Chun Wei Chen

THEA-FLM-1070-020-F15-Woodhouse
(Mon & Wed 5:30-9:20)
December, 7th, 2015
Outline the evolution of gay rights in
America. Where do you think those rights are
headed? How do the rights of homosexuals in
America relate to other countries around the
world?

Two years ago, the American professional basketball player Jason Collins
announced that he is gay in a story for Sports Illustrated, becoming the first active
player in one of the four major American professional team sports to announce that he
is gay.
He said "I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I
am different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody
has, which is why I'm raising my hand." He admitted to being different than those
around him on a public occasion, and still plays basketball on the NBA court. Even
though a lot people laugh at him, but he still wins the most out of all the people
because he has the athletes understanding and applause.
I think people loving each other and wanting to get together could be seen in
many different ways. Some men love with other men and want to get together or
marry with him, on the other hand, some women love other women and want to be
partners or get married to a woman. In most traditions, the definition of marriage is a
man and a woman, but there is more open-minded ideologies nowadays. This love is
special and a different way by loving the same gender.
Gay people, also called Homosexuals, should be entitled to all the same right as
straight people. They are no different than the rest of us. They just simply date
different kinds of people. We should all be able to date who we want without fear of
discrimination. However, many homosexuals are denied the rights we take for
granted.
Why is gay marriage even an issue in the United States? Ten percent of the
American population is homosexual, meaning this is not just a few people. Also, with
our society making significant strides toward equality in recent decades, both in

gender and racial issues, one has to think about sexual orientation equality. According
to the report, in The United States, Colorado, they have a constitutional amendment
that banned laws protecting homosexuals from discrimination several years ago. In
other words, discriminating against homosexuals in Colorado is not only perfectly
legal, but also the state government is against trying to create an equal opportunity for
all of its citizens. According to the lawmakers responsible for this and those who
passed it, the mindset of everyone being equal does not apply to homosexuals. It
seems that the people of America consider all men, exactly the same as they are, to be
created equal. However, that is not the way it is. Americans might be so proud of their
freedom and their liberty, yet they are so anxious to take that same freedom away
from someone else. Why cant we take that statement for what it is, and start treating
everyone equally regardless of his or her race, gender, and or sexual preference?
In Hawaii, the debate over gay marriage has been disputed for several years.
Vermont has been the only state to permit these people to marry in their state.
When someone from another country comes to America, they come with this belief
many times. This holds true for any different race that comes here. But some
American people think that America is not yet truly free, not until the nation
recognizes the homosexual community and begins to take them seriously. The
reasoning against gay marriage does not make sense. Legalizing gay marriage is the
only logical choice when considering this issue. Homosexuals have nontraditional
partners, but that doesnt mean that they love one another any less than heterosexual
couples do.
The other argument is that homosexual people should not be allowed to marry
because it is their choice to be a gay. Whether they choose to be gay or not, as for
many people it is not a choice, this does not give the state government the right to

prevent these people from getting married. People make different choices every day
that might be some groups of individuals would find wrong or offensive, yet these
choices are not seen as sinful as being a homosexual. Many people would have
religious problems with homosexual couples. Traditional religious views in the United
States think homosexuality as immoral and sinful. However, one of the foundations of
the United States legal system is the separation of church and state.
In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution
recognizing the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender rights, also called LGBT
rights, which was followed with a report from the UN Human Rights Commission
documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people. Followed on the report, the UN
Human Rights Commission urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact
laws protecting basic LGBT rights. In April 2015, more than seventy countries have
laws of criminalizing homosexuality. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the age
of consent in each state varies from age 16 to 18; some states maintain different ages
of consent for males, females or for same-sex, opposite-sex relations.
In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that job
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals is classified
as a form of sex discrimination and thus violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964. In 2012, The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued a regulation to prohibit LGBT
discrimination in federally-assisted housing programs.
The first legal gay marriage in the world is in the Netherlands on Apr. 1, 2001,
just after midnight. The four couples, one female and three males, were married in a
televised ceremony officiated by the mayor of Amsterdam. On May, 2004, the first
legal gay marriage in the United States was performed in Massachusetts between a

massage therapist, Tanya McCloskey, and Marcia Kurdish, an employment manager

at an engineering firm.
In conclusion, gay marriage should become an established and accepted
institution in all societies around the world. Its true because gay marriage will bring a
variety of benefits for the couples; its true because same-sex marriage is the most
effective way to make sure the equal rights of the humans; its true because gay
parents still can raise a healthy child. After seeing the positive effects of gay marriage,
almost all people shifted their opinions to support it. I believe that sooner or later, this
was sure to happen; with gay marriage accepted in all the societies around the entire
world.
In my opinion, everyone should be treated equal. We are humans no matter the
race, sex, religious status, or anything else that makes us who we are and we should
treat everyone as equals. However, a lot of gay people in other countries still are
suffering from their culture and religion. I think the United States is an advanced and
influential country. Maybe the United States has a powerful influence and a big
impact on the other countries. However, Utah has the highest population of Mormons;
and I think gay marriage might be hard to accept here.