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Joseph Heinen
Mr. Geist
HELA Hr. 7
16 February 2016
Getting Over the Rainbow
Harvey Milk once said, It takes no compromise to give people their rights. It takes no
money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no
survey to remove repression. Henry Milk, a gay rights activist, as well as the first openly gay
person to be elected to public office, believed in the liberation of the LGBT people. The LGBT
community is a community accepting of all sexual orientations including but not limited to
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning individuals. LGBT people are just like any
other human. They are made up of the same skeletal and muscular system as every other human.
They have different preferences and hobbies and jobs just like any other human. A sole
difference however is that the LGBT community faces persecution and misunderstanding daily.
Despite the backlash to the gay liberation movement, all people, regardless of sexual orientation,
deserve the same rights and protections as granted to the people through the Bill of Rights, this
includes the right to marry and protection against discrimination.
The LGBT community faces violence, persecution, and misunderstanding daily. Even
supporters of the community that dont fall into LGBT itself face backlash. The violence against
these people even extends to murder. This violence and persecution can be connected to a
number of phobias (think homophobia, biphobia), as well as cultural and religious influences. As
it stands today the LGBT community faces growing support with simultaneous growing hate and
violence. Today, violence against the LGBT community is considered hate crime in almost all

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western countries, (Warns). The discrimination has been here for years, driving many people to
suicide including one of the worlds smartest people, Alan Turing. He was a British
mathematician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist (Alan Turing). Turing was by all accounts an
incredibly smart man and helped shorten WW2 by 2-4 years. The only problem with Alan was
that he was gay. After being convicted for being gay, Alan was given treatment to correct his
disposition. He killed himself the night of June 7th and was then found dead on June 8th. The
discrimination he faced for being gay along with the fact that he was forced to correct himself
for his orientation drove him to death. It almost seemed like murder. In September of 2009 the
Prime Minister of Britain issued a public apology for the way Alan was treated (Alan Turing).
On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the United States Constitution
guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry in all 50 US states. The majority opinion was
stated as The court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to
marry. No longer may this liberty be denied to them," (Kerr). The Government addresses here
that as gay people are still citizens, still human beings, they deserve the same rights to marry as
anyone else would. All people are created equal, all citizens of America are granted the same
basic rights. It is very hard to see why it took so long for this ruling. With marriage being the first
big wall brought down, what could come next? Equal rights for all people as liberty and justice
for all shouldnt come with a disclaimer, (Gay Marriage). Denying some people the option to
marry is discriminatory and creates a second class of citizens, (Gay Marriage ProCon). If you
create a second class of people by denying them their rights and by extension their right to marry,
there will have to be a repudiation.
The most basic argument presented by gay rights opponents proposes that marriage
between two people of the same sex is not natural, goes against the natural order, and LGBT

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values go against their religion. In reality, marriage is a societal institution, not always connected
to a religion. The natural world didn't create marriage, humans did. Nature-themed arguments
against gay marriage present little about the societal institution of marriage, but reveal a lot about
the homophobia and heterosexism of those who present such arguments. In this light, the
disapproval isn't about gay marriage; it's more about discomfort with homosexuality. In the
natural order of life, even animals, not just humans, participate in homosexual behavior (Owen).
Christianity or any religion-based arguments lead the way in efforts to oppose the legalization of
same-sex marriage in America as well as rights for the LGBT community. Given that the U.S. is
a secular nation, religion has no role in any discussion about civil and societal laws. Marriage is
not to include religion unless wanted. Religious beliefs about marriage should never be
enshrined in laws in ways that restrict the freedom of others who do not share those beliefs,
(Lipp). Finally, the argument that it will affect and hurt the children. Many studies show no
differences in psychosocial outcomes between children raised by opposite-sex couples and those
raised by same-sex couples.
In conclusion, there is no logical basis to deny equal people, equal rights. All people are
natural regardless of sexual orientation and deserve the same rights and protections as granted
to the people through the constitution. This includes everything from the right to marry to the
right to a safe workplace environment with no harassment. Whether it be the right to work, the
right to the pursuit of happiness, or the freedom of speech, all equal people regardless of any
predilections or orientations deserve equal rights.

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Works Cited
Eckholm, Erik. "Baker Who Denied Cake to Gay Couple Loses Appeal." New York
Times. 14 Aug. 2015: A.15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Lipp, Murray. "The Top 10 Arguments Against Gay Marriage: All Receive Failing
Grades!" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2 Feb. 2016. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Palmer, Nancy Doyle. "The Imitation Game's Alan Turing -- A Gay Man for All
Seasons." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Dec. 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Robinson, B. R. "Part 1 of 2:" Translations and Interpretations of Leviticus 18:22; All
Views. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Warns, Ban "Religion and Culture Cannot Justify Discrimination Against Gays and
Lesbians." Africa News Service 16 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19
Feb. 2016.
Kerr, Orin. "Whats in the Same-sex Marriage Ruling." Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 16 June 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
"Gay Marriage." Wattpad. Wattpad, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
"Gay Marriage - ProCon" ProConorg Headlines. ProCon, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
"Alan Turing." - Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Owen, James. "Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate." National
Geographic. National Geographic Society, 23 July 2004. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

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Grading

Criteria
Content
and Ideas

Organization

Description
Clear argument about social issue
Support uses
- ethos
- logos
- pathos
4 or more credible sources used
Antithesis addressed and refuted

Diction/
Syntax/
Convention
s

Publication
/
Appearanc
e

Effective introduction and

conclusion include hook, thesis, and
final statement
3 organized paragraphs include
claims, explanations, and transitions
Sequence is logical
Writing is all in 3rd person
Quotations are embedded and
properly cited within the essay
0-3 Errors in grammatical structure

Creative title/rough draft ready on

editing day 2/16-17
Proper MLA formatting; heading
that includes student name,
instructors name, class, and date
Works cited page is appended.

Points
0 10

20

30

40

32/40 Chris Go back over the intro

paragraph and first body paragraph
,because some of it clashes
40/40 Gabi- uses good sources and quotes
to back up what youre saying
38/40 Self grade
0 10 20
30
=
25/30 Chris thesis is good, intro needs
little work on introducing the LGBTQ
community
30/30 Gabi- after fixing what Chris had to
say your intros and conclusions are strong
38/30 Self grade
0 5 10
15
=
15/15 Chris Looks good, all in 3 person,
no grammatical errors from what I saw
Just make sure to cite quotes and sources
15/15 Gabi - looks good, maybe just
change up the words like use, united states
not always U.S
15/15 Self grade
0

10

15

13/15 Chris More creative title, MLA

looks good
15/15 Gabi - good
15/15 Self grade