By The people belonging to the LGBTQ community have a long and vibrant history where they have advocated for several battles on the basis of legal, social, and religious acceptance.
If you belong to the LGBTQ community, don’t worry, we’re in solidarity with you. This is a safe space and you can know about your rights and laws without any hassle.
This blog would help you out with your rights and know about the laws pertaining to this matter. Keep reading to know about it in detail.
Who are the LGBTQ People?
The full form of LGBT is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. By LGBT, it means someone who is not heterosexual or heteroromantic. Even non-cisgender people fall into this spectrum.
The LGBT community is a huge spectrum and this has evolved largely since the 1970s. Primarily at that point in time, the concept of homosexuality is much more prevalent. However, with its evolution over time, it finally became prevalent and even started revolutionizing into various aspects of bisexuality, pansexuality, and even asexuality.
Communities Under LGBTQ
There are several different communities that fall under the LGBTQ. Let’s see what they are:
The Mattachine Society
This was established back in the 1950s in Los Angeles. The communist ideals primarily founded this movement and called it the Mattachine Society.
Harry Hay idealized the term homophile and later the name arose from the term International Bachelors Fraternal Orders for Peace and Social Dignity.
The new name was inspired by the different movements of European masked performers. The main goal of this movement was to stand against any form of discrimination and create a strong identity for the overall gay community.
The Lesbian Movement
In 1955, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon founded Daughters of Bilitis which was an integral part of the homophile movement. This organization was a safe space for lesbians to freely advocate their rights.
Later in 1970, the lesbian community created their own communities and institutions to uplift themselves. Many activities were separate from their broader feminist movements and other gay men’s movements. However, this movement later on dwindled in economic recession. Thereby it later integrated with broader ways of the gay movement.
History of LGBTQ People
The history of the LGBT people and their rights is not old. It has been segregated into different categories throughout its timeframe. Let’s see what they are:
18th and the 19th century
Before the American Civil War and the immense population growth in the post-Civil War era, the majority of the population of the US was rural. Hence, homosexuality remained a taboo concept in the society and it was considered to be shameful then.
In 1868, the term homosexuality was coined by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and the German-Hungarian scholar Karoly Maria Kertbeny. Kertbeny was one of the most eminent scholars of their day and advocated decriminalization.
In this time period, the concept of homosexuality was viewed under the umbrella term of “sodomy”. Sodomy is a form of sexual activity that is comprised of non-productive sexuality. Hence, the group identification or any self-consciousness was not in the picture, it was extremely unlikely that way.
However, in the 18th century, Pennsylvania was the first state to repel the concept and the term “death penalty”. With that, other colonies also followed in their footsteps and repelled the term overall.
Made Ideal and 19th Century
Male homosexuality socially found its hold in the 19th century and in its way of sexuality or homoerotica. It actually idealized the conception of wholesome and loving male friendships during this time period.
The concept of homosexuality hence became a romantic concept in the 19th century and also became one of the biggest literary mediums. Horatio Alger endorsed the theme of manly love in his stories that revolved around a young Victorian self-made man.
Late 19th Century
The late 19th century primarily consisted of the upliftment of the Zuni culture. The Zuni culture promoted the concept of cross-dressing and it became an integral part of their life and a major part of the American culture.
Early 20th Century
In 1908, Edward Stevenson published The Intersexes: A History of Similisexualism as a Problem in Social Life under the pseudonym Xavier Mayne. This brought about a huge revolution of introducing homosexual subcultures in the urban life.
Inspired by this, Claude Hartland wrote a brief account about his sexual identity and history. Hartland wrote in his book that he wished that his attraction towards men could be spiritual, but it ended up being animal in nature.
Now, the United States, and the Canadian Provinces are welcoming the concept of homosexuality with open arms. The New York’s queer subculture is now gaining considerable prominence with a strong sense of self-definition.
1920’s
This era ushered in the social acceptance of minorities and other homosexuals. This became prevelant in the heavily urbanized areas. The concept of homosexuality heavily reflected on the literary and other artworks in the American culture.
During the later period, gay rights were considered as human rights and denying them were unlawful in nature.
Hate Crimes Against LGBTQ People
Hate crimes also known as bias crimes is prevelant against the people belonging to the LGBT community. Until 2009, a new federal law came out that safeguarded the rights of the of these people and made it an offense to discriminate someone on the basis of their sexual identity.
In 2009, Matthew Shepard Act came into being and expanded the overall definition of hate crimes against the LGBT people. The then president Barack Obama signed this legislation and hence it came into being.
Currently, as of now from December 2023, all the 50 states and the district of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northen Mariana islands criminalized any sort of hate crimes against the LGBT community.
According to the Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993), the Supreme Court of the United States held penalty-enhancement laws against different kinds of hate crimes through the First Amendment Rights.
What are LGBTQ Rights?
To put it into simple words, LGBT rights are those rights that are specifically granted to the people belonging to the LGBT community. These people have a prolonged history and have now finally gained social and religious acceptance.
Legality of Different Same-Sex Activities in the US
Needless to say, same-sex marriages are prevalent in the US. In the 20th and the 21st century there has been a growing movement among the people belonging to this group. Hence the concept of same-sex couples came into being.
The legal recognition of a marital union helps out with providing optimal social security alongside taxation and other benefits. Currently, same-sex adoption has also been legalized in the US which has been opening many avenues for LGBT couples to start a family.
Transgender Rights in the US
Since 2022, US passports are now providing options for male, female, and X through self-determination. Since the discrimination rates were pretty high for the transgender community, this provision helped the trans people distinguish themselves from others.
Trans people were often victimized by sex trafficking. As the FOSTA and SESTA bills came into being, they safeguarded their rights properly. This helped them to live life properly without being a victim of such a thing.
Nowadays, the media and politicians sensationalize transgender identities to fight against oppression. To keep up with this trend, in 2016, a coalition of 250 ant-sexual assault and domestic violence organizations wrote a letter jointly. The letter entailed the trend of portraying trans people as sexual predators- which is completely untrue. Thus, these two organizations jointly launched a movement to stop such prejudice against transgender people.
The History of the Evolution of Rights of the LGBTQ Community Under Different US Presidents
The US presidents have severely advocated for safeguarding the rights of the LGBT community. Let’s see how:
George Washington
Under his rule, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben became an American general. Later he was promoted to a senior advisor in Washington.
Where Steuben was getting prosecuted by the German general staff for openly being a homosexual, George Washington on the other hand, accepted his sexuality as it was and was not discriminated against or stigmatized because of that.
Franklin Roosevelt
On the other hand, Franklin Roosevelt was a full-fledged homophobe. He conducted a sting operation where he employed undercover operatives to seduce the sailors. These sailors who indulged in homosexuality were court-martialed. This action was severely condemned by the Republican-led Senate Committee.
Jimmy Carter
President Jimmy Carter barred any policy of employee discrimination based on sexual discrimination. On the other hand, he even publicly opposed the concept of the Briggs Initiative. So there are controversial accounts based on this and his support for LGBT rights.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump didn’t want to expand any form of LGBT rights. Instead, he appointed anti-LGBTQ officials. He even opposed the Equality Act which was the main Act that could safeguard them from any sort of discrimination.
Joe Biden
On the other hand, Joe Biden has always been an ally to the LGBT community. He signed an executive order where he banned employment and housing discrimination based on someone’s sexual identity. He also was one of the flagbearers of expanding the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Final Thoughts…
That’s a wrap! That’s all you need to know about LGBT rights in the US. We hope this blog was helpful and informative. Let us know if we missed out on anything.
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