[21] The British Government's failure to extend the 1967 reforms to Northern Ireland led to the establishment of organisations such as the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and the Gay Liberation Front.

[23] In 1978, the British Government published a draft Order in Council to decriminalise homosexual conduct in Northern Ireland between men over 21 years of age, in line with the 1967 reforms in England and Wales.

[24] NIGRA members also faced arrests, forced medical examinations and house raids, ostensibly for other issues such as drug searches, but also had correspondence regarding the decriminalisation campaign confiscated by police.

[29][21] The police forwarded the material to prosecutors to have Dudgeon charged with gross indecency, but the Director of Prosecutions decided not to proceed on the grounds that it would not be in the public interest.

On 13 March 1980, the Commission issued a report stating that "the legal prohibition of [homosexual] acts between male persons over 21 years of age breached the applicant's right to respect for his private life".

Same-sex marriage was voted on five times by the Northern Ireland Assembly, and although it was supported by a slim majority on the fifth attempt, it was vetoed by the Democratic Unionist Party using the petition of concern.

[8] There were five attempts to introduce same-sex marriage in the Northern Ireland Assembly, with a majority supporting legalisation in 2015 but the Democratic Unionist Party exercising its veto powers by filing a petition of concern.

[84] On 7 April 2020, the Court of Appeal in Belfast ruled that same-sex couples faced unjustified discrimination while denied the opportunity to marry in Northern Ireland.

But with changes to the law meaning same-sex weddings can take place in Northern Ireland since 11 February 2020, senior judges decided not to make a formal declaration on any human rights breach.

[92][95] That day, the first legally recognised same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland was celebrated for Belfast couple Robyn Peoples and Sharni Edwards-Peoples.

[111][112] Under the Good Friday Agreement, the Government of the United Kingdom agreed that it would create: a statutory duty on public authorities in Northern Ireland to carry out all their functions with due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity in relation to religion and political opinion; gender... and sexual orientation.

[114][116] The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (NI) 2006 prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods and services, premises, education and public functions, and went into effect on 1 January 2007.

[117] The Democratic Unionist Party's Jeffrey Donaldson introduced a motion opposing the 2006 regulations, which were rejected by Sinn Féin as an attempt to stir up homophobia and failed in the Assembly on a tied 39-all vote.

[127][128] The case led to opposing demonstrations for and against the decision,[122] with LGBT activist Peter Tatchell supporting the bakery's refusal to produce a message they disagreed with on the grounds of freedom of conscience and belief.

[129] In 2014, Democratic Unionist Party MLA Paul Givan proposed introducing a "conscience clause" into Northern Ireland's equality laws to allow anti-LGBT discrimination by people and businesses on the basis of their religious beliefs.

[131] His successor Arlene Foster threatened to limit the powers of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, alleging that it was not protecting the interests of faith communities.

[133] On 10 October 2018, the five justices comprising the Court unanimously ruled that because the bakery's objection related to the proposed message on the cake rather than the customer's personal attributes, there was no discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

[144][145] However, in a 2-1 decision, the Court of Appeal reinstated the ban, finding no evidence of apparent bias by Poots and leaving the blood donation policy a matter for the Health Minister of Northern Ireland.

[146][147] In 2016, new Health Minister Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Féin announced that Northern Ireland would move to a one-year deferral system, in line with the rest of the United Kingdom at the time, with effect from 1 September 2016.

[151] The 2013 survey findings also suggest that awareness of LGBT inequality had risen over time, with increasing support for teaching equality in schools and allowing same-sex marriage.

[168] Because the DUP held more than 50% of Unionist seats in the Assembly before the 2017 Northern Ireland election, the party could single-handedly veto any legislation if its members presented a petition of concern.

[170] The DUP has been strongly associated with opposition to LGBT rights since its establishment in 1971 by Ian Paisley, who also founded the fundamentalist Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.

[172] Health Minister Jim Wells was widely criticised after claiming children brought up in same-sex relationships were more likely to be abused or neglected;[173] he was forced to resign shortly thereafter.

[177] The party's use of the petition of concern for this purpose was described as "a mean-spirited abuse" of power-sharing arrangements by The New York Times and contrary to the Good Friday Agreement by Amnesty International.

[179] Foster stated that despite her staunch opposition to same-sex marriage, she valued the contribution of the LGBT community in Northern Ireland and requested that differing views be respected.

[179] The party ran its first openly gay candidate at the 2019 Northern Ireland local elections, with Alison Bennington winning a seat in the Glengormley Urban area of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

[182] In 2021 Foster was forced to resign as party leader, with The Guardian reporting that her softening opposition to LGBT rights (such as abstaining rather than opposing the conversion therapy ban) was a contributing factor.

[186][187] On 1 July 2021 DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley apologised for the "absolutely atrocious" statements made by the party's politicians about LGBT people over the past 50 years.

[190] Historically, the Ulster Unionist Party has opposed LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage but in recent years has changed many of its stances and attempted to cultivate support among gay voters.

[192] Then-UUP member Ken Maginnis created a media controversy after he equated homosexuality with bestiality in an interview on BBC Northern Ireland's Stephen Nolan show in June 2012.