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.

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.

Dont' ask, Don't Tell policy

This policy is a policy that forbids homosexuals who are in the military, to keep their sexual orientation to themselves, and from others who ask about it. This policy gave them the right to be in the military but it also denied them the right to show their homosexuality and to participate in activites, and the lifestyles that come with it. I think that this policy is a good and bad idea. It is a good idea because then the people that are against having gay people in the military aren't aware who is gay and who is not. It is also a good thing because then they do not get discriminated against, or Homophobes who don't want to interact with gays. It is a bad thing because it requires the Homosexuals to be silent, and not be who they truly are. In the year 1993 i think that this was a little surprising that people were still trying to keep them quiet, and that this just happened 16 years ago.

"don't ask, don't tell policy." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

Gay Rights

The article that i read is called "Gay Rights". the article talks about how gays have always been discrinated against, but when people came out in the 1970's they have the legal rights to equal employment, and partner benefits, which are things that they did not have before that. Discrination is traced back as far as 1533 in england, when they passed the Buggery act. the buggary act "made homosexual intercourse a capital offence punishable by hanging". this caused most homosexuals to hide it because they were scared of the repracussions. closer to the 20th century more of the homosexuals became more open about their sexuality. As more people became open about their homosexuality people started to see it as a problem, and it was viewed as deviant behavior, and a threat to the stibility of American Culture. Gays soon became an open target for the police to arrest them for something. More than 500 gay men were being arrested in New York annualy. By limiting the presence of the homosexuals in the public scene the state authorities thought it would be a good idea to put homosexuals into invisability. Everything started to change for homosexuals in the 1970's when activists began to challenge the federal and state laws. The Lawrence v. Texas (2003) case changed alot, it changed the antisodomy laws to be unconstitutional. even after the Lawrence v. Texas the antisodomy laws were still in the books in thirteen states, most of which were in the south. then in 1986 the Bowers v. Hardwick case argued that the right to privacy did not extend to the homosexuals, the court agreed with them, but seventeen years later that was overturned. everything started to turn over for the homosexuals after that. In the year 2000 the state of Vermont was the first state to legalize same-sex unions. Then in San Francisco marrige liscenses were being given to same-sex couples, but that was soon put to a stop, and those marrige licenses that were given out became illegal. In the 2004 election banning gay marriges became a heated topic in the political debates. 11 states most of which were red states (republican) voted to amend the constitution to ban gay marrige. Most of the dificulties that gays and lesbians have had over the years is trying to legalize same-sex marriges and relationships. Today there are more then 30 million gays and lesbians in the United States are fighting for social, economic and political rights. The question that i have is, will homosexuals ever get the rights that they have been fighting for for many years?

"gay rights." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. ."gay rights." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

Gay & Lesbian Rights

The topic that i was assigned for the research project was Gays & Lesbians. I was interested in this topic because it is a popular current issue that is gaining popularity in the united states today. What i already know about the topic is that many people who are gay are discriminated against every day of their lives. it used to be illegal to even be in a relationship with someone of the same sex, but now in most states it is just illegal to get married to someone of the same sex. Many people all over frown upon same-sex mariges or even relationships, which creates the controversy about this topic. the questions that i have about this topic, is that have there been any changes over the past few years? and if so what were they?