Background Information Analytical Essay

From the articles on the history of the gay and lesbian issue, it seems that this issue wasn’t brought up or fought over until the late 1960s. In fact, on January 27, 1969 the stonewall riots occurred which was the turning point for the gay and lesbian movement to fight for their rights. These riots occurred at a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. Up until then, police had been raiding different gay bars all over big cities because of prejudices that were going around about gay people. Before the Stonewall riots, people in the bars were compliant and never resisted arrest. At Stonewall, people were resisting by throwing bottles and fighting back which resulted in four police officers dead. This event is so significant in our history that cities all around the U.S. have the gay pride march every year to commemorate it. This event also represents liberation for the gay population. They were forced to be silent for so long about their identity and this even was their breaking point. It was the time for them to just say “enough” to all the discrimination and hate crimes.
Another event that greatly affected gays and lesbians in our country was the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy created by President Bill Clinton to allow gays and lesbians into the military. This policy stated that gays were not allowed to talk about their sexuality and people were not allowed to ask. Discussion on their sexuality would result in their removal from the military. This was a good short term fix for the issue but in the long run it only created more discrimination against gay people. Clinton’s intentions were good because it allowed gays to enter into the military but it also forced them to keep their true identity a secret. This was another example of the silence they had to endure to fit into the standards of society. This policy clearly violates the constitution. It violates the citizen’s right to freedom of speech. It limited people to what they could talk about. Laws are supposed to be made to secure the civil rights for every individual living in the United States. Not only did this law not do that but it also created more hatred and discrimination toward specific individuals.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) is an organization committed to ending all discrimination and acts of hate towards homosexuals. It emerged in the 1970s in New York. One of its first acts as an organization was that they removed homosexuality from the APA’s declared mental disorders. This fact just shows how close minded people were back then. This idea was so foreign to them that they decided it must be some kind of disorder like depression or multiple personality, that needs to be treated by medication.