Gay Rights

Individuals who identify themselves as homosexuals have been on the receiving end of violent physical attacks and brutal emotional abuse at the hands of anti-gay groups. In recent years, however, many gains have been made for GLBTQ individuals, with the Gay Rights movement growing in popularity. As a result of their efforts, anti-discrimination laws have been passed to include homosexuals in their protections. In addition, the issue of gay marriage has become a hot topic for the nation, and has been featured prominently in many campaigns and platforms, from the national to local levels. For more information about the most recent discussions of gay marriage, read on.

Gay Marriage

California recently passed Proposition 8, denying homosexual couples across the state the right to enjoy the benefits of marriage. Ken Starr has gone even farther, and is trying to get the Supreme Court to overturn the thousands of marriages that were performed while homosexual marriage was legal in the state.

For more information, check out the Wiki article on Prop 8.

Also, check out this video featuring Regina Spektor’s song Fidelity to see the effects of Prop 8.

This recent article from the Associated Press is about the fight for gay marriage in New England.

Currently, there are only two states in the United States that recognize gay marriage-Massachusetts and Connecticut, although several more states are allowing gay marriage later in 2009. Many additional countries have some legal protections for same-sex couples, but the full rights of marriage are not always extended. The differences are between civil unions (which many states allow) and marriage (which is rarely allowed) is very nuanced. Both supporters and detractors of civil unions argue that it extends the same rights and privileges, and many others argue that civil unions are not the same thing as marriage.

The bottom line is that the two are not equal in the light of federal law, regardless of state laws. While some states have some form of domestic partnership laws, there are many which do not recognize same-sex unions in any shape or form.  This article has more information, with maps showing countries around the world who support same-sex unions and also with links to information that more clearly defines the differences between domestic partnerships, civil unions, gay marriage, or any other name it goes by.

Recent News

Amazon.com is in trouble, it seems. They have removed some gay/lesbian titles from their popular searches. Read on for more information.

Star-Telegram newspaper (in Forth Worth, Texas) discusses Texas Christian University’s recent decision to set aside housing for GLBTQ students.

Chicago Sun-Times has an article about the Easter Egg Roll that President Obama hosted at the White House. He set aside tickets for gay activists for the first time in White House history.