From the Whe Hoe and the Supreme Court on down, gay rights advot have won a strg of victori this year. Many Amerins rema opposed to same-sex marriage, but support for gays and gay marriage has been risg — particularly among young people.
Contents:
- HOW 2013 BEME THE GREATT YEAR IN GAY RIGHTS HISTORY
- 2013: THE YEAR OF GAY MARRIAGE?
- TIMELE: GAY MARRIAGE IN LAW, POP CULTURE AND THE COURTS
HOW 2013 BEME THE GREATT YEAR IN GAY RIGHTS HISTORY
* gay marriage in 2013 *
Prr to last year's electns, gays and lbians had a civil right to marry only six stat. "This year reprented the te tippg pot, " says Eric Marc, thor of Makg Gay History. " This has been "the gayt year gay history, " the words of Fred Saz, vice print of the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, and not only bee dividual stat and the U.
Supreme Court have extend greater protectns to gay upl. There have been substantive chang policy and personnel, wh Print Obama sentially doublg the number of openly gay dividuals who have served as feral judg and ambassadors.
This year has also seen symbolic ton, cludg Obama enshrg the e of gays the civil rights pantheon his send gural addrs, and the first profsnal athlet major sports g out. None of which is to suggt that anti-gay discrimatn has gone away entirely, or that all Amerins are on board wh the trends.
2013: THE YEAR OF GAY MARRIAGE?
But an earlier Pew survey found that a majory of gay marriage opponents viewed s legal regnn as "evable. " And gay rights advot almost n't believe the progrs they've already ma. A Long Time Comg As wh any great societal change, this year's victori for the gay rights movement took a long time to gtate.
Gays and lbians had once plaed about feelg visible, but as lns of dividuals have e out, they not only have ma their polil sir more tangible but also have won sympathetic alli among many straights.
"It took the shape of a ln different nversatns that a newly out gay fay member had wh her parents or his siblgs, " Kenll says. Jt as the prence of gays Amerin life me to seem more monplace, so did same-sex marriage. "It took a long time for those gay marriage announcements to be route, " Harris says.
TIMELE: GAY MARRIAGE IN LAW, POP CULTURE AND THE COURTS
" By the time Democrat Tammy Baldw of Wisns was sworn this year as the first openly gay senator U. Heather Mizr, an openly gay Maryland Democrat nng for ernor next year. " Credg Obama Given that gays make up a small actn of the populatn, they have need to w over alli.
Durg his first term, Obama sometim me across as a reluctant warrr on gay issu, takg his time to "evolve" his posn on marriage, his timg perhaps prodd by remarks om Vice Print Joe Bin. Obama had already been the rare natnal polician to e the word "we" when speakg of the gay rights e before announcg his support for same-sex marriage last year.
In his gural addrs January, he referred the same breath to Stonewall, Selma and Sene Falls (rpectively, landmarks the stggl for rights for gays, Ain-Amerins and women). Obama has been the "gays' LBJ, " says Jonathan Rch, a rint scholar at the Brookgs Instutn, parg the current print to Lyndon Johnson, who signed to law the Civil Rights and Votg Rights Acts of the 1960s. Ccially, he end "don't ask, don't tell, " the policy that kept gays and lbians om servg openly the ary.