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Proposition 8 Ruling In Federal Appeals Court 2/7/12

Summary: On February seventh, California’s same-sex marriage ban was found unconstitutional by a federal appeals court ( Local Gay and Lesbian Couples Celebrate Prop 8 Ruling ). The ban was started when Proposition 8 was passed. After several processes of appeal, this very important issue is most likely going to the Supreme Court for a final ruling. While many gay and lesbian citizens are excited about the progress of the world (and federal law) to understand their lifestyle, they also realize the fight is not over. Matt Gunther, Bakersfield College Gay Straight Alliance president, says “This means one day I can get married to somebody that I am in love with, so that's good” ( Local Gay and Lesbian Couples Celebrate Prop 8 Ruling ). Gunther also brings up the point that gay and lesbian people never chose to have those feelings. While those for Proposition 8 refer to the gay and lesbian lifestyle as “nonsense,” the people against Proposition 8 think that for a truly united country we need equality in all sexual preferences.

Relevance: Throughout the past decade, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights in America has been a very controversial issue. This issue is extremely relevant to the course because with the obvious success of the LGBT rights movement, the American way of life is quickly advancing down new frontiers. For example, as with all equal rights movements, the American way has been severely altered. LGBT’s movement for equality is no different than that of the fights for African American and women’s rights. Just like those equality revolutions, LGBT rights movement has really gained momentum as it has broken many barriers in just the past decade. In 2003, after the arrest of two gay men, the U.S. supreme court decided to abolish any remaining sodomy laws that banned gay sex ( Head ). In far more recent headlines, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for active military has come to an end. Lasting eighteen years, this policy kept any openly gay people from serving their country (Martinez). So, clearly the LGBT movement is relevant to today’s many issues, especially now in the upcoming election. Every LGBT right supporter is looking for the right candidate to give equality to the LGBT population.

Evaluation: As previously stated, through many different civil rights movements, the American culture has experienced drastic changes in strong conservative beliefs. So if Proposition Eight is found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. supreme court, the gay marriage ban will be lifted from California. Also, California will be the first explorer to map out this LGBT marriage frontier. Many states will soon follow behind California as they realize equality is a fundamental democratic principle that this country was founded upon. Once again, this will give the American culture a huge change. The culture of America is all about the people and what they’re doing. So as Americans are changing beliefs and ideals about our citizens, our culture is rapidly changing.

Questions: 1. Why does the appeal process take so long? 2. How can you call a person’s way of life “nonsense”? 3. Why have we not learned from the past about civil rights movements? 4. Why do we make groups of people suffer for years before giving them freedom? 5. How many appeal courts are there?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">References: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"California Proposition 8." Wikipedia. 9 Feb. 2012. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Head, Tom. "History of the Gay Rights Movement." About.com. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. <http://civilliberty.about.com/od/gendersexuality/tp/History-Gay-Rights-Movement.htm>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Local Gay and Lesbian Couples Celebrate Prop 8 Ruling." Msnbc.com. 7 Feb. 2012. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46304628>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Martinez, Luis. "‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Ends: Ban on Gays Serving Openly in Military Is Repealed." Abc News. 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/dont-ask-dont-tell-ends-ban-on-gays-serving-openly-in-military-is-repealed>.