GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE 60'S

The Gay Rights Movement officially began in 1924 with the Society for Human Rights. Henry Gerber, along with six other men, applied for a charter on December

The history of the gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. More accurately, the quest by gays to search out others like themselves and foster a feeling of identity has been around since then. It is an innovative movement that seeks to change existing norms and gain acceptance within our culture. By 1915, one gay person said that the gay world was a "community, distinctly organized" (Milestones 1991), but kept mostly out of view because of social hostility. According to the Milestones article, after World War II, around 1940, many cities saw their first gay bars open as many homosexuals began to start a networking system. However, their newfound visibility only backfired on them, as

In the 65-year history of LGBTQ activism in the United States, the present moment stands out on the basis of gay marriage being legalized. At no other time would an observer have imagined that the LGBTQ movement was likely to succeed in such a manner that any gender can marry any other gender with the permission by the law (Stewart-winter

The first homosexual to speak out publicly in defense of homosexuality was a writer named Karl Heinrich Ulrichs on August 29, 1867. So while most people say the gay rights movement is something that's fairly recent, that is untrue. People have been judged for being homosexual for a very long time. Prejudice is something that can cause people to be violent, hateful, and act differently towards certain people to fit in, as shown in To Kill A Mockingbird and in society today towards supporters of gay and trans rights.

The case Obergefell vs. Hodges reached the United States Supreme Court in 2015 (Oyez). This case dealt with the rights of same-sex marriages and became important case in our nation’s young history and in our society in general. The problem was groups of same-sex couples were being told that their marriage licenses were not being upheld to the same legal standards as those of heterogeneous couples. Therefore same-sex couples in Ohio, Tennessee , Kentucky, and Michigan went and sued these agencies in challenge of their constitutional rights (Oyez).They took their issue to court because they believed that the states were denying them their 14th amendment rights without due process. They couldn’t understand why their marriages license were not

On June 4, 2008, the plaintiffs in this case include fifteen same-sex couples who wish to marry in California and support groups for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Californians. They were denied many times; however, now before the California Supreme Court, they argue that “California has long led the nation in recognizing that constitutional provisions guaranteeing equal protection, privacy, due process and freedom of association and expression require that lesbian and gay people, like all people, be treated fairly under the law.” Nonetheless these protections, California has denied same-sex couples the right to marry. That denial, they argue, violates the California Constitution.

A group of gay couples sued their various relevant state agencies in the states of Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and also in Tennessee. The lawsuits challenged the constitutionality of the bans perpetrated by the states on same-sex marriages or the states’ refusal for the recognition of such legal marriages that occurred within their jurisdictions. The plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges argued that the statutes in their states violated the clause of equal protection. It also violated the clause of Due Protection of the fourteenth amendment. One of the plaintiffs brought an issue with the claims of civil rights. In all the circumstances, the trying courts found favour for the plaintiffs. However, the court of appeal for the 6th Circuit reversed the rulings and held that the ban on same-sex marriages by the states never violated the couples’ 14th amendment rights. The following article will, therefore, give a description and summary of the case Obergefell v. Hodges. It will give its current argument and later take a position so as to argue for one side of the case.

In Obergefell v. Hodges, the plaintiffs, including fourteen same-sex couples, argued for their marriages performed legally in another state to be recognized in their state of residence. They were asking that the privileges and responsibilities of marriage be granted to them as they would to any opposite-sex couple. The plaintiffs gave examples of how unequal protection negatively affects them to convince the judges that they should have their marriage recognized. Obergefell was denied being included in his spouse’s death record. DeBoer was disallowed adoption with her spouse, which could cause issues should one of the children become sick or one of the parents die.

Virginia case opened the door to a new civil rights movement. This time, it is about the rights of the LGBT community. Only in recent years has homosexuality become acceptable in the public eye. Regardless of the laws stating we cannot discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation, homosexual individuals are still treated as second class citizens. Gay men and women were denied the right to marry whom they loved. Couples had to fight for their love one state at a time until finally, on June 26th, 2015, the United States supreme court ruled that discriminating against same sex marriages was unconstitutional and “states must recognize same sex unions” (Chappell 2015).

Beginning in the 20th century, gay rights movements, as part of the broader civil rights movement, in conjunction with the development of the often-activist academic

The global divide of same-sex marriage remains a controversial and convoluted topic across North America. The civil rights of human beings were put into question against the underlying discriminatory issue of homosexuality within the state in the New York Washington post article, “As Rulings Are Announced, Cheers and Tears Among Waiting Crowd”. Wednesday June 26th, 2013 at 10:00am marked the official ruling that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as a union between man and woman, was unconstitutional. History was made as gay spouses were given the legal right to social security benefits such as, shared health cares plans without tax penalties and gay foreigners married to Americans were given access to

The lawful action and formal movement groups made in the left coast throughout the seventies to help protect gay rights, built a foundation for the gay rights movement that gays all over the country used to gain equal rights such as marriage rights, counceling rights, and employment. For many years, the voices of the LGBT community were oppressed by regular society. But, beginning in the late 60’s, the movement of counterculture began to challenge common thought that other races and gender types should be treated with equal respect. Although these movements of counterculture such as the famous stonewall riots, helped spark the movement, it was not until cities like seattle and portland implemented legal protection, that the gay community started to grasp footing.

The fight for equal marriage rights has been one of great length. Although this topic only brought to attention of the Supreme Court in 2015, gay marriage has long been a topic of interest in American society. Prior to 2015, gay marriage was only acknowledged and legal in select states, not nationwide. This caused great distress and heartache. One case in particular, the case that was brought to the supreme court, is very representative of such dejection. The subjects of such case are James Obergefell and John Arthur of Ohio. In 2013, the two were legally married in Maryland. Shortly after, however, Mr. Arthur grew terminally ill, and eventually passed away. Due to Ohio state laws, the state refused to put “married” on Mr. Arthur’s death

In 2003, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court made a 4-3 decision to legalize same-sex marriage on the merit that there was no constitutional reason adequate enough to deny same-sex couples the same benefits of other married couples (Jost, Gay Marriage Showdowns). In California’s Supreme Court ruling, it was said that being able to marry was a fundamental right in the state’s constitution, straight or not. (Jost, Gay Marriage Showdowns). However, there were 26 states in 2008 who had constitution amendments to prohibit or ban same-sex couples from marrying (Jost, Gay Marriage Showdowns). The voters voted in favor of the proposition, however two lower Federal Courts in California ruled this proposition as “unconstitutional” (Jost, Gay Marriage).

Lately, many people’s opinions have changed when it comes to same-sex marriage, celebrities and politicians as well as every day, ordinary citizens. “More than two dozen Republicans — including a top adviser to Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee — have added their names to a legal brief urging the Supreme Court to declare that gay couples have a constitutional right to wed” (Stolberg). Around one hundred years after the fourteenth amendment was authenticated in the year 1868, the Supreme Court collectively decided that marriage is a basic civil right of man. In the case of Loving versus Virginia, in 1967, the ruling ended the ban on interracial