Information on Gay Rights

[Robbie Relentless]

The below information was taken from:

http://www.dosomething.org


As time goes on I want to make more of a difference in the world. One thing I am for is gay rights, and so are most people of the GLBT community, but most don't even know anything about it. I have posted this thread in order to inform guild members and hopefully inspire you to do something about it. Together, we can make a difference.

~Robbie~  

[Robbie Relentless]

Background on Gay Rights

Homosexuality has been a feature of human culture since earliest history. Generally, and most famously in ancient Greece, certain forms of erotic attraction and sexual pleasure between males were often an ingrained, accepted part of the cultural norm. However, particular sexual activities (such as a**l sex in some cultures, or oral sex in others) were disapproved of, even as other aspects were admired. In cultures under the sway of Christian, Islamic and Jewish religions, the law and the church established sodomy as a transgression against divine law, a "crime against nature" practiced by choice, and subject to severe penalties, up to capital punishment—often inflicted by means of fire so as to purify the unholy action. The condemnation of a**l sex, however, predates Christianity, arising in Ancient Greece, where the theme of action "against nature" originated.

In the course of the twentieth century, society began to discuss homosexuality, especially after the modern gay rights movement began in 1969. Once viewed by authorities as a pathology or mental illness to be cured, homosexuality is now more often investigated as part of a larger impetus to understand the biology, psychology, politics, genetics, history and cultural variations of sexual practice and identity. The legal and social status of LGBTQ people varies greatly around the world and remains hotly contested in political and religious debate in many places.

Laws Against Homosexuality Around the World

Some regimes do not have laws against homosexuality because they do not acknowledge that it exists and most laws don’t even mention lesbians.

Homosexuality is illegal in many areas of African, including Algeria, Libya, Angola, Kenya, and Nigeria. In areas under Islamic Law in Nigeria, homosexuality is a crime punishable by death.

Laws vary in Asia. Gay Palestinians often attempt to flee to Israel as they are targeted for death in Palestinian-controlled areas. In Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is a crime punishable by death but jail time, fines or whipping may be used in place of execution. In Singapore, discrimination based on sexual orientation is explicitly outlawed, but the government continues to discriminate against sexual minorities.

In Europe, there are no laws against homosexuality, and in Russia, attempts to recriminalize homosexuality failed in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Gay Pride and the Gay Movement in the U.S.

The first gay pride parade in 1969, known as the March on Stonewall, started as a protest against discrimination and violence against gays in New York City. Today, pride events have become an annual ritual and have grown to include thousands of gay and gay-friendly participants, and hundreds of spectators.

Many gays and lesbians dress in bright colors, head-to-toe leather or sometimes next to nothing. Regardless of attire, the participants join the festivities to remind the world that gays deserve the same rights as others and people should be free to live how they want to, free of judgment or hate. Gay pride is also a symbol of solidarity and an opportunity to express the vivid personalities which reflect the diverse gay communities throughout the world. During this time (and in many places year round), the skies are covered with the gay pride flags and banners.

Discrimination against LGBT

The most socially acceptable, and probably most widespread, form of hate crime among teenagers and young adults are those targeting sexual minorities. In fact, 75% of students have no state laws to protect them from harassment and discrimination in school based on their sexual orientation and 97% of students report regularly hearing homophobic remarks from their peers. Despite much progress for the LGBT community, there is still a long way to go to truly reach equality.  

[Robbie Relentless]

11 Facts About Gay Rights

1. In November, California voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, thereby overturning the state Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to wed just months ago.

2. Why are civil unions not enough for gay rights activists? The federal government accords 1,138 benefits and responsibilities based on marital status, not on civil union status. A few of those benefits are unpaid leave to care for an ill spouse, social security survivor benefits and spousal benefits, and the right not to testify against one’s spouse, among others.

3. The District of Columbia and 47 states have anti-hate crime laws, however only 24 states and the District of Columbia include sexual orientation in their legislation.

4. According to FBI hate crime statistics, there were 7,163 reported hate crimes in 2005. 14.2% of which were based on sexual orientation. Most were violent in nature.

5. Last year, both houses of Congress passed a historic hate crimes bill known as the Matthew Shepard Act, which would have outlawed hate crimes based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. But the legislation never made it to President Bush's desk because of his veto threat.

6. While 19 states and the District of Columbia have laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, and many cities offer similar protections, federal law didn’t offer such a shield until November of 2007, though it did bar discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, sex, age, disability and pregnancy. The bill, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, was the latest version of legislation that Democrats have pursued since 1974. To ensure passage of the bill, Democrats were forced to remove language that would have granted protections to transsexual and transgender individuals by barring discrimination based on sexual identity, a move that infuriated some gay-rights groups.

7. In the U.S., 75% of students have no state laws to protect them from harassment and discrimination in school based on their sexual orientation. In public high schools, 97% of students report regularly hearing homophobic remarks from their peers.

8. Of the estimated 1.6 million homeless American youth, between 20% and 40% identify as LGBT. In one study, 26% of gay teens who came out to their parents/guardians were told they must leave home; LGBT youth also leave home due to physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Also, LGBT youth report they are threatened, belittled and abused at shelters by staff as well as other residents.

9. In 1993 the Defense Dept., at President Clinton's order, changed the ban on homosexuals in the military to a ban on homosexual activity. The much discussed policy, known as "don't ask, don't tell," was presented as a way to allow gays in the military to serve without fear of discharge or other penalty as long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation. By the end of the 1990s, however, it appeared to have done little to change the precarious status of gay soldiers.

10. While gay couples are seen on TV shows more often than in the past (eg. Luke and Noah, the young gay couple on “As The World Turns”), affection between the two is restricted to holding hands, playing with one another’s neck scarves and sharing meaningful looks. This wouldn’t be odd if heterosexual couples were not shown kissing on a regular basis.

11. Despite the shortage of blood at banks across the country, gay donors are being turned away. Men who have had sexual contact with a man, even once, since 1977 are automatically disqualified. The agency has had its policy on men who have sexual contact with men since 1983, when the risk of AIDS through transfusion was recognized. The FDA reaffirmed the policy in May of 2007, despite improvements in testing and increased susceptibility of heterosexuals to HIV. All donated blood is tested for HIV, but the virus can go undetected until the immune system has produced a testable amount of antibodies. That window period, according to the FDA, would pose a "small but definite increased risk to people who receive blood transfusion if the policy were changed."






Easy Ideas to get involved

* Talk to your principal about updating your school's discrimination policy to cover gender and sexuality if it doesn't already

* Join or start LGBT or Gay/Straight Alliance at your school

* If an insensitive joke isn't funny, let people know

* Don't let people perpetuate stereotypes! Speak out if someone says something negative!

* Talk to your teachers about offensive speech and encourage them to stop it when they hear it

* Stand up against stigma, racism and other forms of discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS

* Check out SocialVibe.com/DoSomething and spread the word about your fave cause!

* Don't call things that are boring or dumb, "gay"

* Educate yourself about HIV/AIDS and other STDs, then spread the knowledge.

* When you donate to an organization, find out where the money goes and make sure the organization supports your values.

* Go to the Gay Pride Parade in your area.

* Stand up for someone else; if you hear of someone being picked on for being gay, let the bullies know you don't think it's funny

* Spark a discussion in class about how homosexuality is portrayed in the media

* Take part in a discussion about homosexuality and experiences with coming out







Terms You Should Know About Gay Rights

Bisexual:
An individual who is physically, romantically, emotionally and/or spiritually attracted to men and women.

Civil Union:
A voluntary union for life (or until divorce) of adult parties of the same sex; "parties to a civil union have all the same benefits, protections, and responsibilities under law as spouses in a marriage." Of course, civil union is illegal in many parts of the world.

Closeted:
Describes a person who is not open about his or her sexual orientation.

Domestic Partnership:
A legal status granted to heterosexual and homosexual couples who reside in the same home, usually with less federal and local benefits than that of marriage.

Gay:
More formally termed homosexual, the adjective used to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, emotional and/or spiritual attractions are to people of the same sex. In contemporary contexts, lesbian (n.) is often a preferred term for women.

GLBTQ:
Stands for: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning.

Hate Crimes:
Crimes involving bodily injury to any person in which the victim is intentionally selected because of the actual or perceived race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability of the victim.

Heterosexuality:
Sexual attraction to or sex acts between people of the opposite gender.

Heterosexism:
The attitude that heterosexuality is the only valid sexual orientation. Often takes the form of ignoring lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. For example: a feature on numerous Valentine's Day couples that omit same-sex couples.

Homophobia:
Fear of gay men, the lifestyle and culture. Homosexuality: Sexual attraction to or sex acts between people of the same sex.

Ideology Assailants:
People who commit hate crimes stem because of their negative beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality that they perceive other people in the community share. They see themselves as enforcing social morals.

LGBT:
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender. Term often used to describe the gay community.

Lifestyle:
Inaccurate term often used by anti-gay extremists to denigrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives. As there is no one heterosexual or straight lifestyle, there is no one lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender lifestyle.

Queer:
Of or related to being gay.

Openly Gay:
Describes people who self-identify as lesbian or gay in their public and/or professional lives.

Outing:
The act of publicly declaring (sometimes based on rumor and/or speculation) or revealing another person's sexual orientation without his or her consent. Considered inappropriate by the majority of the LGBT community.

Peer-dynamics assailants:
Tend to be adolescents; they commit assaults in an effort to prove their toughness and heterosexuality to friends.

Self-defense assailants:
Typically, people who commit hate crimes because they believe that homosexuals are sexual predators. They often say they were responding to aggressive sexual propositions.

Sexual Orientation:
The scientifically accurate term for an individual's enduring physical, romantic, emotional and/or spiritual attraction to members of the same and/or opposite sex, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual orientations.

Sodomy Laws:
Historically used to selectively persecute gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, the state laws often referred to as "sodomy laws" were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). "Sodomy" should never be used to describe gay, lesbian or bisexual relationships, sex or sexuality.

Transgender:
Generally, transgender people are individuals whose gender expression and/or gender identity differs from conventional expectations based on the physical sex they were born into.

Transvestite:
Transvestites are men who adopt the identity of women through dress and behavior. Transvestites experience sexual pleasure from assuming the identity of the opposite sex.