executive officer and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, making him the first known openly gay person to head the APA.
• Ukraine had its first gay pride march, which was held in Kiev.
• Robbie Rogers joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, making him the first openly gay male athlete to compete in Major League Soccer.
• Rehana Kausar and Sobia Kamar, both from Pakistan, became the first Muslim lesbian couple to get married in a civil ceremony in the United Kingdom.
• Fallon Fox came out as transgender, thus becoming the first openly transgender athlete in MMA history.
• Jallen Messersmith of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., came out and is believed to be the first openly gay player in U.S. men's college basketball.
• Guy Erwin became the first openly gay bishop to be elected to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA); he was elected to the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA.
• France legalized same-sex marriage and adoption, and Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau became the first couple to have a legal same-sex marriage under the new law.
• Major General Patricia “Trish” Rose became the first openly lesbian two-star general in the U.S. Air Force, and the highest ranking openly gay officer in the entire U.S. military at the time.
• The Bi Writers Association, which promotes bisexual writers, books, and writing, announced the winners of its first Bisexual Book Awards. An awards ceremony was held at the Nuyorican Poets Café.
• Kristin Beck, formerly Chris Beck, came out as the first openly transgendered retired Navy SEAL.
• The U.S. Senate confirmed Nitza Quiñones Alejandro to a federal judgeship, making her the first openly gay Latina to hold such a post.
• Cason Crane became the first openly gay man to summit Mount Everest.
• U.S. Air Force Under Secretary Eric Fanning took over as acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force, becoming the highest ranking openly LGBT official at the Department of Defense; he is openly gay.
• The Director's Guild of America elected Paris Barclay as its first black and first openly gay president.
• Julian Marsh and Traian Povov become the first married gay couple to have a green card application approved, in this case for Julian Marsh.
• A married lesbian couple in Colorado became the first to receive a marriage-based green card, making Cathy Davis the first same-sex spouse to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
• Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier became the first same-sex couple to be married in California since Proposition 8 was overturned.
• Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Welsh Secretary David Jones, became the first MP in Britain to come out as bisexual.
• Maureen Le Marinel became the first openly lesbian union president elected in Britain. She was elected to the presidency of Unison, one of Britain's largest trade unions.