Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Struggling to Make Gay Rights A Reality In The South
On Monday, the Supreme Court decided to not take up a same-sex marriage case was a huge triumph for the national gay rights movement. However it is easier said then done. Many are concerned for their safety in the South and how people will adjust to it. The religious and cultural barriers are huge challenges that the gay community faces. Do you think the South will take a while to adjust to this?
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I dont know if the south will ever legalize gay marriage as long as its left up to the states. The south is completely controlled by the religious right, and they are against(obviously) homosexuality, so though I think Gays should be allowed to marry, I dont think it will happen in the south.
ReplyDeleteThis article presented the issue of gay marriage in a different light by focusing on the safety and protection of people who come out to deeply religious families and communities. I've never really thought of the very literal and real danger of that. It was interesting to hear the opposing viewpoints-- Mr. Newbern's open, progressive view and Mr. Smith's orthodox view were so contrasting, yet both were justified (and shared) within their communities. What caught my attention most, though, was that a GSA meeting in a high school drew 1/5 of all students. That statistic says a lot about the attitude of young people in the South, providing a positive outlook for gay marriage in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled with the Supreme Court's decision to not take up a same-sex marriage case. In my opinion, the issue over same-sex marriage is completely ridiculous; I just don't understand how so many people care whether a person wants to be with someone of the same gender or not. The south is extremely religious, and although I would like to believe that this decision by the Supreme Court would mean legalization of same-sex marriage for all states, it is doubtful that the Bible Belt will approve anytime soon. I do have hope for the future, seeing that younger generations are more and more accepting of same-sex couples.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, people should be able to marry whoever they want to and it is wrong that some states don't give people that right. Although it is a step in the right direction that the Supreme Court has refused not to take any more same-sex marriage cases, there is still a lot of room for improvement. It is disappointing that there are still places in this country where people are afraid to come out because of a lack of protection.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely unfortunate that same-sex marriage laws are as sensitive as they are. Quite honestly, why do people care so much about who a person chooses as a partner? I am glad the Supreme Court chose not to take up the case; but regardless, the south is still overwhelmingly religious and is going to be stiff towards the new law. It's a shame that those in the gay community must live in fear of their safety. Hopefully these issues will begin to dissolve as the younger generations, who are seemingly more accepting, get older.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading of Project One's goal to forge ties with business and civic leaders in southern communities, and the movement to elect homosexual leaders, I believe there is hope. As opposed to conducting protests that would most certainly lead to a caustic negative response in the deep south, activists are taking subtle moves to gain power. In the end, activists with political power are going to be the ones that can actually effect positive change. While progress will be slow in the highly religious deep south, the right track has definitely been set.
ReplyDeleteI was very happy when I heard about the Supreme Courts ruling to not take up the same-sex marriage case. I think it is a big step forward for all of America. The problem is I fear that the South will never ever be as accepting over gay marriage. It is engrained in their cultural that gay marriage is bad and should be illegal. And once someone is that set in stone over such a hot topic rarely can you get them to change their mind. I think that maybe after a long long time the South will come around but even with this monumental decision from the Supreme Court all is still not fair in terms of same-sex marriage.
ReplyDeleteSeparation of church and state is one of the ideals seen in the First Amendment. Regardless of the religious views of the people, the government was formed based on protecting rights not religious morals. I find it fantastic that the Supreme Court decided to not get into a debate over this divisive topic which was primarily an issue based on faith rather than stuff the court should actually be involved with.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the South, it's going to take a while largely because of the deep-rooted religiousness in the area. It's not that they're close-minded. It's just how they've been raised. But just as the article states, "there are hints of change"
The Supreme Court's ruling to not take up the appeals to gay marriage bans that were struck down is a step in the right direction. However, as the article points out, there are still parts of the country, especially the very religious South, where gays have yet to be accepted by the majority of people. The efforts by organizations such as the GSA to subtly change public perception of gays in the South is certainly the way to go in order to avoid tension and conflict over the issue. It is vital that people be allowed to marry whoever they and have this right protected by the government. People are free to view gay marriage as immoral, but they are not free to restrict same-sex couples from getting married. Hopefully the efforts of the GSA and organizes like it will help pave the way for acceptance of gays and gay marriage in those parts of the country especially resistant to it.
ReplyDeleteI find it sad that people treat you in one way throughout your life, and as soon as they find out that you have a different sexual orientation, they change the manner of how they view you as a person. I love the fact that a same sex marriage Supreme Court case was not taken up.I know that many people are against same sex marriage, but I never really understood the extent to which people would go to to try to suppress it. While it would overstep the bounds of federal authority to make a national policy regarding same sex marriage, 60% of states have already made it legal, and that proportion is just going to keep rising. I agree with Charlie in regards to the fact that organizations such as GSA are making a valiant effort towards making people more tolerant towards others preferences. But at the same time, I know that some people feel as if they have a moral conviction to prevent such occurrences like gay marriage from occurring; no organization will ever eradicate thoughts such as those, especially in the South.
ReplyDeleteTo answer Marie's question, it is important to look at the South's history of dealing with social changes. Slavery was abolished in 1865. About 100 years later, the Civil Rights Movement came about and fought for the rights of African-Americans. However, even after the Civil Rights Movement and about 150 years of elapsed time between the abolition of slavery and the present day, there is still so much racial tension in the South compared to anywhere else in the country. The conflict between the citizens of St. Louis and the police force is a recent event that highlights this. Historically, the South has been very slow to accept social change, and, unfortunately, gay rights does not seem like it will be much different. The discrimination involved with gays and Southerners will not be as extreme as that of African-Americans and Southerners, but it will be prevalent for a few decades to come. Alex and Charlie are right in saying that the GSA is doing a great job of working to improve relations between orthodox Americans and gay Americans, but I agree with Alex in that it is still going to be very hard to change the minds of the Southerners.
ReplyDeleteI found this article extremely interesting. As much as I want to believe that the South will accept gays and gay marriage sooner rather than later, it's pretty clear that it won't be. It's going to take an extremely long time for the South to accept gays. Growing up in the South, I've seen all sorts of discrimination against gays that were unbelievable. At my old high school gays were picked on excessively and targeted by certain teachers who saw being gay as completely against everything. I found the part about the GSA meeting interesting, but I wasn't at all surprised. In my last high school there were 1500+ students and only about 20 people in the GSA club and the Bible Club actually went to the administration to try and get the GSA club stopped. Although the Supreme Court's decision was wonderful and (like everyone said) a step in the right direction, I don't think it'll make much of a difference to the South other than make them talk crap on the Supreme Court decision. Yes, there is definitely some hope like the article pointed out, but it's not strong enough to cause a change anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteOver the course of the last few decades, gay marriage has become a highly controversial topic. It has only been 10 years since Massachusetts, the first state to do so, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Many other states followed suit shortly thereafter but I think it is important to note that for decades prior to 2004, the citizens of these liberal states were opposed to gay marriage for social and purely discriminatory reasons, not for religious reasons. Ten years later, the only serious opposition to gay marriage is in the south, the most religious region in the country. Generation after generation of southerners are raised in a highly religious environment and therefore view gay marriage as an attack on their religion and the morals of the country. Obviously, these extreme views are not going to change any time soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm becoming very frustrated with the way that ignorance and injustice is written off as a religious difference. Based upon the religious diversity of our country, Christians and other religious groups are clearly more than able to coexist with minimal or at least non violent conflict, despite the fact that many faiths contradict. But if a person outside of the Christian faith wants to do something "sinful" like gay marriage, they say it goes against their religion. That's like a catholic yelling at a Jew for eating chocolate during lent. In my opinion, religious differences are often used an excuse for intolerance, and until this lame excuse is recognized for what it is, marriage equality will stall In southern states.
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