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Kaitlyn Cassel
Dr. Freymiller
Rhetoric and Civic Life
4 November 2014
The Fight for Marriage Equality
Throughout the entirety of known history, same-sex relationships have existed; some
cultures have welcomed them while others have dismissed or even taken action against them.
Evidence of homosexual relationships have been present in the history of the Romans,
Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and countless other ancient societies. Specific religions have
hindered the union of two people of the same-sex, particularly in societies dominated by
theocracy. In modern America, there has been a shocking transition from blatant, widespread
homophobia including the ban of same-sex marriage, to acceptance/neutrality, to the possibility
of all fifty states legalizing gay marriage in the near future.
The first relevant era of public opinion on gays and the possibility of their legal union in
America occurred as general disapproval ranging from dislike to hatred throughout the 1900s.
Before people in the United States even began to consider the need to outlaw same-sex
marriage, sodomy had been deemed illegal since the writing of the Constitution. The importance
of these laws lies in the fact that homophobia is strongly rooted in Americas past. The first time
that people began to outwardly recognize and fight against the presence of gay people was in the
early 1900s. Because of economic dislocations and farm crises in the first half of the 20th
century, people migrated to large cities to find work. Once there, they were often forced to live
outside traditional family structures, many in same sex settings such as military and industrial
barracks, for prolonged periods. Those with homosexual inclinations found one another at the

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same time that they found the freedom to express themselves without ever-present familial and
religious disapproval (Ford). Regardless of the increasing numbers of outwardly gay people in
America, public opinion failed to make any positive climb in favor of homosexuality. Strong
social disapproval of inversion and uneven legal surveillance contributed to a community of
outlaws and lone rangers (The Case for Same-Sex Marriage, 43). Many gay sub-cultures were
created in urban areas where people felt able to express themselves without the prying eyes of
society. A prime example of this type of sub-culture was created in Harlem beginning in the
1920s. However, while these sections of major cities provided a haven, it also constricted the
freedom of gays and did not change their rights in the eyes of the government. Some couples
participated in mock weddings in which they would create a traditional ceremony with all
concepts exactly the same as a heterosexual marriage except for their inability to reap benefits
from the law. While these services provided an emotional backbone for the official unification of
a couple, they lacked any form of legal recognition. A handful of couples were able to obtain
official marriages by faking names or having friends of different genders act as surrogates
while applying for licenses. This era sought out homosexuals simply to persecute them. It was
a period where employer investigations rooted out homosexual employees, police dragnets
emptied lesbian and gay bars, and military witch-hunts purged thousands of homosexuals from
the armed services (The Case for Same-Sex Marriage, 44). In 1953 President Eisenhower
issued Executive Order 10450, allowing homosexuality to be a sufficient reason to fire an
employee from any federal position. In the first four months, 1,456 employees had been
separated from Federal servicefor security reasons only. Some 800 homosexuals were fired
or had resigned by 1955untold thousands more were hounded and banned from public service
for decades to come. (Francis). This outrageous show of discrimination ruined the lives and

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futures of countless gays; not only did they lose the work they held, they were unable to become
employed again due to further, unnecessary judgment by employers. Police violence and hate
crimes were highly prevalent in this era as many riots, beatings, and murders directed at
homosexuals occurred throughout the 1900s for no other reason than negative public opinion. In
1969, an incident of violent police discrimination occurred in New York City at the Stonewall
Inn, a popular gay bar. On June 18tha fairly typical police raid escalated into a three-day riot
after the patrons refused to leave the bar. That night, six police officers were pushed back and
into the bar by a mob on the street outside (Stonewall Inn Through the Years). It is disturbing
that a hate crime against a large group of harmless people is referred to as fairly typical, as we
know that situations like these occurred frequently in the 20th century. Not only were police
violent against gays, victims of harassment could not receive assistance from the people that
were supposed to be helping them. In 1950, President Truman signed legislation banning gays
from the army. During this time, the government not only extracted members that were
outwardly gay, they conducted full investigations in order to persecute an even larger number of
closeted homosexuals. Those already serving were dishonorably discharged from the armed
forces and deposited in San Francisco; not wishing to face friends and family at home, they
stayed in the city creating the vibrant culture present there today. Astonishingly, even with the
enactment of the Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy in 2010, the lines are still blurry regarding
homosexuals ability to serve in the military.
The second era is a continuation of the previous time period: the widespread fear of gays
due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. The outbreak of AIDS was first recognized in a
group of 41 homosexual males who had all contracted Kaposis Sarcoma in 1981. Coupling this
fact with the adverse opinion on gay people at that time only increased the level of

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discrimination against homosexuals in the United States. Consequently, by 1982 the condition
had acquired a number of names GRID (gay-related immune deficiency), gay cancerand
gay compromise syndrome (History of HIV & AIDS in the U.S.). All of these terms were
extremely discriminatory and based on the ignorance of their initiators. The government reacted
painfully slow to the outbreak of AIDS; hundreds of cases had been confirmed in America
without a word from the White House (contrast this with the reaction to Ebola virus today). One
can only assume that this had something to do with the majority of those infected being
homosexual. At this point in the 1980s, the majority of United States citizens not only disliked
the gay population, but also feared them due to the AIDS epidemic. While HIV/AIDS was very
harmful to homosexuals image, it brought the gay community together in new ways never
thought possible. Not only did it reduce homosexual promiscuity and encourage monogamous
relationships in order to prevent the spread of disease, it also stimulated advocacy for gay
marriage. Commitment to another partner became a more attractive normthe need of people
with AIDS for physical as well as emotional support brought many couples together and
cemented more relationships than it tore apartgay cruising and experimentationgave way
tomore interest in commitment (The Case for Same-Sex Marriage, 58). While the rest of
America was still in shambles over public opinion of gay marriage, the want and need for a legal
bind between same-sex couples was growing ever stronger in the gay community.
The fright from the AIDS epidemic led to an era filled with the hard fight to legalize gay
marriage and the ever slow increase in public approval. Gay advocacy groups began popping up
throughout the mid to late 20th century; the Mattachine Society was the first major homophile
group formed in the United States. The founder, Harry Hay, began the underground organization
in 1950 in Los Angeles. A member of the Mattachine Society, Dan Jennings, was arrested for

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lewd and dissolute behavior in 1952. When put on trial, he admitted to being homosexual but
pled innocent to the charges against him. By doing this, he forced the jury to decide whether he
was guilty of a crime or only guilty of being gay, and through this action, he won his case.
This was the first important victory in the United States courts dealing with gay discrimination.
After the Stonewall Inn riot in 1969, gays began to realize that the fight for equal rights could
only begin if vast numbers of homosexuals were no longer afraid to publicly reveal their
sexuality. Within this fight for equality, the question at hand became Should equal rights
include the right to marry? While it may seem obvious to an outside observer that everyone
would want the right to marry, a small but significant part of the gay population did not deem
this a necessary right. These people saw marriage as too legally binding or that same-sex
marriage would just ape the structure of traditional marriageit would be better for GLBT
people to create their own institutions of love, nurturance, and commitment (Equality Practice,
4). However, the majority of gays still wanted to push legislation for the right to marry. Many
people in this community felt a common connection because as Genora Dancel stated, when
youre told you cant get married, you feel like a second class citizen (The Case for Same-Sex
Marriage, 4). The biggest collection of opponents of gay marriage largely consists of Catholic
Church groups and Republican Party members. The Church defines marriage as a partnership
between a man and a woman, therein lies the reason behind their disapproval of same-sex
marriage. The Republican Party also follows a strict definition of marriage, similar to that of the
Church. When attempting to pass legislature in favor of gay marriage, it becomes increasingly
difficult as most Republicans will automatically not favor the bill and a decent percentage of
America identifies with the Catholic faith. A number of court cases in the past few decades have
completely altered the outlook of the United States on gay marriage. After countless failed

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attempts to crack the legal system, the first semi-successful case was Baehr v Lewin in 1993.
The ruling of this case stated that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was a violation of
the Equal Protection Clause of the Hawaiis constitution. This meant that if sufficient evidence
was not presented against gay marriage, the ban would eventually be overturned. This decision
created sparks of hope, but not for long as President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA) into law in 1996. This act prohibited legally married same-sex couples access to
their equal rights as compared to heterosexual married couples. Multiple cases in 1999 showed
development in the fight for equality, as California began to allow domestic partnerships and the
Vermont Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples should have the same rights as any other
married couple. At this point, America was heavily divided in opinion as some states were
showing progress while 29 others signed Initiative Measure 416 into their constitutions in 2000.
This initiative prohibited each approving state from acknowledging any type of family status
involving same-sex couples. One can imagine the ineffectiveness of debate between two parties
with equal support; one for gay marriage and one against. On May 17th, 2004, Massachusetts
became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage with over 75% of the legislature backing the
decision. This landmark resolution provided hope for those discouraged of their so-far fruitless
attempts and showcased the progress the United States had made, as a majority of the states
legislature showed favor for gay marriage. Since 2004, legalization of gay marriage has taken a
very meandering path. While the major trend is in favor of same-sex unions, a large number of
states have amended their constitutions against gay marriage in the past ten years. Currently, 32
states allow gay marriage while 18 still deny homosexual couples this right, however progress is
being made in many of these states. Public acceptance of gay marriage is at an all-time high as
American polls have consistently seen approval ratings of over 50% in the past few years.

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Public view of same-sex marriage in the United States has seen leaps and bounds of
improvement in favor of legalization since the homophobic culture of the 1900s. Gays were
subject to discrimination in the workplace, police violence, and the inability to serve in the
United States Military for the majority of the 20th century. While laws have been put in place in
order to protect homosexuals from discriminatory acts, gays are still the victims of hate crimes,
although to less of an extent as the norm of the past. Until the 1990s, the possibility of gay
marriage was not even on the minds of most Americans, as it seemed completely out of the
question. Only two decades later, extreme progress has been made as over half of the states have
legalized gay marriage. The evolvement of societys outlook on homosexual relationships is
important to our culture as it represents our ability to change (albeit slowly) in response to the
needs of our citizens. As the openly gay population has skyrocketed in the past 50 years, more
and more people have accepted the normality of homosexual relationships in America. Outside
effects such as HIV/AIDS and religion created initially bad reputations for gay people, and these
effects had the impact of lasting opinions of Americans on gays. As a result, the ability of
citizens to alter their view on same-sex marriage in recent years demonstrates our eventual
flexibility, as opposed to other countries which only change when extreme measures are taken.
Although this progress has been long awaited and much overdue, the unwavering efforts of those
pushing for marriage equality have successfully improved the future of gay rights in the United
States.

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Works Cited
Eskridge, William N. Equality Practice. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.
Eskridge, William N. The Case for Same-Sex Marriage. New York: The Free Press, 1996. Print.
Ford, Milt. A Brief History of Homosexuality in America. Grand Valley State University.
GVSU, 2013. Web. 2 November 2014.
Francis, Charles. Perved: Eisenhower Anti-Gay Executive Order Turns 60. The Huffington
Post. HuffPost Mulitcultural, 2013. Web. 2 November 2014.
History of HIV & AIDS in the U.S. Avert. n.p., 2014. Web. 2 November 2014.
Stonewall Inn Through the Years. PBS. WGBH Educational Foundation, n.d. Web. 2
November 2014.

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