The Last Minority: Fighting For The Equal Protection Of Homosexuals
...are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"(Declaration of Independence, 1776). Throughout the history of the United States, there have been groups of people who fought to end their longtime denial of these rights. African-Americans were granted freedom from slavery in the 1800s, and eventually equal rights under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Women fought to gain equality between the sexes and ended suffrage nineteen-twenty. The latest group of individuals to garner constitutional protection is the handicapped. The last minority in our society that is not equally protected by our laws and constitution is homosexuals. Due to the inalienable rights granted by the documents that the United States were founded upon, homosexuals should have the same rights, privileges, and freedoms as every other citizen of our society.
Some state governments in America, in order to make homosexuality seem morally wrong, are denying homosexual couples the basic right of intimate contact. As of 2003, there are twenty-two states that have enforceable "sodomy" laws on the books. Sodomy is defined as a consensual sexual act involving the genitals of one person and the mouth or anus of another. These laws forbid these acts and are punishable, in some states, up to 20 years in prison (Myers, par. 1). Although many states have repealed these laws, gay rights groups across the country still fight to legalize homosexual intercourse in the remaining twenty-two states.
In a major setback to the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled in the case Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) that sodomy laws are not unconstitutional and states have the right to regulate what goes on in the bedrooms of its citizens. Having these laws upheld by our highest court sends a harsh message to our country. It basically states that...
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