The 1960s was a pinnacle time for the African American fight for
Civil Rights. During this decade the movement expanded to include peaceful protesting as well as violent rioting in the ghettos. Other groups of disenfranchised Americans saw the power of the African
American protestors and adopted their language of freedom.
The gay and lesbian community was part of the effected group of minorities. Many states had made homosexuality illegal, and policemen often harassed the gay community. Even up until 1973 the American Psychiatric
Association had classified homosexuality as a mental disease.
Seeing the success of the African
American civil rights movement, homosexuals realized that “gay liberation” was a possibility.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community began to fight for its rights on a large scale after the Stonewall Riots of
1969.
Today the LGBT civil rights movement continues as the battle for marriage equality and social acceptance wages on.

The movement for gay rights really picked up within the last five years starting with the Proposition 8 debate in California.
Proposition 8, also known as the
California Marriage Protection Act, was a proposition and constitutional amendment which banned homosexual marriage. Section 7.5 was added to the California
Constitution with the passing of the proposition. The section states that
“only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in
California.”
In the state’s November 2008 elections Proposition 8 passed with about 52% of Californians supporting the ban on same-sex marriage.

Conservatives and liberals debated fiercely over Proposition 8 before the
November vote.
“Yes on 8” supporters, fueled by religious beliefs and ‘family values’, believed that allowing same-sex marriage would ultimately hurt California.
Common claims of the ban’s supporters included that legalized samesex marriages would…
• force churches to marry gay couples
• force schools to teach gay marriage
• open the doors for pedophilia and bestiality

The “No on 8” campaign focused around marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.
Their campaign argued that…
• religion is separate from the government (thus religious dogma should not be a determining factor in allowing homosexual rights)
• marriage is a right (the vote is dealing with civil rights and civil liberties)
• marriage comes with legal and societal benefits that civil unions do not have
No “h8te” supporters included famous celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Stephen Spielberg.

The LGBT community rallied together after the passing of Proposition 8. Out of anger many protests erupted in the weeks and months after the historical election.
November 15, 2008 was labeled as a
National Day of Protest as “No on 8, No on H8te” supporters gathered to the nation’s major cities such as New York
City, NY and Los Angeles, CA.
The most active area during the protests was San Francisco, California. San
Francisco has historically been a center for the LGBT community, especially with the notorious Castro district. San
Francisco City Hall became “ground zero” in the battle for same-sex marriage.
In August of 2010 Californian federal judge Vaughn Walker ruled that
Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. He wrote that “the choice of a marriage partner is sheltered by the Fourteenth
Amendment”.
The Proposition 8 debate continues today with court appeals from “No on 8” supporters.
The issue of same-sex marriage is also now on the table of other states such as
New York where State Assemblyman
Daniel O’Donnell brought forth a bill which will legalize same-sex marriage if it is approved by voters.

In May of 2008, the Californian
Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. During the timeframe in which it was legal, about 18,000 same-sex couples tied the knot.
This brief period of legalized gay marriage spawned Proposition 8 and its supporters.
Though same-sex marriage was made illegal in November of 2008, the state still upholds marriages that were performed prior to the vote.

Throughout history the disenfranchised have looked to find freedom and liberation from their oppression. The Gay Civil Rights movement in America came from the basic drive for equality.
As stated earlier in the presentation, the 1960s played host to a variety of rebellious minority groups. The LGBT community had gotten fed up with police brutality and national contempt for homosexuals, and thus the movement for equality began.

The gay rights movement is having a lasting effect on American pop culture.
The mainstream music industry has welcomed
LBGT artists with open arms. Singer Lady
Gaga, notorious for her eccentric style and her self a bisexual woman, is a friend to the gay community. One of her latest songs, entitled
Born This Way has become an anthem for
LGBT teens.
Movies and television programs have also taken to the gay community. Fox’s show
Glee features an openly gay character named Kurt Hummel played by Chris
Colfer. The show has had episodes dedicated to Kurt’s personal plight of being a gay teenager in high school. Glee brings attention to LGBT bullying as well as the issue of “coming out”.

Mainstream media’s acceptance of the
LGBT community has brought bigotry into the national spotlight.
In late 2010 a wave of gay teen suicides struck the United States.
Rutgers University student Tyler
Clementi jumped off the George
Washington Bridge to his death. He committed suicide after his roommate,
Dharun Ravi, and another student, Molly
Wei, allegedly recorded Clementi having a sexual encounter with another man.
Ravi and Wei broadcasted the recording on the Internet thus prompting Clementi to take his own life.
In Tehachapi, California 13-year-old Seth
Walsh attempted suicide by hanging himself from a tree in his backyard. His attempt left him unconscious and on life support for more than a week before his death. According to his grandmother,
Judy Walsh, Seth suffered from homophobic bullying both in person and

The violent hate crimes and suicides that rocked the LGBT community in recent years prompted a wide reaching support and outreach effort.
In the aftermath of 2010’s gay teen suicide epidemic, LGBT and straight ally celebrities took to the Internet to voice their support for youth struggling with bullying. In a series of “It Gets Better” videos, celebrities and politicians such as Margaret Cho, Tim Gunn, Hillary
Clinton, and President Barack Obama utilized the Internet to reach out to
LGBT youth and bullied teens in general.
The “It Gets Better Project” still goes strong today as average Americans add their own support videos to the project’s website and YouTube.

The Gay Civil Rights Movement wouldn’t be anywhere without the
Stonewall Riots of 1969.
On June 28, 1969 police raided the
Stonewall Bar in New York’s Greenwich
Village. The Stonewall was a gathering place for the LGBT community. Years of police harassment and social condemnation changed something in the minds of LGBT men and women that night. Rather than going along with the raid and bowing out to the police, the patrons of the bar fought back. Five days of rioting followed the initial incident at the Stonewall and thus the
“gay liberation” movement took off.

During the 1950s the American public was captured by consumerism.
Product advertisements glorified the
American family unit and the conformity of women to the role of suburban homemaker.
Homosexuality frightened parents of the 1950s and 60s because they wanted their children to grow up, get married, have children, and join
American suburbia.
“Do you want your son enticed into the world of homosexuals, or your daughter lured into lesbianism? Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life?”
Stonewall Uprising

Gays and lesbians were demonized in
American culture. They were viewed as sinful or mentally disordered. Popular belief during the 1960s was that people could “catch” homosexuality like it was a disease. “The average homosexual, if there be such, is promiscuous. He is not interested in, nor capable of a lasting relationship like that of a heterosexual marriage.” – The
Homosexual (1967), CBS Reports
Due to homophobia, LGBT men and women were forced to stay in the “closet” and keep their sexuality a secret. Under McCarthyism homosexuality was seen as “national weakness” and attacks on gays and lesbians ensued.
“Sure enough, the following day, when Jimmy finished playing ball, well, the man was there waiting. …
What Jimmy didn’t know is that
Ralph was sick. … A sickness of the mind. You see, Ralph was a homosexual.” – Boys Beware
(1961), Public Service
Announcement

While mainstream American culture has opened its arms to the LGBT community, the fact of the matter is that the majority of Americans still don’t support homosexuality.
This problem can be traced back to the early years of the Gay Liberation movement.
Due to centuries of religious dogma as well as the social stigma of being
LGBT, gay civil rights are far from becoming a wide reality. As it is today marriage equality is only in a few states in America, the first being
Massachusetts. It is key to note that Massachusetts only legalized same-sex marriage in May of 2004 – a mere seven years ago.
It is clear that the bigotry left in America has hindered the process of procuring gay rights. It will be many decades, possibly centuries, for the LGBT community to reach the same level of equality that the rest of America already has.

• Marriage equality is a civil right and the Stonewall Riots were the beginning of the organized movement for “gay liberation”
• Like the Stonewall Riots, the Prop
8 debate caused a new wave of gay rights supporters.
• Just like in the aftermath of the Stonewall Riots, Prop 8 spurred youth response and support.
•
Gays and lesbians have been fighting for their rights now just as the African
American community fought for their rights in the early and mid 1900s.
• Both gays and African
Americans faced extreme hatred from a majority of
Americans. Just like religion was used to defend slavery,
Christianity to this day is used to condemn homosexuality as immoral and unnatural.

Despite many homosexuals gaining success in the arts and fashion worlds in the 1960s, they had to be “in the closet” for their safety. To be “closeted” is to be secretive about one’s sexual orientation. Gays and lesbians had to be closeted because mainstream society condemned homosexuality. LGBT people ran the risk of getting attacked or institutionalized so they couldn’t be open about their true selves.
The Stonewall Bar raid occurred on June 28, 1969.
For the five days following,
LGBT people rioted in New
York. The riots kicked off the movement for gay civil rights because it marked the tipping point of the oppressed homosexual community.
Today the riots are remembered during pride marches across the nation.

Alexander, Bryan. “The Bullying of Seth Walsh: Requiem for a Small-Town Boy.”
Time Magazine . N.p., 2
Oct. 2010. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2023083,00.html>.
California. “Section 7.5.”
California Constitution . N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2011.
<http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.const/.article_1>.
Dolan, Maura, and Carol J. Williams. “Ban on Gay Marriage Overturned.”
The Los Angeles Times . N.p., n.d.
Web. 17 May 2011. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/05/local/la-me-gay-marriage-california-
20100805>.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty: An American History . 2nd ed. N.p.: Matrix Publishing Services, 2008. Print.
Harris, Dan. “Proposition 8: Gay Marriage on California’s Ballot.”
ABC News . N.p., 29 Oct. 2008. Web. 17
May 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/5050/proposition-gay-marriage-californiasballot/story?id=6137237>.

Hubbard, Jeremy. “Fifth Gay Teen Suicide in Three Weeks Sparks Debate .”
ABC News . N.p., 6 Oct. 2010.
Web. 17 May 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/gay-teen-suicide-sparks-debate/story?id=11788128
>.
Marquez, Laura. “Day of Protests for Gay Rights .”
ABC News . N.p., 15 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 May 2011.
<http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6262989&page=1>.
Peters, Jeremy W. “Why the Gay Rights Movement Has No National Leader.”
The New York Times 20 June
2009: n. pag. The New York Times . Web. 17 May 2011.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/weekinreview/21peters.html >.
Steinhauser, Paul. “CNN poll: Generations disagree on same-sex marriage.” CNN . N.p., 4 May 2009. Web.
17 May 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/04/samesex.marriage.poll/index.html>.
“Stonewall Uprising .”
American Experience . PBS. 25 Apr. 2011. KTEH American Experience . Web.
Transcript. 17 May 2011.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/stonewall-transcript/>.

The American Experience is a great primary source because it had interviews from people who experience the riots. The documentary included pictures, video, and audio of different programs shown in the
1960s about homosexuality. It captured the seriousness of the time and the event.
The Time Magazine article about the suicide of Seth Walsh was key to my understanding of homophobia in America. The included statements by his family members brought faces to the issue of LGBT hate and persecution.