1. The ban on same-sex marriage was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing couples in all fifty states to be — legally — with the one they love...
... and everyone felt a lot of feelings:
2. Jack Evans, 85, and George Harris, 82, of Dallas, Texas — who first met at a house party over 50 years ago — became one of the first couples to tie the knot following that important ruling:
3. And some lone hero put this sign outside the Rowan County Courthouse entrance after clerk Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses:
4. Laverne Cox posed for a nude photo shoot and we all lost our goddamn minds:
6. Or when this perfectly timed photo of two women kissing right in front of an anti-gay pastor in Dublin was everything we needed? Now you do.
7. Take a second to relive the smooch that made Richard Dowling and Cormac Gollogly the first same-sex couple to be married in Ireland:
Not to mention, the moment they brought the sock game to brave new heights:
8. And that wonderful smooch could only happen after the Republic of Ireland became the very first nation to enact marriage equality by a popular vote:
9. When voters in Salt Lake City, Utah, elected their first openly gay mayor? That was pretty cool.
10. Trans heartthrob Aydian Dowling managed to break the internet not once...
... but twice:
11. There was that time when Wellesley College, Barnard, and Smith all announced changes in their admissions policies to accept transgender women (finally):
12. Following an interview with Diane Sawyer, Caitlyn Jenner appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair with a little help from the one and only Annie Liebovitz:
13. And then that same cover sparked trans people to challenge beauty standards for trans people by creating their own Vanity Fair covers:
“It is important to note that these standards are also informed by race, class and ability among other intersections. I have always been aware that I can never represent all trans people. No one or two or three trans people can,” wrote actress Laverne Cox, who helped spark the conversation, on her tumblr.
14. The world watched Polish priest Krysztof Olaf Charamsa stay true to himself and his beliefs even after the Vatican fired him for being gay:
15. And we cheered when a kickass Seattle-based Girl Scout chapter stood up for trans rights and ended up getting a donation of $250,000:
16. Theatergoers finally got to see FreeHeld, Ellen Page's passion project, on the big screen and then Carol totally owned the Golden Globes nominations with 5 bids:
17. Reddit user MeggoEgggo1 and her wife casually won the baby announcement game once and for all with these t-shirts:
18. And an amazing tattoo artist retouched his wife’s tattoo of their trans son to reflect his true identity:
19. Cara Delevingne silenced anyone calling her sexuality ~ just a phase~ :
20. That was second only to the shut down delivered by soccer player Ella Masar after marrying fellow footballer Erin McLeod:
21. Landon Patterson of Kansas City, MO, became her high school’s first trans homecoming queen and slayed with the crown:
22. And when this video of a trans teen getting her first dose of hormones went viral everyone grabbed for some tissues:
23. In case you forgot, Cher called Lady Gaga and the entire world, for just a moment, stopped rotating:
24. There was that one time Senior U.S. Airman Logan Ireland, an out trans servicemember in the U.S. Air Force, spent an evening with Obama at the White House Pride celebration:
#Transgender #military members Logan Ireland & Laila Villanueva were honored to meet @POTUS at @WhiteHouse. #LGBT
25. And one brave woman dared to interrupt Ryan Gosling to propose to her girlfriend:
And Ryan was totally into it.
26. YouTube lovely Ingrid Nilson came out in a heartwrenching video while rocking a completely flawless red lip:
And then she gave everyone relationship envy all year long with her girlfriend Hannah Hart:
27. YouTuber Amy Geliebter made a beauty tutorial...
... that expertly tore down bisexual stereotypes :
28. Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor became PDA queens on twitter and the world almost couldn't handle it:
- @MsSarahPaulson and more to come.
Endless goals.
29. And POTUS himself was lookin' all fine as the very first president to appear on the cover of an LGBT publication:
President #BarackObama is our Ally of the Year and cover of the #Out100: https://t.co/h9GBgXcoOZ
30. Meanwhile, George Takei? He continued to be George Takei.
Bring it on, 2016.
