Essay The Gay Rights Movement

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Thesis Statement: The Gay Rights Movement dates back to the 19th century. By 1970 gay and lesbian organizations existed all over the United States and in other countries all over the world. Some supporters of the movement would say that our society as a whole has made great strides towards acceptance of homosexuality. However, gays and lesbians are still fighting for equality in 2009. The issues are vast and widespread, with same-sex marriage at the top of the list. In the world that we live in today one might be surprised to learn how many countries are accepting of gay and lesbians, as well as how many are not. The world has made progress within the last decade regarding this issue, but definitely not enough. We need to take steps …show more content…
Serious fundamental civil liberties are not available to same-sex couples because they are being denied legal marriage. Some of them to name a few are automatic assumption of a spouse’s pension, automatic inheritance, bereavement leave offered by employers, burial determination, and medical decisions on behalf of a partner (“Demian”). However, we are lucky that same-sex marriage is one of our countries biggest issues regarding homosexuals. Across the globe there are many instances where an individuals’ sexual orientation or gender identity can lead them to face execution, imprisonment, torture, violence and/or discrimination. Just some examples include; execution by the state, denial of employment, loss of custody of children, denial of asylum, rape and otherwise torture in detention, threats for campaigning for LGBT human rights, and most commonly constant verbal abuse (“About LGBT Human Rights”). According to the International Lesbian and Gay Association, seven countries still put gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to death for same-sex actions. Those countries are: Iran, Mauritania, Saudi-Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Nigeria (“Lesbian Life”). Last year the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gave a speech at Columbia University in New York where he clearly stated that in Iran they do not have homosexuals. Ahmadinejad was asked a question about gay executions in Iran, which he
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