Decades of Struggle and Triumph: The Gay Rights Movement

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The fight for gay rights was never an easy task. Those involved suffered many tragedies and withstood a great deal of anguish because the world didn’t accept them for who they were. Still, there were parts of the Gay Rights Movement worthy of celebration. Despite the fact that homophobia and the mistreatment of the LGBT community still exists today, various actions throughout the decades have furthered the fight for tolerance by opening more opportunities, increasing the amount of support, and creating more equality for those involved. The fight for tolerance towards the LGBT community has been fought since before the 20th century. Homosexuality was perceived in various ways. Religion, as well as assorted countries, played a role in the disapproval …show more content…

Various organizations such as the Dorian Society, Seattle Gray Alliance, and the Lesbian Resource Center used this energy to work towards getting new legal acknowledgement of their rights as citizens. Support coming from the Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities even helped the community of cross-dressers feel comfortable enough to go out in the open. In 1973, a momentous occasion occurred that gave the LGBT community protection against job discrimination and other mistreatment. The revision of the Fair Employment Practices Ordinance was passed with the help of City Councilmember Jeanette Williams. Tolerance continued to increase throughout the 1970s in Seattle and even resulted in an annual Gay Pride Week. The LGBT community was finally starting to be …show more content…

However, tolerance continued to increase and resulted in many good things for the community. The first gay minister was ordained by the United Christian Church in 1972. There were even political wins as openly gay and lesbian representatives, such as Benny Frank and Elaine Noble, were elected. With all the positivity, the Gay Rights Movement hit a snag in the 1980s when gay male community was horribly stricken by the AIDS epidemic. Support still continued to grow especially in 1987 and 1993 when marches were held in Washington and as many as 1 million supporters attended. As support continued to grow throughout the years, the homosexual community gained more and more wins with one of the biggest wins of all occurring in 2015 when the Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was legal in all 50 states, although gay marriage was legal in other parts of the world before

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