Okay so I am not a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender but I do proudly show off my "LGBT for Obama" sticker that sticks right by my mousepad and keyboard that I use to type this very blog post after post. So of course, when I saw in the book the mention of the GLBT community's fight for their Civil Rights, I peaked with excitement. This is one of the largest civil rights movements of my generation, one that some of older generations like my parents don't understand. My mother didn't even know what a gay person was till she was 20 years old, unlike myself who in the 2000 election as a 6 year old was exposed to the debate of same-sex marriage and rights.
But that was 12 years ago! Why have we not progressed more than we have since then? I was 6 years old and on a green card then, but now I am an 18 year old citizen with the right to vote. Which makes me wonder… is it my generation's votes that will bring more rights for a group of people that I have been blessed with to have had the ability to grow up with and work with?
Well, going back to the textbook, you can see how much we really have progressed. In the late 1970's, groups like the Lesbian Rights Project, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders were founded, dedicated to ending the legal restrictions against homosexuals.
In 1993 Bill Clinton wanted to end discrimination against homosexuals in the armed services but had to compromise with a self-explainatory policy called "Don't Ask Don't Tell". But in 2010, a federal court judge ruled that this policy was unconstitutional, but the enforcement is still not full by all units as we have to progress into this. But this decision was monumental for a time in which we were in two wars and were having people put their lives on the line but were unable to even openly love, fighting for our rights while we couldn't even give them theirs.
A crude fight had to be battled due to certain state's laws against sodomy, which proved groundbreaking in the case Lawrence vs Texas in 2003, where this law was overturned on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Following this ruling, many corporations like the "All-American" Wal-Mart announced that banning job orientation based on sexual orientation was illegal.
One of the most amazing milestones was when Massachusetts was the first law to allow same-sex marriage, with a couple states following….but there is still a long road ahead for equality.
BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
What the book doesn't mention additionally is how the President in May of 2012 announced that he supported gay marriage. What is important to note that this support although criticized by some as an election gimmick reminded me of another important civil rights activist, Abraham Lincoln. Because Barack Obama just came out with his personal view on same-sex marriage, doesn't mean it made it legal, it just added a bit more of a morale to keep him in office, the same way Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation… because he stated he freed the slaves in states that were in rebellion and not in his control… meaning nobody he could legally control was freed, but a moral purpose was initiated.
Of course though, in my experiences canvassing I have experienced people that took to this very negatively who (100% real story) told me that because I was voting for Obama I did not believe in god. Also this narrow minded couple stated "it's not that we're against gays, we just don't want them to marry, it's not right…. it's not mom and dad anymore, it's just parents"… if this is the argument for everyone against gay marriage… I have much smaller faith in humanity than previously thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment