Gay Rights Movement

A History of Discrimination Same-sex relationships were illegal in most states 1950s and 1960s - FBI kept lists of known homosexuals Some gay people were placed in mental institutions Local governments – shut down gay bars

Effects After raids, thousands jailed Newspapers accounts –Faced harassment and being fired

Stonewall In 1969, police raided Stonewall Inn in NYC Police brutality sparked a riot – hundreds of bystanders began to fight back

Michael Fader’s Account of Stonewall We all had a collective feeling like we'd had enough of this.... Everyone in the crowd felt that we were never going to go back. It was like the last straw. It was time to reclaim something that had always been taken from us.... All kinds of people, all different reasons, but mostly it was total outrage, anger, sorrow, everything combined, and everything just kind of ran its course. It was the police who were doing most of the destruction. We were really trying to get back in and break free. And we felt that we had freedom at last, or freedom to at least show that we demanded freedom. We weren't going to be walking meekly in the night and letting them shove us around—it's like standing your ground for the first time and in a really strong way, and that's what caught the police by surprise. There was something in the air, freedom a long time overdue, and we're going to fight for it.

After Stonewall The Gay Rights Movement began to organize The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and the Gay Activists' Alliance (GAA) were formed

The Movement Organizes - Goals: 1.An end to persecution by police 2.Equal rights in employment 3.Make homosexual relationships legal 4.An end to the stigma about homosexuality

Demanding Change Marches & writing American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders

San Francisco Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official (city supervisor) Less than a year later, assassinated Riots after shooter, Dan White, got only 7 years due to “temporary insanity” plea.

Setbacks During 1970s - Supreme Court upheld laws banning homosexual relationships Firings of gay teachers were also upheld

1980s The movement shifted focus in response to the AIDS crisis “Act Up” organized to address silence around this issue

Major Goals of the Modern Gay Rights Movement –Protection against discrimination in employment, housing, services and immigration –Adoption laws –Gay marriage

Modern Gay Rights Movement Lawrence v. Texas –2003 Supreme Court case –Ruled all laws banning homosexual sex were unconstitutional

Laws Against Homosexual Relationships Light Yellow: Laws repealed or struck down before Dark Yellow: Laws repealed or struck down from Orange: Laws repealed or struck down from Red: Laws struck down by the US Supreme Court in 2003.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell –People who were openly homosexual couldn’t serve in military –Repealed in 2011

Gay Marriage 1st state – 2003 Massachusetts Currently – 37 states

marriage-chronology/ marriage-chronology/

LGBTQ Employment Discrimination Laws

Obama May 9, 2012 – Obama announced his support for gay marriage

DOMA Defense of Marriage Act –1996 – Fed. Law - Marriage defined as a union of one man and one woman –Supreme Court overturned it in 2013

Public Opinion on Gay Marriage

Current Gay Marriage Case 1.What’s at stake in this case? (2 issues) 2. What’s the case background? 3. What are the arguments for/against? For:Against:

The Justices Blue = Expected to vote for same-sex marriage Red = Expected to vote against same- sex marriage Yellow = Considered “swing votes” (could go either way)

Conclusion Why do you think this has changed so much in your lifetime? How is this movement similar to / different from / influenced by the Civil Rights Movement?

Almost half the states and the District of Columbia have laws that currently prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in both public and private jobs: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. In addition, a few states have laws prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in public workplaces only.

Video Clip 1. What do you learn about peoples’ experiences of Stonewall? 2. What were the short-term effects of Stonewall? 3. What were the long-term effects?