Governing through crime is what the United States has been dealing with for many years. Defined in Governing through Crime, that governing through crime is responding to threats to people or property using the criminal law or the criminal justice system (Simon 5). There are many laws in which the United States has governed through crime; the one that sticks out is an anti-sodomy law. Anti-sodomy laws define certain sexual acts as crimes. Those sexual acts were deemed ‘unnatural’ or ‘immoral.’ The ‘unnatural’ acts included anal and oral sex and bestiality; these laws were enforced upon homosexual couples. Anti-sodomy laws are a relevant topic today because of some states wanting to expand access to marriage. The government wanted to control how the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBTQ) community was allowed to practice their sexual acts (Phelps 686). Anti-sodomy laws were against the LGBTQ community and the community is still being discriminated against by them denying access to marriage. Anti-sodomy laws started before 1779 where it was against the law in every state and the punishment for Virginia was death as the maximum penalty. The progression of the laws has continued to adapt to time. As the laws progressed the punishment for the crimes did as well, some punishments (depending on state) were imprisonment, fines, or hard labor. In some foreign countries being gay the punishment was death. A way to help the punishment the Model Penal Code that was created by the American Law Institute to make sure that states were on the same page and to help remove consensual acts of sodomy out of the criminal system (Canaday). The first state to accept the idea of removing consensual acts was Illinois and it would take many years fo... ... middle of paper ... ...l conduct.” This relates to Banished because the privacy of people’s homes was not safe and that is how many people in Washington felt when the homeless were “invading” their parks. They did not feel safe in the parks and members of the LGBTQ community did not feel safe in their own homes. Anti-sodomy laws are disappearing in most of the United States which shows that the government does not always have to govern through crime to the same people. Being homosexual in 2014 means something different than it did in the 1960’s, the same goes for being a felon. As the laws for being a homosexual have lessen in most states; the laws for becoming a felon have harder as has the governance through crime. Punishments for breaking anti-sodomy laws in most states were thrown out in Lawrence v. Texas. It is not fair to everyone but because the world adapts things have to change.
Throughout American history, we have seen the United States become more progressive in their social issues, such as the abolishment of slavery, women’s suffrage, and the Civil Rights Movement. But as time has passed, we have encountered another group that is being discriminated against: homosexuals. Some states try their best to give equal rights to homosexuals so that they are respected as equally as everyone else. But in many states, such as Kansas and Arizona, private companies and businesses are given the right to turn down homosexual couples if it interferes with their religious beliefs. These two states also included places like hospitals where homosexuals can be denied from medical attention. These laws are very inhumane and are very hurtful to a large population of people today. But what if the people in states such as Kansas and Arizona think it is okay to have these laws instilled?
The first anti-miscegenation law was passed in 1664. The spread of such laws throughout the United States, however, was only possible due to it was the discriminatory views and
In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people have dedicated themselves in fighting for
Because the crime rates have dropped, crimes against homosexuals have rose in the past years. Laws in several states do not cover crimes related to homosexuals. There are four states in America that have no safe haven for homosexuals, states must establish crueler punishment for men and women that commit heinous hate crimes based on sexual orientation In a statement released by Judy Shepard, Matthews mother, she says:
... sexuality and sexual identity is a citizen right and should be respected as such. If the prison industry would worry less about sexuality, race, and gender and more on relivant crimes, the American society will be better off.
The rules on sexuality have been upheld by the American culture for decades. For example, if a man was to have sexual feelings towards another man he was considered to be suffering from mental problems and deserves to be placed in a psychiatric hospital. Other than viewing these individuals as mental patients, they were also considered sinners. The Bible states, " If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:13 KJV). These words are against homosexuality, and gave consequences of what would happen if one should disobey them. It is this scripture that gave people the idea that any form of sexuality other than heterosexuality was a sin and that those who engage in the lifestyle are unnatural. Foucault believed that homosexuality was nothing but natural, he explains, "Nothing that went into his total composition was unaffected by his sexuality......It was consubstantial with him, less as a habitual sin than a singular nature" (Foucault
Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their lives. Geanne Harwood, interviewed on an National Public Radio Broadcast commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, said that “being gay before Stonewall was a very difficult proposition … we felt that in order to survive we had to try to look and act as rugged and as manly as possibly to get by in a society that was really very much against us.” The age of communist threats, and of Joseph McCarthy’s insistence that homosexuals were treacherous, gave credence to the feeling of most society members that homosexuality was a perversion, and that one inflicted was one to not be trusted.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a controversial law in the past as it is now in the present. I chose to write about this law because the concept of gay marriage is being liberally accepted today compared to its heavy intolerance in the past. Today, countless couples are trying to marry yet must face obstacles such as DOMA that hinders their freedom to marry. I, myself, is an advocate for same-sex marriage and learning more about DOMA lets me see what these same-sex couples go through. In this paper, I will discuss the origins of the DOMA, what it encompasses, what the effects are today and in the future, how DOMA affects me, and how DOMA affects Guam.
The background of homosexuality in the 1940’s and 50’s was harsh, but people started to be opened toward the rights. There were criticisms toward homosexuality in the early days of Milk. Gay men carried the labels of mentally ill or psychopathic. Often times, gay men committed suicide from harsh judgement and criticism that always followed them. Even though population of homosexuality grew and had jobs, they were harassed and beaten by the police. There were a lot of disapproval and hostility of homosexuality. Anita Bryant, a singer, made a campaign to oppose the rights of homosexuals. Christian forces and activists withdrew gay-right legislation which lead to Proposition 6. The harshness from background of homosexuality back in the 1940’s and 50’s took the freedom away from the homosexuals. After the harshness, there came a little bit of hope for the homosexuals in San Francisco. Castro, a city in San Francisco, became the center of gay neighborhood. In 1964, gay men formed Society of Individual Right (SIR), and 1,200 members joined. Homosexuals started having good views when Sipple who was gay saved the president from a gunshot. Finally in 1972, Board of Supervisor banned the discrimination law for homosexuals. Even though in 1940...
...were mentally ill or psychotic. Frank Kameny, a leader of the gay rights movement, perpetuated the idea that “Homosexuality is not a sickness…but is merely a preference, an orientation, or propensity, on par with, and not different in kind from, heterosexuality.” (Sherry Wolf, Sexuality and Socialism) Some schools even went as far as to create public safe spaces for gay students such as Columbia University’s Student Homophile League. Now, people are well aware of the presence of the LGBTQ community, and members are even trying to educate people who seem ignorant or bigoted. Many people currently dedicate a good portion of their lives to learning and teaching people about the gay rights movement and how it functions today. The community has evolved to include transgender, asexual, pansexual, and non binary people as well as a multitude of other labels and identities.
Homophobia has been a problem for a very long time, all across the world. For example, during the Holocaust, in which homosexuals were forced to wear the “Pink Triangle”, a pink, upside down triangle, on his or her coat for identification. Of course, the pattern of homophobia is not only shown throughout world history, but American history as well. For example, sodomy laws, laws that rule certain sexual acts as crimes, were established as early as 1963. The penalty for these laws varied from state to state. Some of the punishments include: two to ten year imprisonments or two thousand dollar fines. The cruelty of these homophobic actions should not be accepted any longer. It encourages bullying, denies human beings their civil rights, and continues to foster a mentality of indifference and intolerance towards our fellow man.
...hose people who are lesbians or gays to act out for acceptance. They sell drugs, they smoke it, they become strippers or they even commit suicide because they are being suppressed and abandoned by the people they love. Women have been suppressed for too long. Because of this rejection they feel from the people they love, the chances for them to do criminal activities are high. People will watch them because they do not yet understand. The justice system will watch them because it isn’t considered lady like. A woman even doing a criminal act isn’t considered a “lady characteristic”, that is why female juveniles are heavily supervised! Once these girls are in the justice system, the physical abuse doesn’t stop. If a girl does let the justice system know that she is a lesbian or bisexual she would be forced to be separated from the other females and forced to be alone.
Homosexuality has existed since the beginning of time, there wasn’t an actual name for it, but surely, sexual acts between two individuals of the same sex still occurred. Homosexuality, homoeroticism, bisexuality, polygamism and even just questioning these ideas were often looked down upon. I say this because in a biblical sense, it was believed that only a man and a woman should come together. Most Christians and Jews believe that in the beginning of creation, God created Adam and Eve to multiply the earth. So going against God’s will and engaging in sexual activity with someone of the same sex was mostly looked down upon. There are people who are in no way religious who believe that homosexuality is wrong because they believe that it’s more likely to spread STD’s, some people may just had a bad experience involving a homosexual or homosexuals, and some believe that it’s goes against the “natural law”. People believe that it goes against the “natural law” because they believe that two people should be able to reproduce so that the human race can thrive. But since two men, and two women can’t reproduce with each other, it goes against that “law”.
The government has discriminated against minority groups and not giving them equal rights, but African American and the gay community standout when it comes to discrimination. Attitudes and the way people interact with African Americans have progressively changed over the years, from slavery to hate crimes. The Gay Community has never been a spotlight went it came to this topic until recent years. The attitudes towards these groups are harsh as they are both humans and have equal rights
Media is an incredibly powerful tool. It informs, tells stories and breaks important news. The information portrayed by the media tends to be accepted by the public that’s consuming it. Media outlets have the power to convey information in a way that could be made to make the audience feel a certain way. Affect is what’s felt by the audience receiving the various forms of media. It is often compared to emotion but as Brian Massumi points out, they follow different logic. “Affect is intensities coming together, moving each other, transforming and translating under or beyond meaning, beyond semantic or simply fixed systems, or cognitions, even emotions.” Intensity is primarily what affect does. I think of it as a feeling, deep down in your gut. Something that is completely uncontrollable, that causes you to feel a certain emotion. It could come in the form of pain, sadness, feelings of right and wrong, etc.