Arm Yourself with KNOWLEDGE
Monday, November 16, 2009 7:20PM

"Knowledge is the most democratic source of power."
       Alvin Toffler

Why do we deserve equal rights?  How did we get here?  What is left to do?

If we are to achieve anything... we must understand what we're fighting for, and where we came from.  Here are some facts about the gay rights movement you should know... with links if you choose to educate yourself further:

TODAY

• Every year, an average of 2,424 LGBT people in the US are victims of a hate crime.  29 of them are murdered.  Since 1998, there have been over 16,000 anti-LGBT assaults in the US.
• Only 5 states allow same-sex marriage: CT, IA, MA, NH, VT. 
• There are a reported 1,049 federal benefits denied to same-sex couples regardless of state marriage law under the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
• Only 12 states prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.  26 states offer NO workplace protection for LGBT employees in private jobs.  They can be fired for being gay.  9 of those states protect state employees, but not private sector jobs.  MAP
• Only 14 states and the District of Columbia have laws protecting individuals from housing discrimination based on sexual orientation.  In the other 36, you can legally get kicked out of your apartment for being LGBT.
• An estimated 65,000 gay Americans are currently serving in the US Armed Forces despite Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  Over 13,500 service men and women have been discharged under the law.
• Many historians believe Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan and even George Washington were gay.  Will this ever be taught in our history classes?

US LAWS

• 1952 - Immigration act bans people who are "subversive" or "homosexual" from entering the US or becoming citizens.  It's not overturned until 1991.  MORE
• 1986 - The US Supreme Court rules that gay sex is NOT protected under the right to privacy in Bowers v. Hardwick.
• 1993 - Hawaii becomes the first US State to legalize same-sex marriage.  It lasts for 1 day and is later voted down in a ballot measure.
• 1993 - Bill Clinton signs "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law, which prohibits anyone who "demonstrate(s) a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the US Armed Forces.  Since then, over 13,500 service members have been discharged under the law.  MORE
• 1996 - Bill Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act into law.  Federally, marriage is only between a man and a woman.  Each state can choose whether or not to recognize marriages performed legally in other states.  MORE
• 2000 - The US Supreme Court rules that the Boy Scouts of America can legally discriminate against gays.
• 2003 - The US Supreme Court rules that gay sex is legal.  Local laws banning it are overturned under Lawrence v. Texas.
• 2004 - Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage.  4 US states would follow over the next 5 years.
• 2008 - California legalizes same-sex marriage.  5 months later, voters overturn the law with Proposition 8.
• 2009 - Maine legalizes same-sex marriage.  Before the law is enacted, it's put to voters on the ballot, and they repeal the law.
• 2009 - President Obama signs the first piece of major federal legislation to support gay rights in the US with the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  It strengthens federal power to investigate and prosecute hate crimes against the LGBT community.
• 2009 - The US Housing Dept. announces a proposal to help eliminate discrimination against LGBT people in federal housing.  However, it would NOT force local or private housing programs or landlords to stop anti-LGBT discrimination.  MORE

BASIC CULTURAL HISTORY

• Ancient Greece and Rome - homosexuality was common, and did not replace, but was often practiced before and alongside same-sex relationships.  MORE
• 1920s - homosexuality was fairly acceptable in America, until the 1940s, and later McCarthyism. MORE
• Holocaust - Approximately 50,000 gays were murdered.
• 1969 - The Stonewall Riots mark a turning point in the Gay Liberation movement of the 1960s.  At the time, most gay bars were run by the mafia.  Gays and lesbians were regularly arrested and abused by the police.  MORE
• 1970 - First "pride" march on June 28, the one-year anniversary of the riots outside the Stonewall Inn.  Similar demonstrations took place in LA and San Francisco.  MORE
• 1977 - Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man elected to a major public office.  He was assisinated in 1978.  MORE
• 1980 - The Human Rights Campaign Fund is founded.  Today it is the largest LGBT political group in the US with over 725,000 members.  MORE
• 1981 - The AIDS crisis strikes NY, LA, and San Francisco.  It starts with 5 reported cases.  Today, an estimated 1.1 million Americans are HIV-positive.  1 in 5 don't know they're infected.  Worldwide, 7,000 people are infected with HIV EVERY DAY.
• 1998 - 21 year-old gay student Matthew Shepard is tortured, tied to a fence, and left for dead by two men he met in a bar.  It draws international attention to hate crimes and hate crimes legislation.  MORE
• 2009 - 19 year-old gay teen George Steven Lopez Mercado is murdered in Puerto Rico Nov. 14.  He's found on the side of the road; burned, decapitated, his arms and legs cut off.  The police investigator says "people who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen."  MORE

To continue the fight:
JOIN THE EQUALITY ARMY HERE