Gay rights.

Though I may not be the best person to discuss gay rights, I feel that it’s something that every gay, straight, bi and transsexual person should speak about. Just like rights for straight people, homosexuals are entitled to every right that a straight person has. There are many people out in the world who think that gays shouldn’t have any rights at all. I believe that the people who believe that are uneducated and don’t understand homosexuals, bisexuals or transsexuals. I’ve heard it many times ‘Gays chose to be gay.’ Well the truth is, why would a gay person chose to be gay when they have to suffer through so many hardships such as dealing with becoming out to their family and friends? Trying to find a partner and hoping that the person that they have a crush on isn’t straight. There are many things to think about when it comes to being gay. If you look through history you can see that homosexuality has been around for ages but it has always been looked down upon. Through all these years you would think by now that some tolerance would have been born. People’s skin would have become thicker but instead it hasn’t changed one bit. Sure there are people who have begun to understand that being gay is not a choice but it’s only a small amount of people who are beginning to realize this.


In the 1960’s Karl Heinrich Ulrichs came out to the public. During this time he also began to publish books about same-sex encounters. This was a few years before the term homosexual was coined. Though others were homosexual around that same time, in other countries around the world, they were afraid to reveal their homosexuality in fear that they would be persecuted. Shortly after World War II, homosexuality boomed. Though that generation preferred to be known as homophiles, they were big on the homosexual movement. Though the demonstrations by the homophiles were peaceful, groups disapproved of their demonstrations. Even though the homophiles had groups that sprung up all across several continents the media chose to ignore them. In 1965, many believe, was the start of the gay rights movement. In 1969 a riot occurred in New York City unlike any other. Gay men, lesbians and transgender people all banded together to stand up for their rights against the New York City police officers that had been harassing them. The riots lasted for several days and in at the end of it all it ended up being the largest gathering of gays, lesbians and transgender ever assembled so they could protect their rights.

Many groups have been formed over the years to represent gays, lesbians and transgender people. Some of the groups are the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), Lesbian Bi Gay Transgender (LBGT) and more. In the 1980’s when AIDs came to light things went from bad to worse for gay men. Many people called AIDs gay cancer because they had yet to come up with the acronym for AIDs. The disease ran rampant through the gay community affecting hundreds then thousands of men. At first they couldn’t figure out what the disease was and it was misdiagnosed many times before they finally found what was causing gay males to become sick. AIDs made people look at gay men in a different light. Many believe that gay men are the reason for the AIDs virus but there is no solid proof.

Today the media has become more accepting about homosexuality. There are shows that are solely about homosexuals and their lives such as Queer as Folk and The L Word. There is also a television station dedicated solely to homosexuals called Logo. Though the media is now more accepting of homosexuals there are still so many that aren’t. Homosexuals are normal people, who live their life just like everyone else except they love the same sex. If you talk to a gay person or touch a gay person nothing’s going to happen to you. You’re not going to all of a sudden become gay.

Here’s a story:

My junior year of high school I was in a history class with three gay guys though nobody knew that there were four gay people in the class. One of my friends (who was gay) sat in front and to the left of me. Right in front of me sat a jock. One day when we were talking in class about homosexuality he said out loud to the class “If I ever get hit on by a gay guy or a gay guy talks to me I’ll kick his ass or kill him.” Of course we were all shocked but when someone’s raised with certain beliefs it’s hard to turn them around and show them a different light. So one day, I was sitting in the class studying for a test. No one else was in the room except for the teacher. At one point a friend of mine (a girl) walked into the class. She walked up to the teacher and began to complain about how she didn’t have a date to the prom. Just as the teacher asked why she wouldn’t take my gay friend (the one who sat in front of me and to the left, next to the jock) the jock walked in. Just then she blurted out “I can’t take him, he’s gay”. Well needless to say I was in shock. My first thought was that I was going to have to save my friend’s life. The jock hated gays and the whole semester he had been sitting next to a gay guy who had loaned him pencils, paper and what have you. After finding my friend and claming him down we went into class and we all sat down. Before anyone could talk the jock leaned over to my gay guy friend and said “I didn’t even know you were gay. You’re a really cool guy. I’m sorry I said those things.” Amazingly all was well.


You see there someone had changed from being brought up in such a strict lifestyle of hating gays but because of one gay male it changed. He never knew he was gay, he never even suspected it. After that they became friends and talked every day in class. This goes to show you that gay people aren’t bad people. Like I said earlier they’re normal, everyday people. So please, if you have a die hard attitude towards gays think about how they’re a person too. They have rights just like everyone else. Even though we’re not allowed to get married hopefully people will understand that it’s no so bad for two men or two women to get married. The only difference is that we’re marrying the same sex. We’re still going to have marital issues just like straight couples. Why shouldn’t we be allowed the same rights? As far as getting discriminated at jobs, that’s been a long standing ordeal. It seems that gays in the work place are a bad idea, to some people. Like I said if you touch something that a gay person touches, you’re not going to all of a sudden be gay. I’m sure that most of you have shaken the hand of a gay person and didn’t even know it. Did it affect you in any certain way? Did you feel any different? I’m sure you didn’t. So why is it that being gay in the work place is something that’s such a big deal? One thing that I think is rather humorous is that the people who despise gays don’t mind gays having equal rights when it comes to the law in the courtroom. Although I believe most of them believe guilty until proven innocent when it comes to homosexuals. So if we can have the same rights in the court of law why not else where? Think about that.



“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. ”
—Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)