Even today, gays are
stonewalled
EDITORIAL BY THE
HERALD NEWS, NorthJersey.com from the Web, June 29, 2005
New Jersey held a gay pride event in
Asbury Park earlier this month. Events in Jersey City and Trenton will
follow in August and September. However, the area's largest celebration of
gay pride is in Manhattan. Today's parade will draw thousands of gays,
lesbians, politicians and spectators into New York City. It is a long way
from the Stonewall riots of 1969.
A police raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on June 27, 1969, was
the catalyst for the gay-rights movement. Since then, gays and lesbians
have gained more acceptance in society, and Gay Pride Month in June contributes
to that.
In New Jersey, gays and lesbians can adopt, and more and more companies offer
domestic-partnership benefits. New Jersey allows gays and lesbians to
enter into legal domestic partnerships. And the U.S. Supreme Court has
overturned the last of the nation's sodomy laws.
But despite the carnival atmosphere of today's parade and festival, gays and
lesbians are facing a new assault from conservatives and moderates who oppose
same-sex marriage. President Bush is pushing for a constitutional
amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and woman only.
Most Americans do not support same-sex marriage; where they really stand on the
core issue of homosexuality is harder to discern. Under a veneer of
political correctness still lies hostility and hatred. In 1998, Matthew
Shepherd, a young gay man, was beaten and tied to a fence post to die because he
was gay. In 2003, 15-year-old Sakia Gunn was killed in Newark because she
was a lesbian.
As the rhetoric heats up over same-sex marriage, it is important that sensible
people dominate the debate. Americans have a right to support or oppose
same-sex marriage. Civil rights never have been won easily in the United
States. But Americans also have the right to expect to live free from
bigotry, abuse and harm.
For some people, today's parade in Manhattan is the epitome of depravity.
Some of the street scenes are as raucous as Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras.
But beyond the glitter and flamboyant costumes are men and women celebrating the
right to be who they are. And that is a very American thing.
It is easy today to spot the gyrating men, the women on Harleys and the divas in
drag. It is harder to notice the Matthew Shepherds and Sakia Gunns.
That is why "gay pride" is so important.
Posted Sunday, June 26, 2005
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