Homosexuality and Gay Marriage
The idea or topic of homosexuality is not a new concept; it is one that dates back to ancient times. Many speak of Romans and Greeks participating in such act, although not always socially accepted. It was not until the 1800’s that a German Psychologist actually decided to give it a name. It all began with the belief that there must be something wrong with these people. This idea, it was a mental disease, was dismissed in the 70’s and social views began to change as well. The debate about homosexuality and its shame carried on for centuries (Pickett, 2002).
During times of the Greeks, it was quite common for men to seek younger males for companions. It was more of a power dynamic. Typically, this relationship …show more content…
After a police raided Stonewall Inn in 1969 it sparked the fight that would continue to this day. In 1973, “homosexuality” was declassified as a mental disorder according to the American Psychiatric Association. Two years later the American Psychological Association followed their lead by also declassifying homosexuality as a mental disorder. Per a personal interview with Querida Echols, one who grew up during the 60s and 70s, stated “often more times than not it just was not discussed.” “The younger generation didn’t have as much of a problem with it as the older generation did.” This statement holds true for the generations now todays as well. She grew up in a small town with only one black family and very few gay or lesbians, making any civil rights issues very limited in her town. Lesbians were basically unheard of due to the fact they often moved away to big cities such as Boston or San Francisco with larger gay and lesbian populations. Over time, with the growth of each generation the acceptances rates and level have risen when it comes to gays and lesbians. Although many civil rights problems saw action in the 60’s and 70’s, homosexuals saw very little action. It took the next 50 years to change the social views when it came to rights provided by the state and federal government to gays (Pickett, …show more content…
When the decision was brought to the senate in 2004, it was twelve votes shy of the sixty total it needed. The house of representatives was about fifty shy of the votes needed to ban gay marriage in all fifty states. California is a leader in the rights for gay couples. The Mayor of San Francisco in 2004, Gavin Newsom, let his city issue marriage licenses to gay couples. This was soon shot down by the state government. The state of California voided all gay marriages that had taken place between February and August of 2004 in the city of San Francisco (State-by-State, 2016).
Federal law finally begins reflecting states laws. Obama did away with Defense of Marriage Act in 2011. Obama is also the first president to support gay marriage. In June 2015, the supreme court ruled five to four in favor of allowing gay marriage in all fifty states. They believed it to be unconstitutional to not allow gay couples to marry. Before the Supreme Court ruled 12 states still held strong in their positions to ban or sustained from condoning same-sex marriage (State-by-State,
The idea or topic of homosexuality is not a new concept; it is one that dates back to ancient times. Many speak of Romans and Greeks participating in such act, although not always socially accepted. It was not until the 1800’s that a German Psychologist actually decided to give it a name. It all began with the belief that there must be something wrong with these people. This idea, it was a mental disease, was dismissed in the 70’s and social views began to change as well. The debate about homosexuality and its shame carried on for centuries (Pickett, 2002).
During times of the Greeks, it was quite common for men to seek younger males for companions. It was more of a power dynamic. Typically, this relationship …show more content…
After a police raided Stonewall Inn in 1969 it sparked the fight that would continue to this day. In 1973, “homosexuality” was declassified as a mental disorder according to the American Psychiatric Association. Two years later the American Psychological Association followed their lead by also declassifying homosexuality as a mental disorder. Per a personal interview with Querida Echols, one who grew up during the 60s and 70s, stated “often more times than not it just was not discussed.” “The younger generation didn’t have as much of a problem with it as the older generation did.” This statement holds true for the generations now todays as well. She grew up in a small town with only one black family and very few gay or lesbians, making any civil rights issues very limited in her town. Lesbians were basically unheard of due to the fact they often moved away to big cities such as Boston or San Francisco with larger gay and lesbian populations. Over time, with the growth of each generation the acceptances rates and level have risen when it comes to gays and lesbians. Although many civil rights problems saw action in the 60’s and 70’s, homosexuals saw very little action. It took the next 50 years to change the social views when it came to rights provided by the state and federal government to gays (Pickett, …show more content…
When the decision was brought to the senate in 2004, it was twelve votes shy of the sixty total it needed. The house of representatives was about fifty shy of the votes needed to ban gay marriage in all fifty states. California is a leader in the rights for gay couples. The Mayor of San Francisco in 2004, Gavin Newsom, let his city issue marriage licenses to gay couples. This was soon shot down by the state government. The state of California voided all gay marriages that had taken place between February and August of 2004 in the city of San Francisco (State-by-State, 2016).
Federal law finally begins reflecting states laws. Obama did away with Defense of Marriage Act in 2011. Obama is also the first president to support gay marriage. In June 2015, the supreme court ruled five to four in favor of allowing gay marriage in all fifty states. They believed it to be unconstitutional to not allow gay couples to marry. Before the Supreme Court ruled 12 states still held strong in their positions to ban or sustained from condoning same-sex marriage (State-by-State,