lgbtq+ community's rights - unit 6

stonewall riots (1969) 

*time where everyone loved everyone → hair the musical

• basically a raid in a gay bar (at the time, these bars were commonly run by the mafia and they had close ties with the police, leading them to lots of money)

  • however, the mafia was not informed of this raid

  *the stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid at the stonewall inn. in greenwich village, nyc → people resisted arrest

  • took place on june 28, 1969 (...pride month – being proud and knowing nothing is wrong with you and you do not need to be fixed)

    *first instance in american history when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government – sponsored system

    • this began the movement

acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) (1981)

• when this disease was first discovered, it was thought to only affect gay people since it shows in the gay community first (thought that gay people were having unprotected sex)

  • this was a death sentence at first, however, with today’s treatments, it can be managed (this makes it so you have little to no immune system to fight off other viruses and diseases)

    *people thought being around gay people would kill them → scared of gay individuals

    • because of this stereotype, there was no research done for 3 years until those who were not gay got AIDS

      • ryan white (7th grader in 1984): contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion 

        • he is a national poster kid for AIDS and HIV

          *people like him appeared in and influenced the public to advocate research for AIDS

president clinton

• said that he was going to help the lgbtq+ community, however his actions had a negative impact anyhow

  • he did nothing to help

  *enabled the “don’t ask don’t tell” (DADT) policy and signed off the defense of marriage act (DOMA)

don’t ask don’t tell (DADT) (1993)

• the persecution of lesbian and gay military personal soared instead of declining as expected

  *before, if you were gay, you were discharged → this still happened with the policy but they just did not ask (but it worsened the situation somehow)

  • stereotypes that if you were gay, you were a sexual predator and the perception that gay people made the military weak

    • policy enabled by president clinton 

defense of marriage act (DOMA) (1996)

• passed in 1996 by president clinton which attempts to define marriage as an union between one woman and one man 

  • allows states to deny recognition for same-sex marriages that may originate in other states (no full faith and credit)

  *basically banning same-sex marriage because they cannot be recognized as immediate family under the law

  • this allowed for the lgbtq+ community to start fighting for same-sex marriage and rights 

president obama

*“hero of lgbtq”

• repealed DADT in 2011

  • you can openly serve in the military

    *when obama ran, he said that he is for same gender partnerships (was not very open on his viewpoint on the lgbtq+ community)

    • later apologizes that he is for same-sex marriage and for lgbtq – begins truly fighting after the fact

  • helped to repeal DOMA in 2013

    *there were a lot of protests in states → this paved the way for the supreme court case

    • deemed unconstitutional under United States v. Windsor

      • same-sex marriage legal in the federal government (could get tax-benefits!!)

  • signed bills into law that prevent bullying and hate crimes against lgbtq+ americans

  • made stonewall into a national historic landmark

obergefell v. hodges (2015-2016)

• supreme court ruled that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional under the 14th amendment

  • legal in all 50 states!

  *one of the biggest achievements but led the movement to lose direction after

  • began looking for job discrimination, homophobia, discrimination under the law (23 states and dc have anti-discrimination laws and in some, you could discriminate based on religion → new jersey has strict anti-discrimination laws), etc. 

bostock v. clayton county (2020)

• employment → are gay men and women protected from workplace discrimination?

  • supreme court ruled that under the civil rights act of 1964, it is illegal for businesses across the nation to fire employees based on sexual orientation or identity (if they are apart of the lgbtq+ community)

  *before, you could get fired if you were gay but it would be hard to prove in courts

  • this issue was very overlooked with the pandemic though it was a major achievement for the movement

human rights campaign (HRC)

• largest civil rights group for equality for the lgbtq+ community

gay and lesbian alliance against defamation (GLAAD)

• the lgbtq+ media advocacy organization and changing the culture and acceptance within the community

  • previously helped to provide support families and others of those in the community and teach them how to support them

ellen degeneres

• come out on her television show in 1997 

  • major accomplishment!

• in 2016, president obama awarded degeneres with the highest civilian award, the medal of freedom, for her work with the lgbtq+ community

daniel choi

• US army officer who served in combat in the iraq war during 2006-2007

• became an lgbtq+ rights activist following his coming out on the rachel maddow show in march 2009 

  • publicly challenged the don't ask, don't tell (DADT) policy. 

• on october 19, 2010, choi applied to rejoin the US army

phill wilson

*a prominent African-American HIV/AIDS activist

• founded the black AIDS Institute in 1999 

  • served as its CEO

lgbtq+ community’s issues today

• anti-discrimination laws in states

  • transgender rights and hate crimes/violence inflicted upon the community

    • male transgender people are the most hated upon

      • being transgender can get you killed in society due to homophobia

• “don’t say gay” laws (cannot teach about lgbtq+ in schools) and education in schools (discussion in health regarding lgbtq+ community)

  • this contributes to the stereotypes and discrimination 

    • is major in florida and tennessee today 

• adoption rights

  • you could adopt if you are gay, however in some states, you cannot adopt if you are in a same-sex relationship

• drag queen bans

  • occurred in places where school shootings are at its highest (texas)

    • idea that transgender people and those a part of the lgbtq+ community are more dangerous than school shootings!!