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| Different | 62% | 242 votes | Total: 391 votes | |
| Parallel | 38% | 149 votes |
Different
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Add to FavoritesGay "rights" issues are radically different from race-related civil rights in the US. Every American citizen has civil liberties guaranteed by our Bill of Rights, and whenever these rights have been violated either by reason of race or gender, they have provided a proper focus for the struggle to redress those violations. Historically, civil rights have been violated based solely on a person's skin color or gender. Any effort the parallel the struggle of gays to achieve mainstream acceptance (i.e., to be considered "normal") with that of Blacks and women who suffered under a racist and male dominated society devalues those struggles.
To be fair, homophobia and laws against sodomy have caused stress and suffering for homosexuals in the past. Moreover, discrimination against a person for any reason, including sexual orientation is wrong and unlawful. The latter is gradually being codified throughout our legal system, and gay couples are even gaining the right to join in civil unions that have the legal sanction of heterosexual marriage. There is likewise a more widespread tolerance and acceptance of the gay lifestyle on the part of the public at large.
What is unfair, however, is the assertion on the part of some gay activists that their struggle is the same as what Black Americans had to endure and overcome. In fact, many Black civil rights leaders bristle at the notion the gay rights movement can be placed on the same plane as the fight for racial equality. As a group, homosexuals have never been slaves, nor have they suffered from Jim Crow laws that kept them in a state of subjugation for decades after slavery. There have never been "heterosexual only" drinking fountains and cafes in America's South; nor have homosexuals been sought out by angry white men in robes lighting wooden crosses on their front lawns.
Also, male homosexuals have never been denied the right to vote or own property in their own name. They have always had ready access to America's political process as well as highly paid jobs at the same rate of pay as their heterosexual male counterparts. No gay rights march has ever been met with fire hoses and vicious dogs and cops with truncheons.
There is also a major difference between homosexuals and African-Americans as a class of people who have experienced varying degrees of discrimination, from persecution to mild disapproval. Black Americans (and women, too) could never camouflage their unique physical characteristics and thus avoid persecution or discrimination. On the other hand, homosexuality is normally not manifested in physical appearance. If there is any manifestation, it is behavioral.
Homosexuality is a sexual preference and a lifestyle that can be practiced in plain sight or in private, depending on the preference of the practitioner. Blacks cannot hide their skin color, nor can women hide their gender. Both women and blacks have been discriminated against solely because of their physical characteristics. Gays, too, have suffered discrimination and homophobic mistreatment, but never to the degree of African-Americans and women. To claim otherwise is a disingenuous effort to garner a level of public sympathy that is disproportionate to the degree of actual "suffering" caused by gays, who want "rights" that they already have by virtue of being Americans.
Of course, the argument as to whether the institution of marriage should be extended to members of the same sex is one that society will have to resolve. However, as long as gays have the option of legalized civil unions, the complaint that they cannot "marry" is really a quibble.
Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
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Parallel
When it comes to questions like this one, it is one's immediate inclination to say that one group has suffered more than the other, rather than to examine the actual civil rights injustice issues. Have the Native Americans suffered more than African Americans? Have African Americans suffered more than Mexican Americans? Have Mexican Americans suffered more than Muslim Americans? Have homosexual Americans suffered as much as any of these groups? In a country built on a steadily crumbling constitution that claims "liberty and justice for all", an injustice is an injustice is an injustice. The amount of suffering of each group is arguable, but the civil rights struggle of each group remains just as valid as the other.
Coretta Scott King, widowed wife of Martin Luther King, has been both praised and denounced for paralleling the gay rights movement to the black civil rights movement, and has whole heartedly supported the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) community in it's endeavors for equality. She has been known to quote her husband in speeches addressing the LGBT community, saying that an "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".
Homosexuals in America have been stripped of many basic civil rights over the years, and laws are still in constant change. The struggle is always one step forward, two steps back. Struggles include the passing of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) by the Clinton administration, the introduction of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the military, Adoption laws which disallow gay adoption in states such as Florida, and the list goes on.
Hate crime laws have been set up in many, but not all states in the U.S. These laws are meant to protect against crimes committed out of animosity toward race, religion, ethnicity, and national origin. With incidents arising such as the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, Sexual Orientation was added to the hate crime definition for some, but not all states.
In some cases in history, racial struggles and LGBT struggles have been interlinked. When the Stonewall Riots occurred in 1969 in Greenwich Village, NY, it was largely believed that the bar was raided by police for two reasons. First of all, it was a gay bar, and during this time police were known for raiding these bars at will. Secondly, it was speculated that this particular bar was targeted because many of the patrons also happened to be black and hispanic.
Certain states have elected to allow Civil Unions for homosexual couples. However, a couple's civil union will not be recognized if they move to a state where it has not been made legal and valid. Even where they are recognized, a Civil Union still does not include over 1000 rights that are allowed to Married couples.
For those who are not married and also are not bound in a Civil Union, other problems arise. In the movie, 'If These Walls Could Talk II', we see a heartbreaking depiction of a lesbian couple that has been together since their youth. Now, both in their 70's, one of them has passed away. The widow is not allowed visitation rights in the hospital, nor is she able to claim her partner's left belongings. Of course legal documents such as wills can be drawn up to help with some of these sorts of legal matters. However, one can see that many issues still remain.
Many argue that the LGBT civil rights struggle is not as valid because it is still under debate whether or not homosexuality is a choice. I think this is a weak argument to make. Whether it is a choice or not, we live in a country that claims freedom for all. We live in a supposed democracy that says the people decide what's right for the people. Yet the government has consistently made decisions which do not support the people. They instead make decisions which inhibit and dehumanize and segregate the people. The LGBT has not been made to sit in the back of the bus literally, but it has been treated with second class citizenship. It has been denied basic freedoms guaranteed in the constitution. It has been in constant struggle to validate itself. When exactly did 'freedom for all' become 'certain freedoms for certain peoples'?
So, yes, I do believe that these civil rights issues are parallel. I also believe that we need to stop arguing who's been trampled on more and why. We need to decide to put aside our differences, and realize that we are all struggling for the same basic freedoms which should be guaranteed to all human beings regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation. If we continue to disagree on who's freedoms are more important, no progress can be made for anyone. If we come together and fight for each other under the same convictions, then perhaps we can make greater strides in the struggle for equality for everyone.
Learn more about this author, Mercy.
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