Demanding of Equality Rights
Based on the constitution, our forefathers stated that “all men created equal.” Such declaration refers to human rights; that each and every citizen should not be denied to any civil rights based on their sex, race, and religious belief. Also, according to the Bill of Rights, everyone should have the freedom of speech, liberty, and equal treatment in court. However, homosexuals have not been treated equally and have also been discriminated against. Homosexuality has been in existence since the beginning of human documentation of history (Ngyuen, par.1 ). Inspired by the African American Civil Rights Movement, homosexuals in the United States have also begun to organize themselves and fight for their equality and for justice. With the rise of gay protests, the issue about gay rights turned into a controversial, which today is still debated with neither party winning. By taking a closer look at the history of homosexual and their rights, homosexuality has been looked down upon and legislated against. Homosexuals are defined as people who have a romantic feeling toward those of the same sex. They can be either men or women. Homosexuals exist in all classes, races, gender, and countries, regardless of their age. The history of gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. History has shown that homosexual people have always been discriminated against, even today. Not only were homosexual people denied equal treatment in court, but they also have been victims of violence and harassment in the society based on of their sexual orientation (Nguyen, par.5). Homosexuality, which is considered the sexual act between people of the same sex, was labeled as a felony in the past according to "Sodomy Laws." Homosexual people were openly denied employment. According to Nguyen, the current federal government openly prohibits gay employment to federal institutions like the CIA, FBI, the army - the nation's biggest employer in the United States - and the National Security Agency. The government even regularly removes gay officials from public positions, and so do a lot of other employers in the private sector (Ngyuen, para.4). In individual cases, homosexuals have often been physically and emotionally harassed. Such harassment includes being insulted, kicked, punched, and thrown at by fellow classmates, co-workers, and even family members just for simply being gay (Nguyen, par4). Most gays are often shunned by their own family because being homosexual is against the family’s religious belief. Most often they were even battered by their own parents. Ever since AIDS became the worldwide issue in the early eighties, homosexuality was blamed for the dispersal of the disease. The reason for this is because of their unprotected sexual activity. According to Ngyuen, studies show that there exists a popular assumption that all or most gay people have AIDS. In fact, heterosexual sex is actually the main cause for the spreading of viruses, representing 90% of new cases of AIDS. Homosexuality also raises the heat of a military issue, which was to allow or deny homosexuals the right to enter military service. In 1942, the U.S military issued a banning of homosexuals from entering the military service by arguing that their presence would cause commotion to the heterosexual soldiers and decrease their efficiency and productivity. The most controversial topic, though, of gay rights is the legalization of same-sex marriages. The only state that attempted to legalize same-sex marriage was Hawaii in 1996 (Head, Tom, para. 7). Judge Kevin Change declared to the court that Hawaii should allow gay couples a marriage license (Head,Tom, para.7). The legislation was to be voted by the citizens. However, the legislation was not approved. Once again, homosexuals were denied rights by society. Nevertheless, the gay rights movements in the United States continue to progress, especially for gay marriage. Six states,