Throughout the history of the United States, the LGBT+ community has been treated unfairly, dehuminized, and ridiculed in a legal setting. There have been many examples of this type of behavior in both the past and present. All of this is due to many aspects relating to the LGBT+ community, whether it be their gender, or sexual orientations, these attributes about them make obtaining the justice they deserve harder. The topic of unfair treatment between two different groups has always been a constant with history everywhere. People usually relate the legal system as a way for people to achieve the justice that they deserve, however, that isn't always the case. For years people in the LGBT community have been afraid to defend themselves or call for help due to past experiences, which isn't safe for anyone involved. Being in a situation where someone is afraid that they won't receive the help or justice they need and deserve is a horrible thing. Everyone should be able to feel comfortable getting help from authorities without having the fear of being discrimination constantly on one's mind.
While discrimination in laws or government hasn't been one of the most widely talked about issues, it is most definitely something that needs to be discussed.
Before same sex marriage was legalized in every state, many states were creating laws and making it very impossible for any intimate relationship involving the same sex. One situation was in Texas, which was also one of the last states that legalized gay marriage, where a few different laws came into play. The case was named Lawrence V Texas. This was a case involved a law that prevented homosexual sodomy. This law could be seen as a direct attack against the LGBT community especially in gay relationships. The case involved police officers in Houston, responding to a call on a weapons disturbance. The cops arrived at petitioner Lawrence's apartment, and seen him and petitioner Garner taking part in a consensual sexual act. [1] The couple was arrested and charged of “deviate sexual intercourse” in a violation of a Texas law. The case escalated into the fight of whether this was truly wrong or not. It was argued that these were two fully grown adults that committed a very consensual act and shouldn’t be punished for it. The argument of sodomy laws came into play as the case went on. It was argued that sodomy laws were in fact once not in direct correlation with homosexuals, rather they were put in place to prevent non procreative sexual activity. For these laws to once go from being something used against everyone to then being used in a case against a homosexual couple, proves that there is a very serious discrimination against the LGBT community in the court of law.
The sodomy laws were not just referenced in the Lawrence V Texas case. The Lawrence V Texas decision was one of many cases involving gay or straight people in an intimate setting. Originally sodomy laws were used in a wider setting, helping in making second charges in cases of sexual assault, sex with children, sex in public, or sex with animals. In the 70’s was when things took a turn. Sodomy laws began to be used strictly against the LGBT+ community. In nine states, sodomy laws were rewritten to only apply to homosexuals. Kansas was the first (1969), and soon enough Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Tennessee, and Texas joined. [2]
An Activist group, ACLU talks about how there are three major ways sodomy laws were used against people in the LGBT community.
“First, they were used to limit the ability of gay people to raise children. They were used to justify denying gay parents custody of their own children. They've also been used to justify refusing to let gay people adopt and refusing to let gay people become foster parents. [2]”
“Second, the laws have been used to justify firing gay people, or denying gay people jobs. [2]”
“Third, the laws have been used in public debate, to justify denying gay people equal treatment and to discredit LGBT voices. In Utah, the sodomy law was used to justify not protecting gay people from hate crimes.[2]”
Things like sodomy laws are violating our most basic human rights, and activists are taking notice of this. People, human beings, are being denied their birthrights, all because of who they are. This all goes back to the fact of discrimination. People apart of the LGBT+ community were being refused the justice they needed, all because of their sexuality.
There is a lot of unfair criminalization of Gay and Transgender youth. It’s shown that a lot of gay and transgender youth that end up in the juvenile justice system are twice as likely to have experienced family conflict, abuse, and homelessness as other children. A lot of the time, gay and transgender youth are too often denied their basic civil rights in the court of law. They seem to be immediately wrongly categorized as sexually deviant simply because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender nonconformity, and even labeled as sex offenders. A lot of the time, people make assumptions or are ignorant on how to deal with these special situations. “Despite the disproportionately high rates of gay and transgender youth entering the juvenile justice system, our nation’s schools, law enforcement officers, district attorneys, judges, and juvenile defenders are not equipped to manage the unique experiences and challenges that these young people face...the system often does more harm by unfairly criminalizing these youth... labeling them as sex offenders, or detaining them for minor offenses—in addition to subjecting them to discriminatory and harmful treatment that deprives them of their basic civil rights. [3]”
While in some cases, justice is served for the repeated violence the LGBT+ community faces, there are a few cases in which they do not. A major issue is that people are not receiving the full justice they deserve. There have been a few cases where the attacker receives a kinder punishment, rather than what they should get. For instance, the typical sentence for second degree murder is 15 to life [4], however a case dealing with a man named Kenneth Brewer where he met Stephen Bright at a local gay bar. He bought the younger man drinks and they later went back to Brewer's apartment. While there, Brewer made a sexual advance toward Bright, and Bright beat him to death. "Bright was initially charged with second-degree murder, but he was eventually convicted of third-degree assault and was sentenced to one year in prison." To go from a punishment that would range from 15 years to life, then to a single year for the life of a man, doesn't seem fair or reasonable.
When asked, Elliott Hobaugh said that “I have just witnessed my friend who got beaten to unconsciousness by 2 bouncers at a bar get no compensation for his medical bills and nothing happened to the bouncers. Everyone needs to be treated the same in the eyes of the law.” He explained that his friend was a part of the LGBT community and the bouncers seemed to attack them for no justifiable reason. Events like this show that people in the LGBT+ community are not getting the justice they deserve which is truly disgusting and horrible.
Before same sex marriage was legalized in every state, many states were creating laws and making it very impossible for any intimate relationship involving the same sex. One situation was in Texas, which was also one of the last states that legalized gay marriage, where a few different laws came into play. The case was named Lawrence V Texas. This was a case involved a law that prevented homosexual sodomy. This law could be seen as a direct attack against the LGBT community especially in gay relationships. The case involved police officers in Houston, responding to a call on a weapons disturbance. The cops arrived at petitioner Lawrence's apartment, and seen him and petitioner Garner taking part in a consensual sexual act. [1] The couple was arrested and charged of “deviate sexual intercourse” in a violation of a Texas law. The case escalated into the fight of whether this was truly wrong or not. It was argued that these were two fully grown adults that committed a very consensual act and shouldn’t be punished for it. The argument of sodomy laws came into play as the case went on. It was argued that sodomy laws were in fact once not in direct correlation with homosexuals, rather they were put in place to prevent non procreative sexual activity. For these laws to once go from being something used against everyone to then being used in a case against a homosexual couple, proves that there is a very serious discrimination against the LGBT community in the court of law.
The sodomy laws were not just referenced in the Lawrence V Texas case. The Lawrence V Texas decision was one of many cases involving gay or straight people in an intimate setting. Originally sodomy laws were used in a wider setting, helping in making second charges in cases of sexual assault, sex with children, sex in public, or sex with animals. In the 70’s was when things took a turn. Sodomy laws began to be used strictly against the LGBT+ community. In nine states, sodomy laws were rewritten to only apply to homosexuals. Kansas was the first (1969), and soon enough Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Tennessee, and Texas joined. [2]
An Activist group, ACLU talks about how there are three major ways sodomy laws were used against people in the LGBT community.
“First, they were used to limit the ability of gay people to raise children. They were used to justify denying gay parents custody of their own children. They've also been used to justify refusing to let gay people adopt and refusing to let gay people become foster parents. [2]”
“Second, the laws have been used to justify firing gay people, or denying gay people jobs. [2]”
“Third, the laws have been used in public debate, to justify denying gay people equal treatment and to discredit LGBT voices. In Utah, the sodomy law was used to justify not protecting gay people from hate crimes.[2]”
Things like sodomy laws are violating our most basic human rights, and activists are taking notice of this. People, human beings, are being denied their birthrights, all because of who they are. This all goes back to the fact of discrimination. People apart of the LGBT+ community were being refused the justice they needed, all because of their sexuality.
There is a lot of unfair criminalization of Gay and Transgender youth. It’s shown that a lot of gay and transgender youth that end up in the juvenile justice system are twice as likely to have experienced family conflict, abuse, and homelessness as other children. A lot of the time, gay and transgender youth are too often denied their basic civil rights in the court of law. They seem to be immediately wrongly categorized as sexually deviant simply because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender nonconformity, and even labeled as sex offenders. A lot of the time, people make assumptions or are ignorant on how to deal with these special situations. “Despite the disproportionately high rates of gay and transgender youth entering the juvenile justice system, our nation’s schools, law enforcement officers, district attorneys, judges, and juvenile defenders are not equipped to manage the unique experiences and challenges that these young people face...the system often does more harm by unfairly criminalizing these youth... labeling them as sex offenders, or detaining them for minor offenses—in addition to subjecting them to discriminatory and harmful treatment that deprives them of their basic civil rights. [3]”
While in some cases, justice is served for the repeated violence the LGBT+ community faces, there are a few cases in which they do not. A major issue is that people are not receiving the full justice they deserve. There have been a few cases where the attacker receives a kinder punishment, rather than what they should get. For instance, the typical sentence for second degree murder is 15 to life [4], however a case dealing with a man named Kenneth Brewer where he met Stephen Bright at a local gay bar. He bought the younger man drinks and they later went back to Brewer's apartment. While there, Brewer made a sexual advance toward Bright, and Bright beat him to death. "Bright was initially charged with second-degree murder, but he was eventually convicted of third-degree assault and was sentenced to one year in prison." To go from a punishment that would range from 15 years to life, then to a single year for the life of a man, doesn't seem fair or reasonable.
When asked, Elliott Hobaugh said that “I have just witnessed my friend who got beaten to unconsciousness by 2 bouncers at a bar get no compensation for his medical bills and nothing happened to the bouncers. Everyone needs to be treated the same in the eyes of the law.” He explained that his friend was a part of the LGBT community and the bouncers seemed to attack them for no justifiable reason. Events like this show that people in the LGBT+ community are not getting the justice they deserve which is truly disgusting and horrible.
Section by: Syvannah Lynn
Sources
[1] LAWRENCE ET AL. v. TEXAS (October, 2002).
[2] "Why Sodomy Laws Matter." American Civil Liberties Union. 2016. Accessed June 14, 2017. https://www.aclu.org/other/why-sodomy-laws-matter.
[3] Jerome Hunt and Aisha C. Moodie-Mills. "The Unfair Criminalization of Gay and Transgender Youth." Center for American Progress. Accessed June 14, 2017. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/reports/2012/06/29/11730/the-unfair-criminalization-of-gay-and-transgender-youth/.
[4] "Second Degree Murder Penalties and Sentencing." Findlaw. 2017. Accessed May 23, 2017. http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/second-degree-murder-penalties-and-sentencing.html.
[2] "Why Sodomy Laws Matter." American Civil Liberties Union. 2016. Accessed June 14, 2017. https://www.aclu.org/other/why-sodomy-laws-matter.
[3] Jerome Hunt and Aisha C. Moodie-Mills. "The Unfair Criminalization of Gay and Transgender Youth." Center for American Progress. Accessed June 14, 2017. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/reports/2012/06/29/11730/the-unfair-criminalization-of-gay-and-transgender-youth/.
[4] "Second Degree Murder Penalties and Sentencing." Findlaw. 2017. Accessed May 23, 2017. http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/second-degree-murder-penalties-and-sentencing.html.