Gay Marriage Timeline

Click here to see what I am referring to.

There has been a lot of activity involved in the fight for marriage equality. From 2000-2010, you can see that progress has been made to provide more rights to same-sex couples, if not marriage itself. You can tell that over time the southern states have remained the same in dark red, completely against same-sex marriage. Yet, the progress has been made in the west and east coasts with states like California, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York which have provided more equal rights regarding marriage for same-sex couples. Many same-sex couples are given all the privileges of a  marriage without the status of a marriage, usually called civil unions or domestic partnerships.

Romer v. Evans

A turning point for LGBT legal issues, Romer v. Evans struck down an amendment to the Colorado State Constitution that would have prevented Colorado municipalities from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to recognize gay and lesbian citizens as a "Protected Class". The court ruled with a 6-3 majority that the amendment blocked LGBT people from gaining "special rights". Romer v. Evans laid the groundwork for Lawrence v. Texas, a big step for LGBTs in their fight for equal rights in America.

I love facebook events for this reason:

Recently I have been on facebook and noticed that a lot of my friends were attending "Wear Purple to Honor the Recent Gay Teen Suicides Victim to Bullying" Support Gay Teens

It’s been decided. On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 7 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools. RIP Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase, Billy Lucas and Cody J. Barker (picture not shown). You are loved. Please show your support for the families and all those affected by these awful tragedies due to prejudice, discrimination, hate, and homophobic behavior.

"Passing"

While I was working on my paper, my roommate Zabia and I got into a long discussion about identity. I was using my perspective based on the works we've read, including the Social Construction of Gender, La Conciencia de la Mestiza and Intersectionality to the Rescue. She discussed works from her class, and the one that drew my attention was the novel, Passing. It discussed, specifically, two black females where, based on their phenotypes, could pass as white and could get where they wanted in society because could pass as being white. This was back in the days where there was still segregation. It was funny that this concept directly applied to me and is something I would like to discuss in my paper. My mother is Chilean and my father is Italian (or white), but I am seen as a Caucasian girl, and am treated differently than if i looked more like the latter. It was nice to discuss this with my roommate which helped get my brainstorming going!

Mistakes

Wideman calls for "justice", or rather "Just us!". What caught my interest was how he had the intention to do one thing but ends up following another path. For instance, his visit to the desert was not the same ordinary trip, but rather a trip to the past looking at the internment of Japanese Americans and the "'reservation' really an 'internment camp'" for Native Americans. He delves into the soft spots of American history that we attempt to wash out, but he displays how they are all there--vivid and alive in memory. It seems that American society continues to make mistakes, but cover them up and forget about them until they make another mistake of the same kind. It is disappointing, but we all have done it. Why not accept our mistakes and learn from them? Be accountable and never make the same mistake again.