The Gay Rights

Stonewall Riots to the Present

What is Marriage??• Merriam-Webster: “the

state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”

• Federal government: Union between a man and a women

What were the Stonewall Riots?

• Violent confrontations between the police and gay New Yorkers in the summer of 1969.

• They are sometimes called “The Stonewall Rebellion,” or simply “Stonewall.”

• They are viewed today as the birth of the modern gay rights movement.

Before Stonewall• In many cities, it was illegal to be homosexual• Police regularly raided gay restaurants and

sometimes arrested everyone present for “indecency”

• A restaurant could have its licenses revoked for knowingly serving food to three or more homosexuals

After Stonewall• Unannounced police raids

of gay establishments • Gay Americans began to

recognize that activism, not silence, would protect them from harassment and discrimination.

• The GLF (Gay Liberation Front) was formed immediately after Stonewall and chapters opened in many major U.S. cities.

Accepted Forms of Same-Sex Unions

1. Domestic partnerships:– Washington, Oregon,

Maine, California, Maryland, and Washington, DC

– personal relationship between two individuals who share a common domestic life but are not married

– new form of union for (but not limited to) homosexual couples

Accepted Forms of Same-Sex Unions2. Civil Unions – Vermont, California, Oregon,

Hawaii, and New Jersey– Established to obtain specific,

but not all, rights of heterosexual marriage

– civil unions are not recognized, and therefore neither are the benefits that come with them, outside the state where issued– Opposed by some because it echoes the “separate but equal” mentality

Accepted Forms of Same-Sex Unions

3. Same-Sex Marriage– legal in 5 US states:– Massachusetts (2004),

Connecticut (2008), Iowa (2009), Vermont (2009), and New Hampshire (2009)

– legally recognized marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender

International Gay Rights

Thought Questions:

1. U.S. Military has a “don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy. Should it be removed?

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to adopt a child?– Even if they are not legally married?

3. Should the United States allow same-sex marriage? What are the challenges? Why?