On Homosexual Subculture - Research Paper Example

The rights of homosexuals in the United States have been violated for many years (Sears, 2003). However, in recent years, the country has made remarkable progress towards protecting the rights of homosexuals. In the early 2011, the Obama administration made a bold step by demanding the protection of the rights of gays and lesbians at the United Nations human rights council. The president demanded the international body to fight discrimination against homosexuals in the world. The initiative provided the clearest indication that the country is ready to provide equal rights for all, after many years of ambiguous political stand on the subject in the previous administration (Bradley 2011).

In addition, the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy Act of 2010 means gay and lesbian soldiers would in future be allowed to serve in the United States armed forces openly since 1993. These developments indicates that the American society is becoming more accommodative to homosexual subculture than before, but the country has along way to go before realization of the mission. The major impediment towards attainment of equal human rights to the homosexuals especially in the United States is discrimination (Global Rights 2006).

According to Global Rights (2006), the law of non-discrimination offers protection to all people including lesbians, gays bisexual and transgender persons from being abused by the state or non-state entities. However, homosexuals experience discriminatory treatment that undermines their right to life, freedom, health and opportunities such as employment. Consequently their social and economic aspects including right to marry, serve in the armed forces, adopt children and receive benefits accorded to heterosexual couples are denied .

These violations are normally directed to homosexuals because of contravening gender stereotypes and are meant to punish them for affirming their right to gender expression. The universal declaration of human rights documents all the rights and freedoms that every person in the world has irrespective of any discriminatory criterion that could be applied against a person, such as sexual orientation, race, and political affiliation among others. Homosexuals are not excluded from these rights and freedoms.

They have the right to be treated with dignity and their conscience respected just like anybody else in the society (UN 2010). In United States, the federal government does not recognize same sex marriages although some states in the recent past have validated the unions. Lack of federal recognition of same sex marriage is one of the most controversial debates in the country today that has polarized the country‘s opinion along political and religious lines (Sears 2003). The federal law defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman after the passage of Defense of marriage Act in 1996 (Global Rights 2006).

This implies that homosexual marriages are invalid in the country regardless of whether the state laws recognize them or not. Therefore, as long as marriage is defined as such, homosexual couples do not have the rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts. Proponents of same sex marriage argue that federal position on same sex marriage