Treating It Right: Gay Rights As Civil Rights

Greetings all!

This post comes after a brief break in posting last week which I undertook to focus on other pressing work. Fortunately, in the meantime I had a bit of an idea concerning the movement towards LGBT rights that would only be helped by an extra week for the necessary research I had to do. I’m certain that someone has already had this idea before, but that does not diminish its possible impact on American and global society. This week’s quote comes from Fidel Castro, a leader of the Cuban Revolution decades ago and head of the Cuban state for decades. I respect and admire him for keeping up one of very few nations which still has an economy that is entirely centrally planned without ever breaking from his commitment to his ideals.

LGBT rights have only slowly progressed in these last years. In America especially, it has been quite difficult to ensure equal protection under the law for those of different sexualities and gender identities. Since 2000, just eleven countries fully allow for same-sex marriage rights. Many countries deem the practice to be illegal or at least not practiced by the state, and some nations even actively fight against it through brutal means. It is not as though there is no hope; slowly but surely more American states are beginning to recognize same-sex marriage, and the speed with which some countries have recognized equal LGBT rights is promising in some ways. For example, the U.K. currently looks to be the next nation to legalize same-sex marriages after a House of Commons vote strongly in favor of the new law. It’s not often for David Cameron to support a cause typically branded by the left, so it’s somewhat doubtful this will go poorly.

And yet we continue to see hate speech and religious dogma thrown casually in America to fight against the legalization of gay marriage. We tout our hatred for gays and lesbians on our sleeves, and then claim that we fight for ridiculous notions of preserving the “sacred institution” or “definition” of marriage. And while I’d love to rant about how these notions are silly and pointless, there would not be a reason for me to repeat something I made a point of on this site in its early days. Instead, I’d like to present an idea for how we can make progress, rather than why we should. The why should be more than clear by now.

I commend us on the ways we have fought for same-sex marriage rights over the years. By challenging DOMA, holding public protests, and passing state laws legalizing the practice, we are making good progress. At the same time, it will not be enough until we have federal laws which force states to recognize the rights of all couples, whether they like it or not. A question we supporters of gay marriage rarely ask ourselves in America is why it is so difficult to get people to accept the legality of gay marriage. If we are asked this question, we would normally respond by saying it is due to a history of long-held religious prejudice and homophobia which runs deep in the American psyche, especially in the South. By now, we should not excuse the lack of progress on the opposition to ourselves; we should predict exactly what they will say and do because we know what they will say and do to fight us. We must consider that perhaps we are lacking in the strength of our fight. We must consider new ways to challenge status quo of marriage, and that is primarily what I wish to discuss.

We like to note that the fight for gay marriage is not a question of gay rights, but a question of civil rights. This is the truth, of course. However, we consistently do not match our actions with our words. The last time there was a civil rights movement in America, those fighting to change society were not doing so as quietly as we are now. The last civil rights movement we experienced was not one where those fighting to change the status quo did so by legal means. In order to ensure equal protection under the law for African-Americans, civil rights leaders staged boycotts, sit-ins, and marches to demonstrate our need for change. These actions were not legal at the time, but that did not matter to them. What mattered was the injustice done to those of color, and anything that could be done had to be done. The reason that Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered so well and laid so thickly upon students is because of the example he set of non-violent resistance. By not advocating for riots or planning to endanger the state unnecessarily for his cause, he is touted as a man with a perfect methodology for change. He led by example, and it is time we applied his teachings and the teachings of other civil rights leaders of his time.

By this, I mean that we should not be allowing the LGBT crowd to be repressed without fighting back by necessary means. And if this means taking things to a slightly illegal measure, then so be it. When civil rights activists participated in the Greensboro sit-ins, they were not following the laws of the day. It was not legal to do what they did, yet they did not back down. We must learn to follow in their footsteps. This means that if you are a same-sex couple trying to get married and a church or other institution refuses, you must tell them that you won’t leave until they let you get married. This means that if you are a same-sex married couple that moves to a state which does not recognize your marriage, you must sue the state for your right to that marriage. This means that we should not just stand outside churches and demand equal rights, but that we should enter the churches and demand those rights face to face with our opposition. This means that our protests must be strong and large, and must not break apart when threatened by law enforcement. We must be willing to receive the business end of a fire hose, we must be willing to receive the teeth of police dogs and the harsh strikes of batons. We must be willing to be sprayed with pepper spray, just as protesters in the Occupy movement were. Most importantly, we must not sit silently by and watch ourselves be oppressed. We must follow in the footsteps of those before us, and change our society without violence. If we lead by example and put everything we have into it, we cannot fail. History is on our side this time, and this is the idea I’ve been hoping to express.

That is all for this week, and I hope I’ve provided a full explanation of my ideas. If you have feedback of any constructive kind, I encourage you to leave a comment below. Otherwise, I can be reached for contact at my email at zerospintop@live.com, as well as my Facebook, Twitter, Google+, DeviantArt, Steam, and Tumblr accounts. Good night, and this is KnoFear, signing off.