Analysis on Background Information

The topic that I wrote about was gays and lesbians. The articles that I read about for journal responses were about the bowers vs. Hardwick (1986), marriage rights, Harvey milk, the stonewall riots, don’t ask don’t tell policy, gay rights, and gay and lesbian rights. These articles were all about how gay rights have become a higher importance today. In the 70’s and 80’s gay and lesbians were never talked about and when they were talked about they were referred to as people who had a disease, because there had to have been something wrong with them if they liked someone of the same-sex. These people who thought that gays had a disease or mental disorder had begun the controversy that was holding back the government from giving the homosexuals their rights. The first example of when gays and lesbians banded together and took action for what they wanted was the Stonewall riots. The stonewall riots took place at a place called the stonewall inn. The gay man was not allowed to be in the bar because there was already another gay man in the bar. The homosexuals thought that this was wrong, so they all banded together and protested outside of the inn. This rioting marks the week of gay pride week. Gay pride week has grown from 10,000 people marching to hundreds of thousands to millions. The stonewall riots brought notice to the mistreatment of homosexuals. As people started to take notice of the gays other issues came about, like allowing gays and lesbians to marry, everyday rights, and the right to be who they were in the army. Men like Harvey Milk who was a man in a place of government, used his status to bring notice to the unfairness that homosexuals had to deal with in everyday rights. Then there is the case of Bowers vs. Hardwick where a man named Hardwick was trying to not get convicted of the anti-sodomy laws made for gays that he broke with his partner. The argument that defended this case in court was that for straight people there were anti-sodomy laws so why were there laws for gays and lesbians? Many cases were brought up in court about the anti-sodomy laws and then that started to develop into the main focus that gays are fighting for today which is marriage rights. If American society stopped looking at gays and lesbians as people who had a problem and started looking at them as normal people, then we wouldn’t have this many problems in society today. Americans are always stereotyping people, from Jews to blacks to just normal people that they see on the street. The stereotypes that Americans have put on homosexuals are derogatory and are affecting how the government makes decisions on gay rights. People are afraid that if they give the gays what they want then they will have to give all of the similar minorities the same rights. And they also feel that if they don’t give the gays what they want that they will just go back to being invisible and disappear for awhile. Whether those people around them accept gays or not, they won’t go back to being invisible, if anything changes, they will only become more present, and less invisible.

Analysis on Literature

The book that I read is called “Am I Blue?”, and the short story that I read was called “Three Mondays in July.” The story is about a young man who feels that he is a homosexual, but he keeps quiet about it because of the society that he lives in today would not except him. He then meets a man who tells him that “just remember one thing-you’re not alone.” The idea that this story wants to convey is that there are people all over who are homosexuals and they feel uncomfortable in their own skin because being a homosexual is frowned upon in society. The book is trying to show that society needs to be accepting and loving of people, because even though someone may be different they are still a human. The perspective that the author took in writing this short story or the entire book itself, was to show that society is pushing gay and lesbian people aside and forcing them to become invisible, and they are so worried about the issue that they use it in a derogatory sense. The author points out in the story called “Am I Blue” that “straights are helpless at it. They’re always assuming someone is or isn’t for all the wrong reasons.” In the story the author tries to show that any person could be a homosexual, and that they could have the same interests, job, and similar lifestyle as someone who could be against it. The main message of the entire book is that homosexuals live among us, and whether people who want to recognize it or not, they could very well be someone you know, or the person that you least expect. In the story I am blue there is a little boy and his fairy godmother changed all of the gay people blue, to show the kid that he was not alone in the world. The child saw “the fat guy who ran the grocery store, looked like a giant blueberry – which surprised me, because he was married and had three kids. On the other hand, my Thomayke, the librarian, who everyone knew was a lesbian, didn’t have a trace of blue on her.” Society stereotypes gays as being graphic, and very open about sexual behavior, they slur their words, and they walk funny. All of these stereotypes have lead straight people to believe that other people are homosexuals when they are not. When stereotypes are created about a certain type of person, everyone characterizes them as being that stereotype. They wouldn’t just walk weird they have to be gay, they couldn’t have a speech problem they have to be gay. But really the gay person is the “normal” person who the judging people would never suspect.

Analysis on Current Events

These four articles that I wrote about were about gay marriage and whether it should be legalized or not. There has been a lot of controversy about this topic and this is what the article tries to convey. The topic of gay marriage is being debated all over the country. The voting is always a very close call from 38 to 28 or 24 to 20 to legalize gay marriage in there state. Most of the states that have legalized gay marriage have taken back that law at some point and have it be illegal again. The big discussion on whether to legalize the marriage between homosexuals is that it will affect children who will be raised by two homosexual parents. Another topic that people worry about with legalizing same-sex marriage is that we have to then give rights to polygamy (marring more than one person). The problem that people think will affect the children is that if they see that their parents are homosexuals then will that trigger them into being one too? And the government doesn’t want to legalize polygamy or many other things like that. The people who are against legalizing gay marriage are afraid that monogamy (being married to one person) won’t be the normal thing any longer, that everyone will be gay and be married to more than one person at a time (polygamy). Many people who are for legalizing gay marriage have a positive outlook on the debate. They think about how, “who remembers the outcome of the scopes trial? Evolution lost the battle, though it has largely carried the day," they believe that even though the world may not be ready for gay marriage now it won’t disappear and that it will be brought up again when more people are ready to except it. People are scared of accepting new ideas and change. They are afraid that if we legalize something as big as gay marriage that our society will change, and in their minds, not in the good way.

"The Massachusetts Ruling Endorsing Gay Marriage Is Misguided" - in favor

This article is about how deciding whether gay marriage should be legalized or not is up to the courts. The writer believes that gay marriages should be legalized and that doing so will cause no harm to society. the argument is that bringing up a child in a gay household will create an unstable environment in the country. But this article states that "it would bring stability, respectability, and legal benefits of marriage to millions of children who are already being raised by gay and lesbian couples." i think that this is a great point to make, because what about the children who are already being raised by same-sex couples, do they have anyone who is supporting their side. the article is implying that if the government votes in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage then it could only benefit the country and not harm it. the article points out that the courts are worried that if they sign something about legalizing gay marriage then that will directly effect the endorsement of polygamy (being married to more then one person) and adult incest (relationships with people who are closely related). the person in the article so plainly points out that there are all of these restrictions on gay relationships and punishments, but there are no such punishments or restrictions on heterosexual relationships.

http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C16%2529For%2Bgay%2Bmarriage%2524&contentSet=GSRC&sort=Relevance&tabID=T010&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=OVRC&searchId=R3&currentPosition=1&userGroupName=deer63488&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2CNone%2C16%29For+gay+marriage%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=EJ3010310214&docType=GSRC

"Same-Sex Marriage Opens the Door for Legalizing Polygamy" - Against

This article talks about how Legalizing same-sex marriages is the wrong thing to do. It talks about how that if we legalize gay marriage that will eventually lead to polygamy (being married to more then one person) being legalized. The person who wrote the article believes that marriage is a social institution, and that stable families are created and depend on it. they also believe that gay marriages will lead to ruin the stable families and create many issues later on. They believe that gay marriages will corrupt children and create unstable families, and children need stable families. The media is showing or telling people that if they are against same-sex marriages that they are homophobes (people who are afraid of homosexuals). the main point the the writer is trying to convey is that "gay marriage will almost certainly weaken the belief that monogamy lies at the heart of marriage." This person is worried that gay marriage will some how blur lines about what they believe is right and wrong. That gay marriage wont be seen as Gay Marriage, but rather as just a marriage between two people. the article is saying that if we as a country give into gay marriage being legalized, then that is just the beginning to many more issues with polygamy, and many other topics alike.

http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C12%2529Gay%2Bmarriage%2524&contentSet=GSRC&sort=Relevance&tabID=T010&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=OVRC&searchId=R2&currentPosition=2&userGroupName=deer63488&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2CNone%2C12%29Gay+marriage%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=EJ3010547208&docType=GSRC

"Gay Marriage Rests, and a Key Ruling Awaits"

This article is about the ruling of gay marriage becoming legal. The idea that the article is talking about is that when and if the court decides on legalizing gay marriage, during that time they want to work on getting the supreme court and every other higher power involved and on their side of getting same-sex marriages legalized. The problem with legalizing gay marriage is that there are still so many people who are against it. in the article it states that "The Southern Baptist Convention describes homosexuality as an 'abomination,'". If this is the opinion of all of the south or a large part of it gay marriage will never be legalized. then the article goes on to talk about how the lawyers who are on the case right now are going to try and convince the courts that the prohibitions against gay marriage is illegal under the constitution. the point that i thought was the best one in the article was when a person stated "who remembers the outcome of the scopes trial? Evolution lost the battle, though it has largely carried the day,". i think this is a great point in the article because it shows that even though people may disagree about the same-sex marriages being legal, this quote is saying that those relationships that people are so desperately trying to get rid of will still exist. If something goes wrong with the legalization of gay marriage nothing will change from what it is today, gays and lesbians will still exist, and civil unions will still go on. So if nothing will change from what is already going on today, then why can society not come to terms with what IS happening. America sees a change ahead so why not speed up the process?

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1957505,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

Short Story Response; "Three Mondays in July"

In the book "Am I Blue", I read a story called "Three Mondays in July". This short story was about a young boy who was unsure of his sexuality, but in the time that he lived he thought it better to keep this unsureness to himself. When one day he met a man named Allen who had the same questions that he did and he gave the boy named David some advice, "Just remember one thing - You're not alone"(24) i think that this is some of the best advice that another person can give to someone else when they are unsure about something in there life that is life changing. When David had thoughts that he might be gay he thought that he should keep it to himself because he thought that he was the only person that would understand, and that everyone else in the world would see him as a weirdo or something. When Allen said to him that he was not alone in the world, and that other people had some of the same feelings that David was having, i think that David began to feel a little more comfortable with himself. i think that because david thought that "he had a sense of fulfillment, of profound satisfaction...and maybe for the first time he didn't feel so alone." i think that this story is very powerful in the sense that there will always bee someone out there who understands what you are going through, and that everyone needs someone who supports them and is there for them when they need them the most.

New York State Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage Bill

This article was about how on wednesday in New York the state Senate voted to reject the bill that would have allowed homosexual couples to get married. The bill has been circling the senate for about a year now, and it is a very controversial topic. The vote was 38 against it, and 24 for Gay marriage. All of the republican senators opposed the bill, while 10 black senators and 7 out of ten women senators voted for it to pass. The bill is goning to be put off until 2011. Many people in New York spent alot of money, 1 million dollars to be exact, trying to campaign to get support and to get the bill legalized this year. Since 2003 there have only been 7 states that have legalized same-sex marrige, but two of the seven have gone back to restricting marriage to straight couples, (california - last year, Maine - last Month). I think that there will always be people that disagree with the topice of gay marriage, and that it will be a long time before it is resolved and i feel like no matter if there is a compromise or if they do legalize gay marriage then there will always be the group or person that doesn't want it and will petition to get rid of it. There should be a national law about this topic because it is not fair that in some states gays and lesbians are allowed to get married and in some states they are not. And if they do legalize homosexual marriages, and then they go back to a law that says there cannot be same-sex marriages i feel that the marriages that have already been performed should still be legal. Something needs to change about this topic, because while the rest of the world is starting to come to terms with homosexuals the government is falling behind.

Bowers Vs. Hardwick (1986)

This article is about how the United States Supreme Court ruled that anti-sodomy laws were constitutional. When a gay man named Hardwick was arrested for having sex with another man, he was arrested in 1982. Hardwick believed he was right and fought against the law saying that the antisodomy laws "violated his rights and forced him to live in imminent danger of arrest". i agree with what Hardwick stated, it is part of his First Amendment rights to do what ever he wants in private. the First Amendment means "that a State has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch..." so if the law can't tell someone which books to read then why can it tell you who you can have sexual relations with? the article states that there are twenty four states and the District of Columbia still continue to punish for sodomy performed in private between adults. And the defence for the reason to keep the antisodomy law the only reason that they could come up with was that the liberties were "deeply rooted in this nations history and tradition". i think that this is a lie, on the governments part because many things have been a "deeply rooted tradition" in this country but those laws were ended. a great example of something that was a deeply rooted tradition in the United States was Slavery. slavery was a huge deal and went on for many generations and slavery was claimed illegal so why couldn't we do the same earlier for the antisodomy laws?

"Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 8 Feb. 2010. .

"On Marriage Rite, Gays Refocus"

This article talks about how New Jersey performed their first gay marriages. The article also says that even though there were victories for gay rights, but at the end of the year 2009 the marriage between same-sex couples were seemed to be put aside, and stalled. The article had a very interesting survey that was taken by the Pew Research Center; they found that "53% of Americans oppose allowing gay men and lesbians to marry legally, but 57% favor allowing them to enter into civil unions, arrangements that give them many of the same rights." I think that this is a very interesting survey because most Americans don’t want them to be able to get married, but most are fine with them having a civil union, with the same rights as a marriage. To my understanding this is what same-sex couples have had for awhile, only civil unions not marriage, and that they have only gotten this right more recently. My question is, are gays going to be able to marry one day? and if the civil unions that same-sex couples are allowed to have, and they have all the same rights as marriage then why can they not get marriage license? New Jersey's goal is to pick at the subject bit by bit and eventually have same-sex marriage in the future. In early 2009 the states of Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire have legalized same-sex marriage in May, but then were overturned in November. D.C. passed a same-sex marriage law but it needs to be approved. It seems, according to the article, that most states that vote for same-sex marriage, get it approved by the state but then a few months later it is denied by the congress, or some bigger form of government. In Some cases I think that this is confusing, because you are giving people false hope, and if it is legal for those few months or even weeks in the state and someone gets married is it still legal? and if not why? One woman who has had a civil union with her partner for 15 years works at a hospital and she does not get the same benefits as a married couple would because the hospital doesn't recognize it "People don't know what it means," she says. "But everyone understands what it means to be married." this is the problem with not allowing same-sex couples to be able to get married for exactly what this woman has said, she is given the rights as if it were a marriage but most people don't give her those rights because it is not recognized.

Bello, Marisol. "On Marriage Rite, Gays Refocus." USA Today 07 Jan 2010: A.10. SIRS Researcher. Web. 03 February 2010.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was the first acknowledged homosexual public official in San Francisco and probably the entire nation. He worked to protect the rights of gays, and other social issues in the nation. Milk was just like anyone else, he was a well rounded athlete in high school, he graduated from a college in Albany New York, after college he then enlisted in the navy. He was a lieutenant junior on an aircraft carrier; he taught Mathematics and History and coached basketball. He then opened a camera shop in the gay neighborhood of Castro Street where he became known as the mayor. In 1973 Harvey Milk had decided to run for the board of supervisors. When he was running he made his sexuality known from the start and he gained support from his neighborhood. Milk was eventually elected supervisor. In 1978 Milk and Moscone wanted to protect homosexual rights, which would have been the strongest law in the nation. It passed all 11 votes but one negative vote from a man named Dan White. White wanted to be reappointed, and figured out that the mayor didn’t want the same; he then went and killed Milk and Moscone. He got away with the murder because his lawyer said that he had eaten too much junk food, and he was charged with voluntary manslaughter. This created a major conflict among many people which ended in some riots later on. Harvey Milk was one of the first Gays in America who stood up for homosexuals in a public and governmental sense. He was a very influential person, and many people believed in what he wanted and followed him as he gained popularity. Harvey Milk was one of the most influential people in Gay rights history. He is the most influential people because he encouraged homosexuals to be truthful about whom they were, when he ran for a position in the government and said from the beginning that he was gay. I think that it was very unfortunate that he was murdered but he didn't die having done nothing, he left a huge impact on the homosexual society, and the rest of America.

Shilts, Randy, The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, 1982; Weiss, Mike, Double Play: The San Francisco City Hall Killings, 1984.

Stonewall Riots

The Stonewall riots was when the homosexuals "stood up for their dignity during a confrontation at a bar called the Stonewall inn in New York City's Greenwich Village." This confrontation happened on June 27, 1969. The confrontation ended in the Result of Gay Pride week. the gay pride week was organized to commemorate the first anniversary of Stonewall. I think that this is one of the most powerful and important moments in the history of gay pride. the stonewall riots mark the first time that the homosexuals stood up against the people and fought for their rights, like having more then three gays at a bar at the same time. During the first Gay Pride week they had a march in New York City consisting of 10,000 gays and lesbians. This shows that most of the Gays & Lesbians came and participated in the march. 2010 marks the 41st anniversary of the stonewall riots, and there are now hundreds of thousands to millions of people who particpate in the march in New York City. The Stonewall riots commerate the begining of when the homosexuals started to gain respect, and be recognized as human beings, and not people who where hidden from society.

Deitcher, David, ed., The Question of Equality: Lesbian and Gay Politics in America since Stonewall, 1995; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (http://www.ngltf.org/); Newton, David E., Gay and Lesbian Rights, 1994.