1 – In the United States, civil union laws take effect in Delaware and Hawaii.[1]
6 – After a judge's ruling, the Brazilian state of Alagoas becomes the first to recognise same-sex marriages.[2]
12 – Civil union laws on the British Isle of Jersey take effect.[3]
20
Following a ten-day trial in the United Kingdom, three Muslim men are convicted at Derby Crown Court of inciting hatred on the grounds of sexuality after distributing leaflets calling for gay men to be killed. Two other defendants are acquitted.[4] This was the first such prosecution under hate crime legislation.[5]
In the United States, Texas A&M adds sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the university's non-discrimination policy.[6]
20 – Three women in rural Camaroon go on trial for "practising homosexuality". It was reported by the BBC as the first time women have been tried on such charges.[8]
21 – In the United States, the Baltimore County, Maryland, County Council passes a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity.[9]
1 – Malaysian High Court Judge Rohana Yusuf rules that police have the power to ban a gay arts festival.[12]
25 – Slovenian voters reject the new family code granting registered same-sex partners all the rights of married couples, except with regards to joint adoptions, that was passed by the then-coalition government.[13]
8 – In the United States, North Carolina voters approve of Amendment 1 bans same-sex marriages and any "domestic legal union" in the state constitution.[15]
Maryland voters also approve Question 6 in response to the enactment of the Civil Marriage Protection Act on March 1, 2012, thus allowing same-sex couples to obtain a civil marriage license after 1 January 2013 and also protecting clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs.
5 – Supreme Court of Mexico unanimously strikes down a same-sex marriage ban in the southern state of Oaxaca, paving the way for same-sex marriages nationally.[21]
March 27 – Adrienne Rich, United States, credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse,"[26]rheumatoid arthritis.[27]
April 19 – Bettie Naylor, United States, LGBT rights activist and founding member of the Human Rights Campaign and the National Women's Political Caucus. Died in her sleep of undetermined cause.[28]
Media related to LGBT history in 2012 at Wikimedia Commons