Gay Rights Legislation Paper

Gay Rights Legislation
Mirissa Branine
Northwestern Oklahoma State University

Abstract

The Road to Equality
Introduction
There are approximately nine million people in America that represent the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community. That represents 3.5% of the American population, with that number expected to rise as new legislation makes it safer and more acceptable for the LGBT community to identify themselves (Williams Institute, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss current legislation in the Federal government pertaining to LGBT rights, as well as cover the history of LGBT legislation. The American Government has come a long way with gay rights, but there is still
a long way to go.
Intended Target Population In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v.
Hodges that state limitations on same-sex marriage violates the Fourteenth Amendment, making all state bans on same-sex marriages illegal. This Supreme Court decision took the decision of gay rights legislation, when it comes to marriage, out of the hands of the states, making it a federal issue. This ruling made it legal for same-sex couples to marry in all 50 states. The problem with the rulings, though, was that it did not provide instructions on implementation within the individual states (Duke, 2015). This paper will focus on legislation on the Federal level and will cover issues and rights that the LGBT community has been fighting for. As you will read later in the paper, marriage is not the only rights that the LGBT community lacked, there were many policies that passed through the United States government to get the country where it is today in terms of
equality.
History
There were no waves made in advocacy groups for the gay and lesbian population until World War II, when people were uprooted from their home towns and meshed with different people across the world.
“The disruptions of World War II allowed formerly isolated gay men and women to meet as soldiers, war workers, and other volunteers uprooted from small towns and posted worldwide” (History, n.d.). It was not until the 1950’s that the gay and lesbians began demanding equality when Senator Joseph McCarthy began investigating homosexuals that held government jobs. In 1950, Harry Hay and Chuck Rowland founded the Mattachine Society, the first organization recognizing gay men as an “oppressed cultural minority”. The Mattachine Society is considered by many to be the founder of the gay rights movement. Other advocacy groups began forming including One, Inc. in 1952, Daughters of Bilitis in 1955, which was the first lesbian support group founded in San Francisco. These groups laid the groundwork for today’s landmark victories in the LBGT community by holding meetings, hosting outreach programs, handing out pamphlets, and soon they were catching the attention of sociologists and psychologists. On June 28, 1969, a small group of activists encouraged a widespread protest for equal rights; patrons of a small neighborhood bar, Stonewall Inn in New York, fought police raids of the Stonewall Inn. This created a lot of pride in the gay community and is still felt in the present day Pride
Marches across the country that this event created.
It was not until 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders; until then, those who were gay were stigmatized as ill and were encouraged to seek treatment. This same year boasts a landmark event for the gay community in the world of politics: Harvey Milk, a gay man himself, runs for city supervisor in San Francisco. He runs on a liberal platform with a stance that the government does not belong in personal sexual matters. Although he did not win the election, he got 10th out of 32 candidates; he was able to gain attention to his cause with his passion and bravery. Milk may not have won the City Supervisor position, but the Mayor of San Francisco, George Moscone, appoints Harvey Milk to the Board of Permit Appeals, and Milk becomes the first openly gay man to serve as a city commissioner in the United States. After a loss at running for the California State Assembly, Milk co-founds the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club. Harvey Milk again makes news, but this time nationally, when he is sworn in on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. His first act is sponsoring a civil rights bill outlawing sexual orientation discrimination; with only one vote against the bill, it was signed into law. Harvey Milk continued his work, fighting California’s Proposition 6, a proposal to fire any school staff or teaching staffs that publicly support gay rights. This proposition brought on more attention and more support for the equality of gay and lesbian citizens, and on November 7th was rejected by over a million votes. Later that month, on November 27th, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by an angry former city supervisor of San Francisco. The legacy of Harvey Milk has lived on, and continues to inspire many people who are carrying on his fight.

References
Gates, G. J. (2011). How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender? The Williams Institute. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-How-Many-People-LGBT-Apr-2011.pdf
Morris, B. J., PhD. (n.d.). History of Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Social Movements. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx
The American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html
Tobias, C. (2015). Implementing Marriage Equality in America. Duke Law Journal, 65, 25-48. Retrieved February 16, 17, from http://dlj.law.duke.edu/2016/01/implementing-marriage-equality-in-america/