1 Jajaira Flores Social Work 101-002 Paper on changing social welfare 10-25-13 Supporting Gay Rights In this day

in age, it is hard to believe that the world has still not fully accepted the LGBT group. Only in the past recent years, some states have legalized gay marriage and have abolished certain laws that discriminate against the LGBT group. The earliest known gay rights organization was founded in 1924, and nearly 100 years later, this country has not entirely reached the goals the organization set out to accomplish. The gay rights movement still have a number of hurdles to jump made by closed minded people that cannot wrap their minds around the fact that gay individuals are people too. In 1924, the first recognized gay rights organization was established in Chicago Illinois by Henry Gerber, who was inspired to start this organization by German doctor Magnus Herschfeld and his work with the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee. Having received a charter from the state of Illinois, they produced the first American publication for homosexuals, Friendship and Freedom. A few months after being chartered, the group ceased to exist in the wake of the arrest of several of the societys members. Despite its short existence and small size, the society has been recognized as a precursor to the modern gay liberation movement. It is believed that the gay rights movement began in 1951, by a new organization named The Mattachine Society, founded by a man named Harry Hay. Harry Hay and a small group of male friends from Los Angeles formed this society to protect and improve

2 the rights of homosexuals. By 1961, the society had spread, and branches formed in different cities all over the country. The primary goals of this society were too unify homosexuals isolated from their own kind; educate homosexuals and heterosexuals toward an ethical homosexual culture paralleling the cultures of the Negro, Mexican, and Jewish people; lead the more socially conscious homosexual to provide leadership to the whole mass of social variants; and assist gays who are victimized daily as a result of oppression. In the late 1960s, the group began to diminish. There were new activist groups being formed, and they felt The Mattachines Society was too traditional and not willing enough to be confrontational. The society eventually lost support, and fell victim to internal division. In the film, Iron Jawed Angels, a woman named Alice Paul and her friend Lucy Burns form a group of passionate and vibrant young women to fight for womens rights. These women put their lives on the line to fight for Americans womens right to vote. This true story has startling parallels to today, as the young activists struggle with issues such as the challenges of protesting for what they believe in. Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and the group of women had a common goal with The Mattachine Society and that was to fight for their right to be treated as equals. Both groups were fearless and were strongly dedicated for what they believed in, and would not stop until they reached victory. NASWA, through lots of hard work and unfortunate circumstances they had to face, eventually reached their goal. Women were granted the right to vote in 1920. The gay rights movement has reached little success, but their still working hard to achieve their ultimate target.

3 A huge change in public opinion on gay rights in general and same-sex marriage in particular has been exceptional. A decade ago, just 27% of American backed same-sex marriage; today it is a clear majority (Avalon, How Gay Rights went Mainstream.) Recently in this year, politicians like Hilary Clinton and Republicans like Jon Huntsman and Ron Portman have declared their support for marriage equality. And while far more elected Democrats than Republicans support same-sex marriage, polls show that this is increasingly more of a generational divide than a partisan divide. In fact, a majority of Republicans under the age of 50 now support the freedom to marry -- including more than 60% of evangelicals under 30. So, how did this dramatic change occur? The credit goes to two men, activist leaders Evan Wolfson and Andrew Sullivan (Avalon, How Gay Rights Went Mainstream.) They are recognized for taking early stands on the right to same-sex marriage. Former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom also brought recognition to the issue by officiating over same-sex marriage ceremonies at City Hall. Someone had to be brave enough to take the stand, such as Wolfson and Sullivan, and just like in Iron Jawed Angeles, the brave ones to lead were Paul and Burns. Again, they all had a common goal, and that was to fight for justice. Perhaps the biggest group against gay rights, especially gay marriage, would be religious groups. Their biggest argument; marriage is between a man and a woman. They also believe that marriage is essentially and necessarily a religious right. Therefore, legalizing gay marriage constitutes a type of sacrilege and a baseless disturbance of the state into what is necessarily a religious matter. Because of religion's traditional role in

4 sanctifying marriages and presiding over wedding ceremonies this is understandable, but it can also be argued as incorrect. Throughout the years, the definition of marriage has changed. One way that it is being viewed is that now, religion is not a necessary component of marriage, it is viewed as an institution in which free individuals entered into voluntarily and could also exit voluntarily. The bases of marriage are the wishes of free, consenting adults. Marriage should not be looked as a contract between man and woman, it should be looked at as a contract between love and love. Another group against gay marriage would be most of the Republican party. Former speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich, is quoted my USA today saying, I don't think they have the power to change what is a religiously inspired definition. That comment has been attacked though, because most people argue that a mans moral belief should not interfere with political decisions. Republicans who promote that argument speak against same-sex marriage not from a moral viewpoint, but from a constitutional one. Just like in Iron Jawed Angeles, NASWA, did not have much support from the political stance. In fact, politicians did everything in their power to stop the protesting. They went as far a coming up with false accusations and imprisoning the women, thinking that would be the solution to eradicate their ambition. All it did was make them stronger and more determined to continue to fight for their dream. Gay marriage is truly a matter of equal rights and equal protection under the law. As was the movement in the early 1900s with women not being granted the right to vote. The women's suffrage movement followed a change in the U.S. Constitution for its first

5 few decades, then switched to seeking votes for women through amendments to state constitutions in the 1890s. Two decades later, after victory in several Western states, it returned to pursuing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, now with the votes of many liberated women to provide crucial electoral control. This vigorous collaboration was crucial to passing and ratifying the 19th Amendment in 1920. The movement for gay marriage is similarly positioned. Like the right to vote, the right to same-sex marriage raises legal issues at the state and national levels. The 2012 election for gay marriage at the state level proved a raise in votes for the law since the previous election. A Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage would only accelerate the movement. A ruling against it would not stop the state-level initiatives and laws enhancing gay rights. Awareness-raising occurred when the founder of the Society of Human Rights first came to America from Germany. Within a few years of his arrival, he experienced discrimination based on his sexual orientation when he was placed in a mental institute for being homosexual. This inspired him to start the society because he felt he had to do something to protect those who were gay, and to make it know that being gay was not a mental disorder. From that society, many more began, and nearly 100 years later, gay rights are still being fought for. With votes for approving gay-marriage increasing, I say that things are looking up. Even though a few laws that discriminate against homosexuals have barely been abolished in the past recent years, it is still sad that it has taken many years to get there, but none-the-less, it is still improvement. I have high hopes that one day this country will

6 do a complete turn around on this issue and not only because its the right thing to do, but because it is the constitutional thing to do.

Works Cited

Dunsing, Mariah. "Doma and Prob 8: Why Republicans oppose Gay Marriage.." PolicyMic. Mic network Inc., 01 Apr 2013. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/32031/domaand-prop-8-why-republicans-oppose-same-sex-marriage>. Avalon, Jon. "How Gay Rights Went Mainstream.." CNN Opinion. Cable News Network, 27 Mar 2013. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/27/opinion/avlon-gay-rightsmovement/index.html>. "The American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline.." infoplease. Pearsons Education, n.d. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html>.