The Causes Of The LGBT Rights

The movement of the gay and lesbian population in the United States is one that has been in progress since the early 1900s, and is still facing overwhelming controversy and backlash today. The push for gay liberation in a country founded on Christian morals and beliefs has subsequently led to struggles over equality of marriage, adoption, jobs, and healthcare. One side of the controversy argues that every individual deserves the same rights, while the opposing mindset argues that being homosexual puts you into a group of people that is different, and will therefore be treated as such.

Horrific, unthinkable acts of violence against a young gay man, Matthew Shepard, took his life in 1998. This social problem was thrust into the mainstream media largely by his mother, Judy Shepard. She used her tragedy to create awareness, outrage and support exposing violence based solely on sexual orientation. Her work along with activists that joined her helped create our nation’s first hate crime legislation that included crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. It also made several other important provisions such as tracking hate crimes based on gender identity (transsexuals), funding to investigate and other critical supports. The Matthew Shepard Foundation does significant work on hate prevention programs in communities and continues to work toward tolerance today through its efforts to provide a voice and support for LGBT youth. Although some progress has been made, different forms of violence against gay and transgendered youth remains a troubling condition.

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

Twenty-four-year-old Daniel Zamudio was walking through a park in Santiago, Chile, when four men appeared and began to burn Daniel with cigarettes and beat him with rocks and glass bottles, injuring him in various ways (Saul). The men used the broken glass to cut off a part of his ear, as well as, cut swastikas into his skin because Zumudio was gay (Saul). Less than a month later, Daniel Zamudio passed away due to this violent hate crime (Saul). Although only few instances of homophobic crimes are reported, FBI statistics show that attacks on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, and pansexual (LGBT+) community, such as the Orlando gay nightclub shooting, are one of the common occurrences, right behind racial attacks (Saul). LGBT people have made outstanding progress on their goal to reach equality. For example, same-sex couples now have the right to adopt children in all the states of America and thanks to President Obama, federal workers cannot be discriminated upon sexual orientation or gender identity (Clinton). Although the LGBT+ community has civil rights that should be protected, due to society’s narrow-mindedness, the LGBT+ community gets treated as second class citizens.

The year is 2015 and I can’t imagine not having the freedom I do today. Marriage equality is a very recent topic in history. It wasn’t very long ago that laws prohibited the marriage of same-sex couples. I have decided to investigate the history of marriage equality and the organizations that helped make the dream come true. In order to fully understand the changes that occurred, and to comprehend the level of discrimination that was felt in the homosexual culture, one must first understand the history of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) community. The harsh history of the LGBTQ community, and discrimination that was imposed on them and the organizations that strived to advocate for the LGBTQ community on a local, regional and national level is what eventually lead to the Supreme Court ruling on June 26th, 2015, stating that states cannot ban same-sex marriage.

When it comes to the gay rights movement, the structure and the history of how it got to where it is today is a huge factor in today’s society. There have been a lot of things that negatively influenced gay rights. In some ways, things have happened in a positive way as well. The gay rights movement today and legalizing gay marriage has struck some people the wrong way because of their beliefs. For the gay community, though, it has been a very positive thing. Some of the big key moments in history went the way they did because of important events and important people causing it to go that way. These include Jeremy Bentham, Magnus Hirschfield, Henry Gerber, the making of the Mattachine Society, Stonewall Riots, Clela Rorex, the Ryan White

The following thesis will lay out the progression in the LGBTQIA movement along with the deficits that these individuals have encountered throughout history. An interdisciplinary perspective through historical,

In the Introduction to LGBT+ Studies class we discussed many themes of the history of the LGBT+ community, these themes include; oppression, fighting for our visibility and having it delayed, and a sort of power within the community. The LGBT+ community has gone through an immense amount of oppression, having to fight its way into the light and having it be pushed aside multiple times. In a historical context when the LGBT+ community started to show itself so to speak was around the 1920’s there were the first gay rights movements starting, and surprisingly it was the start of some acceptance. However, when World War II began in 1939 it oppressed the movement, as well as setting it back by gay men being denied from the military because

The LGBTQ community has struggled for decades to receive equal treatment but despite many advancements, this group of people is still not treated justly. The prevalent discrimination and prejudice enacted against the LGBTQ community can be witnessed on accounts of the Stonewall Riots and laws that affect the community such as not allowing gay men to donate blood, sexual orientation in connection to the military, et cetera. The gay rights movement has united to eradicate these issues through support of the LBGTQ community and to help people understand the process, timing, advantages, dangers, and pitfalls of coming out, as well as recent local and international rulings of the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage and the methods, laws, and attitudes of having children.

Currently, in the United States there are 9 million people who are openly a part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community; that is roughly equivalent to the entire population of New Jersey. The LGBT community stands for and places their beliefs in equality, individuality, and pride. Despite their efforts, they are still faced with degrading discrimination and cruel hatred. Today, fourteen percent of all hate crimes are directed towards to LGBT community. (fbi.gov) The number of hate crimes towards the community is quickly increasing and evolving into a worldwide problem. One of the most recent and impactful hate crimes was in 2016 when a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was attacked by a gunman. That night, nearly fifty

Every day we see on the media about people being harassed, abused, or even murdered, it has become the America's normal. Hate crimes are committed every hour; three gays become victims of hate crimes every day. Current laws do not protect these three groups of individuals: women, the disabled, and the homosexuals. I believe a huge hate crime percentage in America today is against the LGBT society. As the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender society grows, we start to see more than ten percent in the population. In 1973, the shooting of New Orleans French Quarter gay par killing 32 people, 1997-150 people, 2000- 7 people, 2009- one victim, 12 staples to the head, 2013- one individual poured gasoline on a stair way and set the club on fire, there was about 750 people in that club, last, the most recent in 2016, killing 50 people and sending 53 to the hospital, the Orlando pulse gay nightclub was violently attacked. "68% of people favor including sexual orientation and gender identity in federal hate crimes law" (Libman & Marzullo, 2009).

In October of 1998, America finally became aware of how deadly discrimination can be. In Laramie, Wyoming, 21-year old college student Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten by two men and tied to a fence, left for dead. Matthew's murderers set out only to rob him, but ended up beating him so severely that he never regained consciousness before he died. Why did this happen in the first place? Simply because Matthew was gay. Matthew's death became a national symbol of violence against homosexuals, prompting prayer vigils and calls for state and federally supported hate crime laws.

The struggle for equality has been intense, and still continues to this day. With this being said, much progress has been made in establishing respect and external acceptance for all individuals sense of identity. For example, in 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same Sex Marriages, marking a pivotal point in the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community. For many, this act helped to support their sense of self, a right that been denied for so long. The United States effectively validated the LGBTQ community, giving this group all rights granted to all other citizen’s, However, the creation and acceptance of this community has not had positive benefits for all members. The Gender Binary has been changed, but many distinctions

The tragedy of the event had a bigger impact as it took place during Pride month, the month that celebrates who we are individually with self-worth and self-acceptance. On June 12 2016, the deadliest mass shooting conducted by a single gunman as well as the most fatal act of violence against LGBT+ people in U.S history (as of now) took event at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The nightclub Pulse is scarred forever as the place where 49 innocent LGBT+ people were killed and 53 others were injured. It was, as President Barack Obama says, a refuge for LGBT+ people (as well as Hispanic people, as most of the victims were of the ethnicity). To patrons of the nightclub, not only was it a place to create

Looking back throughout history at the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals, it isn’t hard to see that we have made the majority of our strides in the past 10 years. As a society we have decided the time is now to put an end to the lack of rights for people of different sexual orientations. Accepting LGBT individuals and providing them the same rights and protections as all other Americans makes us a more united, respectable Country. Everyone deserves equal treatment and opportunities regardless of what their sexual orientation may be.