Rights of the Gay Persons in the US - Essay Example

Rights of the Gay Persons in the United States The United States is one nation on the earth known for a strong democracy and respect for human rights. The constitution protects basic rights for every person and this means whatever someone wants to do with his/ her life is their own choice that must be protected if not respected. Laws on LBGT have been evolving over time to permit but in some instances ban rights of individuals who are gay, Lesbian or transgender on different issues. The issues included getting married, being visited when hospitalised, adopting children, getting employment or being bullied in schools just because of one’s sexual orientation.

The ways in which rights of gay persons are handled vary from state to state begging the question of whether these people deserve a constitutional right on their choices when it comes to sexual orientation. In Mississippi State for instance Governor Phil Bryant signed into law the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Those in support of the bill were of the opinion that it assured unrestrained practice of religion for every citizen devoid of interference by the government. On the other hand opponents of the law had a major worry informed by the opinion that it was bound to allow state sponsored discrimination against individuals because of their gay or lesbian identities.

The bill was fiercely protested by supporter of rights for the gay across the state. Founder of the Mississippi Gulf Lesbian and Gay Community Centre express his worry that the law was likely to render him extremely vulnerable to being treated unfairly. White said, “It made me physically ill the past few days realizing what they’re trying to do” and for that reason he even considered moving out of Mississippi (Pettus, 2014). New Mexico State is one of those states who where the rights of gay persons are respected and discrimination of any kind is illegal.

In the case Elane photography v Willock for instance, the court found Elane photography guilty for discriminating against the couple on the grounds of their sexual orientation. In the ruling the court said, “When Elane Photography refused to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony, it violated the NMHRA in the same way as if it had refused to photograph a wedding between people of different races.” The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court and wide reference made to the earlier ruling by Supreme Court on in the case of U.

S v Windsor in which the part of the Defence Marriage Act defining marriage as a union between only a man and a woman was struck down (Barnes, 2014). The situation in Arizona is the as what we see in New Mexico when it comes to the rights of gay and lesbian people. In February 2014, the governor of Arizona vetoed a bill permitted business men and women to deny service to men and women for being gay or lesbian. She went on to castigate the legislature was mostly controlled by her own Republican party for making such a bill be the first one to be on her desk (Santo, 2014).

Prior to the governor’s ruling the state was already beginning to lose business just on the prospect the bill was going to be passed. The governor told the press that the law “does not address a specific or present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona,” and through her veto she effectively communicated that it was illegal to discriminate or even deny commercial service to any one on the grounds of their sexual orientation. In conclusion therefore the perception and law regarding the rights of gay and lesbian persons in the United States has been evolving with time.

In some states the evolution has meant respect and better life for this people while in some others it has meant banning them. The bottom line is that a lot of progress has been made towards protecting gay people as well as those who may not be or wish to be gay. Today discrimination and accommodation of any kind or denial of service for the reason that one is gay are illegal in many states such as Arizona and New Mexico. Works Cited. 1. Emily Wagster Pettus. “Mississippi Governor Signs Anti-Gay Bill.

” The New York Times, 2014. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/03/mississippi-anti-gay-bill_n_5087483.html 2. Fernanda Santos. “Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill on Refusal of Service to Gays.” The New York Times, 2014. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/us/Brewer-arizona-gay-service-bill.html 3. Robert Barnes. “Supreme Court Declines Case of Photographer who Denied Service to Gay Couple.” The New York Times, 2014. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.

com/politics/supreme-court-wont-review-new-mexico-gay-commitment-ceremony-photo-case/2014/04/07/f9246cb2-bc3a-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html