The Gay Rights Movement

With only eight days remaining till the Unite+Fight Midwest LGBT Conference in Chicago, I thought I would touch on the history of the Gay Rights movement. Then discuss how you can get involved in the fight for gay rights.

So let’s start at what some people consider the beginning of the gay rights movement. Prior to 1969, the oppression of gays was pervasive in all aspects of life throughout the 50s and 60s in the United States. Peoples attitudes towards homosexuals didn’t change until a riot sparked by a few drag queens outside of Stonewall Bar in Greenwich Village marked the beginning of the Gay Rights movement in America.

“The day before Stonewall, everyone was in the closet. The next day, everyone was out of the closet,” says Dick Leitsch, former president of the Mattachines, an early gay-rights group.

In the 60s it was routine for the police to raid gay bars, but on June 28th 1969, gays and lesbians fought back. Within a few weeks of the riots at Stonewall, the gay community all over the United States started to organize into activist groups. Their purpose was to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested.

On June 28, 1970; a year after the Stonewall riots; the first Gay Pride marches took place in Los Angeles and New York to commemorate the anniversary of the riots.

Thanks to the Stonewall riots, it transformed the gay rights movement. Before the riots, you may of heard one person speak out for gay rights. Then the riots happened and a small number of activists came out and started to fight for gay rights. And know we hold widespread conferences and marches on Washington for equal rights and acceptance. And even though the gay rights movement has encountered some stumbling blocks over the years, it also has managed to create some major changes for the better.

The gay rights movement was shaken to the core in 1998, when a young man named Matthew Shepard put a face to a raising issue in the United States. In October of 1998, 22-year-old Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten within an inch of his life. He was then left for dead. He was discovered nearly eighteen hours after being attacked by two passing motorcyclist. They first thought that Matthew was a scarecrow because of the way his body was positioned on the fence. Matthew died six days later as a result of his injuries.

Gay right groups all across the United States demanded that we adopt some hate crime legislation, but anti-gay groups fought back saying that if we adopted hate crime legislation that the gays would have “special rights”. In 2007 a federal law against hate crimes based on sexual orientation called the Matthew Shepard Act passed both houses of Congress, but was vetoed by then President Bush. Then in October of 2009 President Obama signed the bill into law.

Now lets discuss how you can get involved in the gay rights movement. Become an activist! Even the most passive can make their voices heard in the most magnificent of ways. Whether your thing is marching on the steps of congress or writing a blog, you can become a gay rights activist. There are four simple things for you to do to become an activist.

1. Pick Your Path: Forget what you heard, not all gays are created equal. What I mean by this is that we have all have different ideals, opinions and priorities. So you need to pick a path of activism that is based on your passions.

2. Find Your Vehicle: Find the tools will help you create change based on your passions. There are several options you can do to fine your outlet. Start a blog, volunteer at a gay rights organization, join or run a gay club or group, organize a social networking rally on Facebook, write a series of letters to your political representative. The opportunities are limitless.

3. Become An Expert: You don't need a PhD in political science or to have a masters degree to become an expert activist. You do, however, need to stay current on the news related to your topic. Join different message boards that are related to your topic. Read relevant blogs and news articles. Listen to comparable podcasts. Just remember that the more you know, the more you can facilitate change.

4. Trust In Your Voice: What qualifies you to be an activist? Your desire to change the world does. The word 'activist' can seem quite intimidating, especially when you observe other activists doing great things. There's always room for more people with a desire to correct the imbalances of the world. And keep in mind, just because someone barks the loudest doesn't mean they are the most heard. So, you're voice is just as important even if you're just starting out. Changing even one mind is as effective as influencing millions. Trust in your ideals, validate your own experiences and make your mark.

The fight for gay rights may have been sparked back in 1969 with the Stonewall riots, we are still far from the fight being over. So come to the Unite+Fight Midwest LGBT Conference in Chicago on March 12-14 (http://unitefightmidwest.ettend.com/) and learn more about the gay rights movement and get active!

MJ

Faces of Equality

Hey everyone,

About a week ago, a debate broke out on the listserv for Join the Impact Chicago. It was a very interesting debate on if the group should reach out to certain political groups, like the Republican party. I really don't want to go into the debate, but something did come out of it that I wanted to share.

One of the straight allies of JTIC and my personal friend, Rachel Martin decided to create a facebook page that was to show the world that not everyone whom supports LGBT equality fits into neat little boxes.

So I highly encourage all of you who read this, to click on the title of this blog (it will take you to the facebook page) and join. Show that even if we are all different, that we can come together to achieve the same goal of EQUALITY for everyone.

MJ