Gay Civil Rights: What Does The Future Hold?
Much like the civil rights movement of the sixties, America is now faced with the up rise of civil hate crimes, as well as the discrimination against a very particular group of people. These people are those who choose a different sexual orientation or gender identity than the social norm of the country. When they go outside the social norm, they inadvertently invite tons of trouble into their lives.
It will take a long time, as the history of gay rights has taught us, to get equality and perfect gay civil rights. One example of the battle is seen in how hard gay people have to fight to have a family. Various states do not see gay marriage as a real definition of marriage. It is not a legal contract in any circumstances. Even if two people really do love each other, society dictates that they cannot join as the rest of us do.
There have been improvements in legalization of civil rights for homosexuals. Acts have been passed to ensure that there are non-discriminatory housing and job opportunities and making sexual discrimination illegal. Although this is certainly a step in the right direction for gay civil rights, it is still no actual guarantee that homosexuals will get exactly the same treatment as heterosexuals. Companies have found means to circumvent these statutes, particularly in so-called "right to work" states.
Statistically, gay hate crimes are in decline. However, that doesn't necessarily indicate that they are happening less often. Since the struggle for homosexual rights is still very much ongoing, many gays are frightened or embarrassed to notify authorities when they are victims of such incidents. For this reason, while the numbers related to reported violence may be right, many occurrences are never talked about or are called in as another type of illegal behavior.
Conservatives are probably the biggest opponents of the gay movement. They tend to be resistant towards change, and prefer tradition over progression. Usually, Conservatives have staunch religious beliefs that fuel their anti-gay sentiment. They feel that gays are against nature, and should be hated for being gay. People are being murdered on a daily basis due to such beliefs.
Homosexual civil rights are becoming a prominent issue in the lives of many individuals. There is no reason for intolerance. Violence against an individual for reasons of sexual orientation is not acceptable. While prejudices will always exist, much can be learned from the past concerning acceptance and tolerance. When a bright light is shown on those doing wrong, it becomes much easier to eliminate such evil and those that responsible.
The history of gay rights shows us that it will be a long and tedious project to obtain total equality and equal gay civil rights. The battle that many of these people are fighting is seen in the war that gays have fought to simply be a family. Many areas still do not see gay marriage as a legal binding contract. Despite the fact that these two people love each other, they are not allowed, by society, to get married as the rest of us do. Many new laws have been instated to make sure that housing and employment opportunities do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Published March 11th, 2008
Filed in History
