October 2008
The year was 1951. Josh’s mother was in love. Sylvia, Josh’s’ mother, was most definitely in love, but she had to keep her love a secret. Sylvia was in love with another woman. In fact, Sylvia had fallen in love with her ex-husband’s sister. Talk about sandal. This is 1951. How could something like this even happen? This is not only Sylvia’s first relationship with another woman, but it is her ex’s sister, Helen! Could Sylvia experience the same type of public affection as we do now, in 2008? She could, especially after she goes on Jerry Springer with her story!
Their relationship was making such huge sandal. Could two women in 1951 hold hands or even kiss each other in public? Most of us would say a loud, “hell no!” unless, of course you’ve got that, ‘”I don’t give a shit attitude” which most of us have. Or do we? Maybe one of us in the relationship is fine with it but the other is looking around with an “Oh my God, who saw us” response.
Do gays and lesbians, especially in this part of the country have the ability to be free with our sexuality? When our lovers try to hold our hand or grab us in public, are we really okay with it? Do we look for the helicopters to come swooping down to take us away to some reparative “straight” program? For some of us there is paranoia. I hoped that by now we’d be past the paranoia, that we’d have that, “I don’t give a shit attitude,” and that we as nation could just look at our lovers and give them that great big kiss, without there being that, “Oh my God, did anyone see you do that?”
The following is from the web site- http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html
This time line provides information about the gay rights movement in the United States from 1924 to the present: including the Stonewall riots, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the first civil unions, the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut, and more.
1924
The Society for Human Rights in Chicago becomes the country’s earliest known gay rights organization.
Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, revealing to the public that homosexuality is far more widespread than was commonly believed.
The Mattachine Society, the first national gay rights organization, is formed by Harry Hay, considered by many to be the founder of the gay rights movement.
The Daughters of Bilitis, a pioneering national lesbian organization, is founded.
Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults in private.
The Stonewall riots transform the gay rights movement from one limited to a small number of activists into a widespread protest for equal rights and acceptance. Patrons of a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, the Stonewall Inn, fight back during a police raid on June 27, sparking three days of riots.
The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders.
Wisconsin becomes the first state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is instituted for the U.S. military, permitting gays to serve in the military but banning homosexual activity [or revealing their sexual orientation]. President Clinton’s original intention to revoke the prohibition against gays in the military was met with stiff opposition. This compromise, which has led to the discharge of thousands of men and women [from] the armed forces, was the result.
In Romer v. Evans, the Supreme Court strikes down Colorado’s Amendment 2, this denied gays and lesbians protections against discrimination, calling them “special rights.” According to Justice Anthony Kennedy, “We find nothing special in the protections Amendment 2 withholds. These protections . . . constitute ordinary civil life in a free society.”
Vermont becomes the first state in the country to legally recognize civil unions between gay [and] lesbian couples. The law states that these “couples would be entitled to the same benefits, privileges, and responsibilities as spouses.” It stops short of referring to same-sex unions as marriage, which the state defines as heterosexual.
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that sodomy laws in the U.S. are unconstitutional. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, “Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate conduct.”
In November, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that barring gays and lesbians from marrying violates the state constitution. The Massachusetts Chief Justice concluded that to “deny the protections, benefits, and obligations conferred by civil marriage” to gay couples was unconstitutional because it denied “the dignity and equality of all individuals” and made them “second-class citizens.” Strong opposition followed the ruling.
On May 17, same-sex marriages become legal in Massachusetts.
Civil unions become legal in Connecticut in Oct. 2005.
Civil unions become legal in New Jersey in December.
In November, the House of Representatives approves a bill ensuring equal rights in the workplace for gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.
In February, a New York State appeals court unanimously votes that valid same-sex marriages performed in other states must be recognized by employers in New York, granting same-sex couples the same rights as other couples.
In February, the state of Oregon passes a law that allows same-sex couples to register as domestic partners allowing them some spousal rights of married couples.
On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. When the ruling goes into effect in June 2008, California will be the second state, after Massachusetts, to legalize same-sex marriages. {The ruling is now up for referendum in November, 2008]
On October 10, 2008 the Supreme Court of Connecticut rules that same-sex couples have the right to marry. This makes Connecticut the third state, after Massachusetts and California, to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples. The court rules that the state cannot deny gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry under Connecticut’s constitution, and that the state’s civil union law does not provide same-sex couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.
