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Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Movement

Introduction

The Gay Civil Rights Movement can trace its roots to the formation of the Society for Human Rights in Chicago in 1924 (infoplease.com 2012). The formation of this organization was very significant due to its timing. The Progressive Era had just been witnessed by America, and many changes had come about on the social level. The major change that occurred was the thought process in the American public. They had started to question whatever they felt did not satisfy them. Laws, trends and attitudes were starting to change. The African-Americans were asserting themselves as being equal as the whites, and same was the case with women. By 1924, the situation was ripe for further changes in the way Americans looked upon various ideas. The other point of significance was that America was prospering during the decade, and a new wave of financial prosperity was going through the country. The movement also ran parallel to many other trends that were continuously changing the face of America.

Discussion

History

Although the Society for Human Rights had been formed as early as 1924, but the issue went largely unrecognized until The Mattachine Society was formed by Harry Hay in 1951. Hay is considered to be the founder of the national Gay Rights Movement. Lesbians followed suit in 1955 and also formed an organization with a national reach. A landmark was reached in 1969 during the Stonewall riots. It was from here that a group limited to a small number of activists rose up and became an active struggle for equal rights. The 60's in the U.S were unique in the sense that the American society had started to redefine the terms freedom. Various experiments were being done with drugs, and sexual issues were looked at a previously non-traditional way. Harvey Milk made a mark by becoming the first elected representative who actively engaged in outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. At the turn of the century in 2000 Vermont became the first state to recognize civil unions between same sex marriages (Head, 2012).

Current Situation

Whereas the history above may indicate a trend in recognition on homosexuals as equals and that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was fast diminishing, but there still are many hurdles. Let us take for example, the case of the recognition in Massachusetts. The time this union was recognized, George W. ...