HOMOSEXUALITY IN AMERICA

Homosexuality in America

Abstract

Homosexuals, once hesitant about declaring their sexual orientation and fighting discrimination, are now demanding equal treatment. Overturning the military's ban on gay and lesbian personnel is their most immediate aim, but far from the only one. They also seek passage of a federal civil rights law giving them the same sort of protection enjoyed by racial and ethnic minorities. Homosexuality deserves such protection, they say, because it is biologically determined and immutable. Conservatives, on the other hand, insist that homosexuality is a freely chosen behavior that can be modified. Thus, they say, gays and lesbians are demanding “special rights.” The special-rights argument helped win approval of an anti-gay-rights law in Colorado last fall, and it is expected to surface again during the debate on the military ban.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT2

TABLE OF CONTENTS2

OVERVIEW4

THE STRUGGLE FOR GAY RIGHTS IN AMERICA8

PROTECTING GAY RIGHTS15

CONCLUSION16

Homosexuality in America

Overview

Homosexuals, long relegated to the shadows of U.S. society, suddenly find themselves in the national spotlight. Now -- and for weeks to come -- gays and lesbians* will be frontline combatants in a fight to overturn the military's ban on homosexual personnel. They and their opponents expect a bruising battle, and each side feels confident it will swing public opinion its way.

The twentieth century brings new and exciting rights, technology, and a way of living. If this is the case, then why is the American society still skeptical of homosexuality? The way a person wants to express their love and freedom should not be judged or criticized because if it was, then everyone would be looked at as a complaint. In America we declare our country as the land of the free, but since the country began, questions about homosexuality and their freedom have been taken away and shunned. The bigger question is why the American society discriminates against homosexuality and how does that impact the GLBT (Gays, Lesbians, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender) community and families? This issue has been seen throughout congress, the media, the army, and schools. Until the day our society decides to look past sexuality, the discrimination and the lack of understanding will always be present. I'm a supporter of gay rights. And not a closet supporter either. From the time I was a kid, I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being... by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list that it is irrelevant (Paul Newman).

When Bill Clinton proposed lifting the military's ban on homosexuals during the 1992 presidential campaign, he encountered only scattered criticism. The muted reaction apparently convinced Clinton aides and gay-rights activists that actually ending the ban would meet with a similar response. Instead, Clinton's post-inauguration announcement unleashed a torrent of protest from military leaders and ordinary citizens. Phone calls, faxes and letters by the thousands poured into congressional offices on Capitol Hill, ...