Struggle for Equality: LGBT Americans

Mattachine Society
The first national gay rights organization, formed by Harry
Hay in 1951.
Goals
1. Unite those who have been isolated
2. Education society about ethical treatment
3. Provide counseling services
4. Help those who have been victimized
o Provided counseling opportunities for members

Treatment in the 20th Century

The Lavender Scare- attacks sexuality connection to political

opinion
During the Red Scare un-Americans were considered
security risks.

started in LA
gays have ability to
openly speak out
slowly gained
momentum and
spread throughout
the country
safe place to speak
unsafe to actually
come out of the
closet (members
lived in secret)
also advocated for
rights for other
minorities
Daughters of Bilitisfemale version
connected
homosexuality to
communism and
unAmericanism

o Federal job applications denied and employees

fired from military and government jobs
o Businesses tracked and shut down, customers
arrested and exposed in newspapers
o Opposite gender clothes outlawed
o University professors fired
o The APA said it was a sociopathic disturbance
and placed it in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual as a mental disorder until 1973
Mtr. of Anonymous v Weiner

In 1966, a transsexual person from NYC wanted to change

their name and sex on their birth certificate. The court ruled
that a change did not have to be made unless there was an
error made when recording it at birth.

law directly controls

way of life
SRS: Sexual
Reassignment
Surgery

In 1968 a transgender person again sought a change of

name and sex on their birth certificate in the case of Mtr. of
Anonymous v Weiner the change of sex was denied, but the
name change was granted.
Stonewall Riots (1969)

Stonewall- famous
gay bar

Event that sparked the gay rights movement.

The NYPD raided an LGBT bar in Greenwich Village and

arrested employees and performers.
Two trans-women of color, Marsha Johnson and Sylvia
Rivera, ignited the Stonewall Riots where over 2,000
supporters took on the police during three days of
rioting
A year later, activists in several cities held a parade to
commemorate the revolt. Now pride parades are held
each June in cities around the U.S.

American Psychiatric Association (1973)

police lure men

gay sex illegal
tired of being shut
down and arrested
LGBT community no
longer passive

homosexuality no
longer treated and
thought of as a
mental illness

Proposition 6 (1978)

An initiative on the CA State ballot that would have banned

gays and lesbians, and possibly anyone who supported gay
rights, from working in CA schools.

Bryant said that

homosexuality is
contagious
Oklahoma and
Arkansas passed
proposition
California: 58.4%no; 41.6%-yes

For most of the 20th century, the American Psychiatric

Association followed the belief of Sigmund Freud that the
invert - one who is sexually attracted to members of his or
her own gender - was abnormal.
In 1973, members of the APA realized homophobia was a
social problem and removed it from the DSM-II, and spoke in
favor of anti-discrimination laws.
In 2013, the APA eliminated the term gender identity
disorder, which was considered stigmatizing, instead
referring to gender dysphoria.

Sparked by Anita Bryant (famous singer), and the Save Our

Children campaign in Dade County that repealed gay rights
ordinances.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician in CA spoke

openly against it. He gained support from Governor Jerry
Brown and former governor Ronald Reagan.
Democratic National Convention (1980)
Four main issues of religious right in 1970s: abortion, birth
control, pornography, and homosexuality.
Shockingly, Democratic leaders in 1980 stated All groups
must be protected from discrimination based on race, color,
religion, national origin, language, age, sex or sexual
orientation.

first time political

party supported
LGBT

Dont Ask, Dont Tell (1993)

Permitted gays to serve in the military but banned

homosexual activity.
This compromise by President Clinton, although
contemporary, led to the discharge of thousands of men and
women in the armed forces.

you can be
homosexual and be
in the military, but
you cant be openly
homosexual
ended in 2011

In 2011 federal courts barred further enforcement of DADT &

President Obama set the end of the policy 9/20/2011.
Department of Defense regulations still bar trans persons
from military service.
Hawaii and Same-Sex Marriages

In Baehr v. Lewin (1993), the Hawaiian Supreme Court

declared denying same sex marriage violated its equal
protection statute.
The Hawaii state legislature amended the constitution to
overrule the Court.

So began the national debate over same-sex marriage.

President Clinton Signs Executive Order 13087

In May 1998, Clinton authored Executive Order 13087-banning the federal government from discriminating on the
basis of sexual orientation in employment.

In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(EEOC) announced that discrimination against transgender
Americans violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Hate Crime Legislation

In 1993, Brandon Teena, a trans man was raped and

murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska.

In 1999, Matthew Shepard, a young openly gay man, is

savagely beaten and left to die near Laramie, Wyoming.

In 2009, these two mens violent deaths led Congress to

include sexual orientation and gender identity to hate
crime legislation.
Trans-panic lawsdefenses people use; panic because of
sexual orientation --- are still upheld in 49 U.S. States
(Assembly Bill No. 2501)

equal protection
clause violated;
same-sex marriage
temporarily made
legal
repealed because
state legislature
changed state
constitution
legal for 3 years
has no actual
enforcement
authority
wanted to end
discrimination in the
federal government
did not apply to
NSA, CIA, or FBI
hate crimes- crimes
with prejudice
California outlawed
as a plausible
defense
1400 hate crimes
against LGBT/year

Massachusetts Legalizes Same Sex Marriage

In Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2004) the MA

Supreme Court declared that marriage itself must be made
available to same-sex couples.
Equal protection/ due process
o Due Process Clause of the constitution guarentees the
right to marry as on of the fundamental liberties it
protects.
o cant deny LIFE, LIBERTY, or PROPERTY to any citizen
o the right to marry is a fundamental liberty, because it
is inherent to the concept of individual autonomy
o law must be applied the same to ALL people
o CANT use the 1st Amendment as an excuse for states
to not issue marriage licenses
Supreme Court Decisions
In Obergefell v. Hodges the Supreme Court ruled that the
fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex
couples.
The case was the result of a consolidation of six-lower court
cases representing sixteen same-sex couples, seven of their
children, a widower, an adoption agency, and a funeral
director.

Notes on movie:

gay bars are social centers for homosexuals

instructions given to police officers--shut down the bar
people refused to leave the bar
Rosa Parks movement for gays
1960s- dark ages for homosexuals
psychiatrists try to convince you to become heterosexual through conversation or
force
Etesgedero- dashow for queers; waterboarding
thought homosexuality was contagious
out on the streetsnothing to lose types
Oscar Wilde bookshopsold books that empowered homosexuals (shop
vandalized)
homosexuals hunted
1845crime to masquerade (dress in drag): 3 items of clothing had to be gender
specific
cops dress in drag to try and lure pedophiles
entrapmentluring men by hiding behind stalls in urinals

thousands arrested
gaystwilight people
hustler bars for married men
gays made bars unclean (made liquor license invalid) so mafia joins in (stonewall
part of that system)
the bars are awful but they still acted as a refuge