Gay Rights and Oppression
Throughout the course of American history, there have proven to be many injustices. African Americans were enslaved by white Americans and given no basic human rights, which their superiors took for granted. Women were viewed as inferior and denied opportunities to participate in any male-oriented activities, occupations, and political endeavors. Noting the oppression, these injustices were rightfully corrected through militant demonstrations, public education, and changes in the law. Despite prior actions, similar instances of injustice still occur today. Persistence and years of action may be the only legitimate way to bring changes to this next area of human oppression.
In a similar modern aspect, homosexuals are facing an identical situation. They are experiencing injustices and are treated as inferior human beings, just as African Americans and women once were. Gay men and lesbian women are being discriminated against, yet the government, religious organizations, and general public appear to agree that the Bill of Rights pertains only to heterosexual adults. Despite the existing problem, this prejudice goes unnoticed with little public recognition. Many people feel that a bias simply doesn’t exists, while others view the entire lifestyle as immoral and wrong. Openly declaring yourself as “gay” or “lesbian” is now an unintentional means of becoming vulnerable to public reprimand and injustice. They are seen as self-indulgent people who spread diseases, raise insurance premiums for medical plans, and wish to infringe on the purity of matrimony. Like so many others before them, homosexuals are being oppressed and nothing can be accomplished in their favor without taking further action. For this reason, I propose that those who are closed-minded about the rights of gays and lesbians should be exposed to information that de-emphasizes the stereotyped homosexual lifestyle. Enlightenment will allow them to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the true essence of people being persecuted.
Knowledge is power, so they say. I believe that the cause of most existing problems is naivety. This also holds true in the context of gay rights. Many people develop their opinions of homosexuality based upon their obtained information from prestigious groups in government and religion. These groups are the most outspoken sources of anti-gay information. Current politics denies homosexual couples the privileges of a legal marriage, not considering the bond a true union. Only heterosexual unions are considered to be legitimately legal. Christianity denounces any form homosexual activity and regards the act as sinfully wrong. Many also find it hard to believe that those attracted to the same sex are driven by a natural emotions and biological needs. With so much negativity aimed towards gays and lesbians, there is no question why such a vast amount of people have dissenting views against the lifestyle.
In showing a different and more positive perspective of the homosexual lifestyle, I believe that people may reconsider.
Those opposing homosexuality are not knowledgeable about the intelligent, loving, professional, tax-paying couples who lead monogamous relationships for decades. They have not been fully informed about the positive aspects of homosexuality and simply base their opinions upon all the negative information presented to them throughout their life. It seems that no one wants to acknowledge their pure existence as humans. For example, the television show “Will and Grace” portray gays as buffoons who are emotionally frail. Myths about gays and lesbians should be replaced with facts that accurately reflect the homosexual lifestyle. In reality, homosexual lives parallel the mainstream heterosexual community. Multi-millionaire entertainers have cohabitated for decades and remain deeply in love and committed to one another. Sigfried continues to love his partner Roy in spite of his physical adversities and loss of livelihood. Elton John and his lover remain committed to their professional partnership in song-writing as well as their personal vows. With this sort of altered knowledge, anti-homosexuals may then be presented with certain instances of the oppression happening around them. Analyzing both standpoints, those who were once against gays and lesbianism may become more aware of their actions, causing them to alter their views. Those who experience a positive shift in opinion about gays and lesbianism may become catalysts for future discussions, positive shifts in opinion, and changes in the law.
Government serves to enforce and defend the rights of all its citizens, particularly in aspects of oppression. Unfortunately, they lack to fulfill this purpose in the area of gay rights. While African Americans and women have gained their rightful benefit in society, homosexuals are still struggling to be placed among them. One current controversy concerning the rights of homosexuals within the country is that of marriage. President Bush, along with a majority of the Republican Party, is strictly against gay marriage. Their standpoint is that the union between two people of the same sex is not considered “marriage”, and such a thing can only exist in the bond between a man and a woman. They also believe that to legalize gay marriage would technically destroy the sanctity of matrimony and its significance to the American family value. Despite the opinion, this “sacred value” of marriage is currently being destroyed by an extremely high divorce rate; averaging around fifty percent of married couples. Our government has not yet released data about the longevity and stability of gay, monogamous relationships.
Including gay and lesbian marriages amongst the current marital statistics, perhaps it would benefit the number of monogamous couples. A homosexual falls in love and yearns for a mutually nurturing relationship with a partner who accepts them for who they are. They love their partners in the same manner and with the same heart as would a heterosexual. If any two human beings truly love each other, they have the right to be together and deserve to legalize their commitment towards one another. California courts permitted gay marriages for a short period of time. Commoners and celebrities rushed to the west coast from all parts of the United States to take advantage of the window of opportunity. Rosie O’Donnell even flew from New York City to obtain a marriage license and use her celebrity to speak out for gay relationships. Eventually, superior courts stepped in and overturned the legality of the relationships. Their ground for argument against gay marriage is simply due to the negative perspective of religious groups. The Bible only condones the love between a woman and man. Though religion hypothetically should be kept separate from the state, its influence is still unjustly common in government decisions and public inputs.
Religious influence has come to play a large role in personal opinion. Because of this, it is then reflected within social views and ideals. Eighty-three percent of our nation’s population professes themselves as Christian. Naturally, those who follow Christianity adopt the same ideals and beliefs as their churches. Christian dogmas reinforce the concept of mere heterosexuality, simply based upon what they have derived from their readings of the Bible. From any translation of the modern Christian Bible, it is interpreted that homosexuality is sinful and highly discouraged. Because the Bible is the main source of guidance for these religions, it is accepted without question within the churches and then preached to their followers. Christians believe that the Bible was written without error, and God prevented each author from creating a single mistake. Churches consider its words the absolute truth, and in turn, so do their followers. This does nothing but encourage close-mindedness within the group, discouraging them to even question the subject. People are prohibited from forming their own opinions using deductive reasoning and intuition, which they are naturally entitled to do. Speaking against the morays and the precepts of Christianity is heresy, and can be considered grounds for excommunication from the Church. Despite this, the only way that people may question the truth of homosexuality is to interrogate the Bible directly.
The validity of biblical interpretation is questionable in itself. Reading the Bible can be viewed in the same way as reading poetry or interpreting a painting. What is understood from the text may differ from person to person. Words, too, are often misinterpreted when being rewritten or translated, causing documents to be transcribed incorrectly. All versions of the Bible can be traced back to the first historically written document on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Countless versions of text were translated from these scrolls into several different languages, and continued over the course of a few millennia. With innumerable chances to produce an error, it is highly plausible that mistakes occurred at some point in time. There is also the chance of personal or religious bias being used in Bible translations. Each translated version reflects the personal views and beliefs of those who wrote it. Most biblical versions are funded by distinct religious organizations, assigning translators who follow their same accepted system of beliefs. Personal bias and opinion distort the authenticity of their work. This considered, there stands a definite possibility that current wording of the Bible differs from that of the original script. Until Christian organizations are able to admit to the odds of biblical inaccuracy and misinterpretation, they will continue to condemn homosexuality and demand their disciples to do the same.
The main cause of discrimination against gays is the belief that the homosexual lifestyle is a learned behavior rather than genetic predisposition toward same-sexed relationships. Homosexuals continually defend themselves against this and argue the contrary. They believe that their sexual preference is an inborn trait and healthy psychological condition developed within the early years of life. I do not believe that thousands of people would choose to be oppressed and harassed every day of their lives. Though it is simple for gays and lesbians to say they are only acting upon their given nature, bigots believe that gays respond to animalistic impulses and are unable to control their own attractions to people of the same sex. The homosexual community will benefit from strong evidence that undeniably proves the nature over nurture theory. Homosexuality is not a choice. That is why, in attempt to solve this argument, scientists have developed several studies to determine whether or not homosexuality is of a biological nature. In researching genetics, cells, organs, and other human traits belonging to homosexuals, they may be noted and compared to those of a straight man, seeking any variances. If one significant difference occurred between the two, it may serve as valid evidence against those who fail to believe it.
Observation and experiment seem to put an end to many uncertainties by either proving or denying them. Regarding the deep controversy over homosexual inclination, scientists have conducted several experiments and observations to find the truth within the argument. One biological experiment, done by Dr. Simon
LeVay, involved the brain study of two homosexual gay men. The results found that a part of the brain, which is believed to govern sexual activity, is smaller in gay men than in straight men. In another study, Dean Hamer, an NIH researcher, reported a genetic indicator of homosexuality within the X chromosome. On that chromosome was an aberration found between 75 percent of gay brothers; a percent large enough to hold applicable. Two neuroscientists at the University of California observed the anterior commissure, or a band of fibers connecting the cortex of the right and left sides of the brain. They concluded that those of homosexual men were 34% larger than those of heterosexuals. An additional study by Bailly and Pillard compared sexual orientation between three groups of gay men: 56 pairs of identical twins, 54 pairs of fraternal twins, and 57 unrelated, adopted brothers of 46 gay men. Research showed that 52% of the identical brothers, 22% of the fraternal borthers, and 11% of the adoptive brothers were all homosexual, as well. Because each set of brothers was raised in the same household and environment, there is a strong suggestion of genetic contribution to sexual orientation. After the outcomes of these studies, all serious researches now come to view homosexuality as partially biological and inborn.
Until recent decades, homosexual Americans were more concerned about hiding their sexual orientation than fighting for civil rights. Before the start of the gay rights movement in the 1960’s, most gays and lesbians remained “closeted” in fear of being discrimination within the job market, housing, and society. In 1972, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act was passed, stating that discrimination of age, race, gender, handicap, or sexual orientation would not be tolerated within hiring and employment. Though gays currently have protections within their jobs, this act does nothing to prevent other cases of gay discrimination and assault. For instance, gays in the military are hazed and physically threatened by peers and authority figures. University settings are strong places of gay oppression, as well. LBGT centers and gay support groups are available on practically every campus, yet anti-gay organizations protest the support systems. They claim that these centers and groups do not supply students with accurate information on homosexual behavior, such as its sinfulness and health risks. A large number of heterosexual students within these campuses view as similar disdain for gays. One-third of LGBT undergraduates said they had been harassed because of their sexual orientation, reporting instances of physical assaults and eleven other threats of physical violence. One college student in the mid-west was even found stripped, tortured, and murdered along a desolate countryside because of covert plots to lure the gay out of a bar on a date. Many Americans, particularly at these universities, seem to bury their heads in the sand and do not contemplate that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” validates for all human beings.
Cynicism appears to take the upper hand when concerning homosexuality and all nature related to the subject. In spite of dissenting opinion and all other negativity, the injustices suffered by homosexuals should be curtailed and eliminated. People must learn to realize that gays and lesbians are only acting upon their individual disposition and what comes naturally to them. The only difference between a homosexual and a heterosexual is merely the gender of their choice of sexual partners. In realizing this and understanding that it is nothing more than love and attraction, perhaps those opposing the gay lifestyle will one day change their mind. Parallel to other demographic groups who experienced equal oppression, gay rights will one day be accepted and enforced within the law. Once achieved, America will then be one step closer to obtaining complete equality among all people.
Work Cited
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Bible and Homosexuality. 18 July 2005. Ontario Consultants on Religious Knowledge. 29 November 2005 <
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Gay Rights. 28 November 2005. Wikipedia. 28 November 2005 <
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Joth, Kenneth. “Gay Marriage.” The CQ Researcher 13.30 (2003).
Joth, Kenneth. “Gays on Campus.” The CQ Researcher 14.34 (2004).
Worsnop, Richard L. “Gay Rights.” The CQ Researcher 3.9 (1993).