Evolution of Attitudes about Homosexuality - Essay Example

?Evolution of Attitudes about Homosexuality INTRODUCTION Homosexual behavior is a common phenomenon in many animal species. Since long time, this kind of behavior is also viewed within the human beings. It generally builds when people of the same-sex strengthen their social bonds. Many scientists believe that the homosexually behavior has evolved because of the attitude of the same-sex people. The group of same-sex people used to think that there is a benefit of having additional non-reproductive members in a community. Attitudes towards the subject of homosexuality have formed a battleground between the social necessity and cultural tradition. There are many areas of concern relating to the evolution of attitudes about the subject matter of homosexuality. In this regard, one of the main concerned areas could be the same-sex marriage in the certain states of the United States (The Journal of Evolutionary Philosophy, “Evolution and Homosexuality”). Over the period of time, various laws have been enacted for and against homosexuality. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), in the phase of its inception, has been represented as an Act which strictly protested the same sex marriage. THESIS STATEMENT This study namely ‘evolution of attitudes’ relating to homosexuality provides the explanation of the evolution of the sex marriage in the certain states of the United States. In this regard, a comparison has been made which denotes the changes of attitude that has occurred. In this study, a summarized explanation of The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has been provided which reveals the reason of banning of DOMA by the Supreme Court of the US. Finally, it will provide a conclusion of the study discussing the acceptability of the evolution of the attitude relating to the homosexuality. EVOLUTION OF ATTITUDES PAST ATTITUDE The history of homosexuality in the US is shorter than that of Europe. Best recognized and biggest homosexual communities are present in the city of Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. In the initial period of 20th century, a large number of US citizens had traveled to the big cities. And, they were forced to reside beyond their family structures. Especially for the women, it came as a new kind of experience. In this regard, during economic changes banning of gay incumbents in the military department had been witnessed. In November 1950, the first homosexual political organization was formed in the city of New York. The name of the party was Mattachine Society. Prior to 1953, under the ruling of president namely Eisenhower, homosexuality turned out to be a sufficient reason to terminate any federal employee from his or her job. Moreover, along with the other government agencies, defense agencies also followed the same way to identify and terminate the defense personnel. It is worth mentioning that during that period the US Postal Service used to put tracers on the suspected homosexuals to trace their actual sexual status. Incidence related to the political discrimination, brutality and police harassment were frequently faced by the US gay and lesbian communities. At that period of time, US administrators’ outlook towards the homosexual people was quite narrower (Ford, “A Brief History of Homosexuality in America”). PRESENT ATTITUDE Things have changed in the present day context by a significant extent. Various laws have been enacted in the US to promote intersexual marriage. However, still now, there are many concerned areas, scenarios of which still now have not changed. As reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), violence against gay citizens and the destruction of the gay property are on the rise (Ford, “A Brief History of Homosexuality in America”). There are thirteen US states and the District of Columbia, where same-sex marriage has got the legality. These states include Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, California, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, Maine, New York, and Washington. There are certain states that oppose same-sex marriage. These states have banned same-sex marriage by state law. These states entail Wyoming, Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oregon, Nevada, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. In this regard, administrators of New Jersey and New Mexico had taken certain unique initiatives. They have neither banned nor allowed same-sex marriage (CNN Library, “Same Sex Marriage Fast Facts”). DOMA AFFECTS Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA was approved on 21st September in the year 1996 by the US Congress and was signed by the president at that time i.e. Bill Clinton. DOMA gave a clear message to the US nationals not to identify same-sex marriages. It actually banned federal acknowledgment of same-sex marriages and explained marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" (CNN Library, “Same Sex Marriage Fast Facts”). Section three of DOMA strongly opposes same-sex marriage (i.e. marriage between a gay couple or a lesbian couple) even if those couples are considered lawfully married in their home state. Nevertheless, recently on 26th June 2013, the Supreme Court of the US rejected a few parts of DOMA in a number of decisions discharging an appeal over homosexual marriage on jurisdictional grounds & ruling that same-sex couples lawfully wedded in a state may obtain federal benefits. The rejection of the section three of DOMA actually clears the way for same-sax marriages in California. This can be stated as a victory for the homosexual activists in the United States (Glaad, “Frequently Asked Questions: Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)”). In this respect, it is worth mentioning that after the approval of DOMA, on 20th December 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court discarded that the homosexual couples should have the same kind of privileges according to the rights of heterosexual couples (CNN Library, “Same Sex Marriage Fast Facts”). MEDIA REPORTS ON DOMA DEVELOPMENTS According to the media reports of The New York Times namely “Both Sides on Same-Sex Marriage Issue Focus on the Next State Battlegrounds”, after the rejection of section three of DOMA by the Supreme Court, thirty percent of the citizens of America would reside in the states where same-sex marriage has already been approved (Eckholm, “Both Sides On Same-Sex Marriage Issue Focus On The Next State Battlegrounds”). According to the above mentioned media reports, it can be said that US residents as well as the governments perceptions have changed to a great extent. It means that prevailing views or perceptions towards the homosexuals have been broadened. REASONS FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE On demonstrating reasons relating to the approval of same-sex marriage, it can be said that as marriage is all about civil rights, therefore homosexuals also should have the financial benefits of privileges that come after the marriage. In this regard, to initiate the two-tiered system, Supreme Court has given a verdict for the homosexuals (BBC, “Q&A: Same-Sex Marriage in the US”). CONCLUSION Homosexually is not a psychological problem. They must be given the same rights as provided to the heterosexual citizens. If an assessment of 10 years back is made on the attitude of the people towards homosexual people, it can be viewed that gay and lesbian communities were showered with hatred and they were tortured and even killed by the homosexual protestors across a number of states of the United States. Modern people have understood the truth that all love is equal. No one is entitled to differentiate them as they are also the part of the society. During the recent 10 years period, a number of amendments have been made in the laws relating to the homosexuality. Rejection of section 3 of the DOMA can be stated as a broad step in this regard. Though numerous developments have been made but a lot of steps still need to be taken to ensure full security to the homosexual community from the societal violence caused by the anti-homosexuals. From the entire study on the evolving phase of homosexuality in a country’s landscape, it can be affirmed that in the near future all the states of the US may approve the same-sex marriage followed by the states which already have sanctioned such marriage as valid. Works Cited “Q&A: Same-Sex Marriage in the US.” US & Canada. BBC, 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2013. . CNN Library. Same Sex Marriage Fast Facts. Cable News Network, 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2013. . Eckholm, Erik. Both Sides On Same-Sex Marriage Issue Focus On The Next State Battlegrounds. The New York Times Company, 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2013. . Ford, Milt. A Brief History of Homosexuality in America. GVSU, 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2013. . “Frequently Asked Questions: Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).” Marriage. Glaad, 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2013. < http://www.glaad.org/marriage/doma>. The Journal of Evolutionary Philosophy. ‘Evolution and Homosexuality.’ Discrimination and Oppression (2006). Print. Read More