CHAPTER 1
What Rights Are We Talking About?
I can recall laying on my bedroom floor years ago listening intently to the vinyl recording of the 'I Have a Dream' speech by Martin Luther King. That speech built a sense of pride in my soul as I held onto each word he uttered. My understanding back then was more attached to the eloquent way he spoke and the image he painted of children playing together in peaceful harmony.
Years later and I find myself cringing each time that I listen to a debate on gay rights and someone attaches the walk of African Americans who fought for naturally ascribed 'life' rights, to the agenda of gay rights activist.
Automatically that agenda became a topic of discussion for this book. To me; the extended debate on Gay Rights and the synergy to Civil Rights (of African Americans) has become a defence mechanism (this term will be repeated several times throughout this writing in acknowledgement of other similar actions) of sorts for gay rights advocates who use it as a certified precedent. In my personal opinion; this mechanism (similar to the 'race card') has drawn sympathy and support from many in the African American community.
The entire question of rights is brought to the debate table to understand whether blacks are entitled to constitutional rights based on naturally ascribed rights; or whether their fight was based on an expression of assumed rights simply from a desire or misdirected belief that they should participate in life endeavours similar to an elite (white) race of people. I also needed to qualify whether gay rights are mirrored to the rights of African Americans and why.
Natural Rights
Let me say first that, I believe the foundation of all human rights was established by God in Genesis and throughout the Bible. I believe these rights to be natural to man's existence. Here are just some of the rights God gave to man.
i. Genesis 1: 26 – God gave man the right to have dominion over all things on Earth (fish, birds, cattle, bugs). The word dominion in Hebrew, primarily translate as 'radah', which means to either rigorously rule or dominate. God's intention therefore, was to issue charge of the world to man. He gave man the right to be masters (equally) over his earthly surroundings. This means that man has dominion rights to property and land; rights to food and housing.
ii. Genesis 1:28 – God gave man the right to walk in His blessing. God's blessing is never to be taken for granted.
* His blessing gives us the right to walk in the wealth of His liberty and happiness without extortion and cruel suppression according to Proverbs 10:22.
* His blessings gives us a right of reprieve against injustice; a right to mercy; a right to peace; etc. (Matthew 5:12)
iii. Genesis 1:28 – God gave man the right to have a family. iv. Genesis 9:6 – God gave man the right to be free from attack and murder because he states that man is made in His own image and therefore a punishment exist for those who would spill the blood of man.
Man's 'God-given' right to have 'dominion' was a right which did not discriminate. It did not speak of specific ethnic types or races. It spoke of mankind. What I have not found in the Bible are specific rights which are only proportional to homosexuals. That is not shocking because neither have I found rights specific to Blacks or Whites or Asians, etc. What I did find was that rights were attributable to 'man' universally which meant that everyone is entitled.
Where the problem comes in, is interpreting homosexuals into a 'new' or different class of humanity as if they are a race unto themselves who deserve a special consideration of rights entitlement.
WHAT ARE RIGHTS?
What are the rights entitled and where do they come from? I would say that I have already answered that question but let's take this further. If we consider the question of 'what is a 'right' within the context of gay rights and civil rights of African Americans; we would have to place that question at the doorstep of the US constitution which was formed as a result of independence. The formulation of those rights had to be based on a tangible quality which was able to be standardized.
Here is what the Declaration of Independence conveys in its' very first line as justification of why the 'act' of independence must take place and where the precedent authority for the rights sought in the act, come from; 'When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.' From that stand point it would appear clear to me that the act of independence was based on natural entitlements that were ascribed from God.
Let's examine the rights further as they relate to African Americans and the LGBT community.
Throughout the development of the ancient world and world religions, there are numerous instances of qualifying rights which various societies naturally attributed to citizens. The 'right to be free' is a theme that can be found preserved in history as far back as the story of Moses and throughout Roman society where persons who were kept as slaves could work and buy their freedom.
'Human Rights' as a collective theory, although encapsulated in the Bill of Rights in the US, really came into force due to concerns about possible atrocities being committed during World War 2.
In a modern context and germane to this debate; when persons refer to or speak of 'rights', they are referencing either to civil rights or civil liberties. In the US, those rights evolved from privileges enshrined in the Bill of Rights which initially protected freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition.
Significant to the rights of African Americans in the US is the fact that they could not exercise rights ascribed from the constitution because circa 1870, slavery remained legal in many States. It was a time when Black people were seeking the entitlement offered through the words of Thomas Jefferson, which although quite true, fell short of delivering the truth of his decree. He said in the Declaration of Independence that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
CIVIL RIGHTS and THE AFRICAN AMERICAN
The path to civil rights for African Americans is a deep quagmire of historical facts which could be considered from the crossing of slave ships from African states such as Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria into the New World of the Americas and the Caribbean; then all the way to the riots in Birmingham, Alabama.
The illegality given to the act of slavery did not truly begin to dissipate until the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude. The Amendment abolished Slavery but most Blacks still had to struggle against an engrained culture of prejudice. So whiles the intention was for African Americans to enjoy rights under the liberty afforded in the Constitution; their struggle continued as a literal fight for the right to be acknowledged as equal citizens and ultimately equal human beings.
The African American Civil Rights movement started to really take shape over 80 years later when blacks began to organise non-violent protest as a form of civil resistance. Two of the early protest of note would have been the Montgomery Bus Boycott which began in 1955 and the March on Washington 1963.
Specific to this conversation, the rights which African Americans fought for were:
• The right to vote – From the 14th Amendment in 1868 to the 15th Amendment in 1870, blacks in the US had the constitutional It is important to note that many black leaders in The Bahamas fought for and went through the struggle to liberate blacks in The Bahamas. Events such as the right to vote. Unfortunately, white supremacist, mainly in the Southern states, mounted arguments that convinced the US Supreme Court that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional. By 1883 the SupremeCourt was acting to strike out the gains started under Abraham Lincoln's 'Reconstruction' and disallowing or disenfranchised blacks in the right to vote.
• The fight against segregation – Southern white supremacist had a racist cultural joke which started from a performer who would paint his face black to assimilate a negative stereotype of black people who they called "dandified coons". This character became known as Jim Crow. In 1881, the state of Tennessee started a rolling snowball among Southern states by passing a state law unambiguously called Jim Crows law to segregate blacks from whites. The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896, which is a Supreme Court ruling, made it legal to segregate on the bases of race (whites and blacks) in public facilities.
• The Fight against racial violence – The 'race wars' or riots of the Civil Rights era can be defined from roughly 1955 to 1971. This is truly a misnomer of sorts because racial violence in the US can be categorised from the beginning of slavery around the 1700's to modern cases today. From the mid 1800's all the way to the 1960's blacks were subjugated to a legal system which allowed for 'trial by mob'. Many Blacks suffered the indignation of extrajudicial trials by ravenous mobs which resulted in lynching. At the height of its strength in the 1920 it is estimated that there was between 3 to 6 million registered members of the Klu Klux Klan. This organization carried out 'witch-hunts' against blacks; one such atrocity being called the 'Mississippi Burning' Case.
• The Fight against economic repression and exploitation – Many blacks were discriminated against in ways which kept them economically marginalized. The struggle to achieve equal employment, housing opportunities under the 'Fair Housing Act 1968, and educational equality were major platforms of the Civil Rights movement. These rights had unprecedented growth during the movement where blacks saw rights being increased against unconstitutional actions.
GAY RIGHTS AND THE STRUGGLE
The context of 'Gay Rights' is also based on a history of struggle.
In terms of establishing major criteria on the need for 'gay rights', one can start with the insanity of the Nazi regime. History will show that along with the other heinous acts committed by the Nazis, some 5,000 to 15,000 gays were incarcerated in concentration camps. Throughout the German society, it was confirmed that some 50,000 persons were also placed into the prison system after being sentenced for homosexuality. Of the 5 to 15,000 in 'death camps', perhaps 60% did not survive.
The Gay Rights movement and struggle in the US can be measured from the period of 1924 to modern day. Subjectively this is an anomalous statement in view of the fact that there is no struggle against 'slavery' in the history of gays; burnings on crosses; or even records of the National Guard called out to prevent the enrolment of gay children into the education system. The history of gay's looking to achieve some level of recognition or equality is much more analogous to a 'pressure' group or lobbyist like Green Peace, who espouses a belief system and petition government to abide. This is not to say that the LGBT has not suffered legal struggles and many grievances.
In 1924 The Society for Human Rights in Chicago was formed as the first organization representing 'gay rights' in the United States. The organization published a newsletter which covered topics of interest for gay men. It was not until 1962 that any major 'rights' were achieved by gay activist; Illinois made it legal for two consenting adults to have homosexual relationships in the privacy of their own home.
On June 27, 1969 The Stonewall riots took place in Greenwich NY, which resulted as a form of 'Gay Power' stand against police that raided a bar frequented by gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. The raid turned into a riot when the patrons of the bar refused to adhere to police procedure and revolted. The revolt was seen as a significant stand by the gay movement to fight for their 'right of assembly'.
By 1980 and as far as rights are concerned, the Gay Rights Movement received another boast when the Democratic Party, in support of the gay movement, included a statement in its party mandate, which read as: "All groups must be protected from discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, language, age, sex or sexual orientation."
By the year 2000 and beyond, the gay rights movement starts to see significant growth in a political and legal context.
i. 2000 – State of Vermont recognizes civil unions as having legal force.
ii. 2003 – The essence of gay rights is confirmed in the case of Lawrence v. Texas where the Supreme Court ruled that sodomy laws violated the autonomy of self which embraces the liberty to have self-expression/belief/thought and intimate conduct.
iii. In the same year the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided it unconstitutional to restrict the civil union of gay and lesbian couples. By the 17 May the state made same sex marriage legal.
iv. From 2004 to March 26 2013, most issues remain focused on gay marriage. In May of 2012, President Obama backs the notion of same-sex marriage and by March 26 of 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for legal discussions about the constitutional validity of same-sex marriages.
Within the context of this debate, what are the rights that the LGBT community is fighting for? After completing a concerted search to determine with certainty what rights are being denied to the LGBT; I found at the ACLU web-page a full and concise layout of what appeared to be generally agreed rights which the LGBT is fighting for. To quote the ACLU, their mission is; 'the creation of a society in which lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people enjoy the constitutional rights of equality, privacy and personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association.'
The 'Rights' are:
• Discrimination – The Fourteenth Amendment of the constitution adopts an equal protection clause which requires every state in the Union to provide equal protection to all citizens under the law. The LGBT asserts that there is wide discrimination against their community and the ACLU has taken on a mission to protect the LGBT against discrimination of any determined form. According to the ACLU, 'no LGBT person should experience discrimination in employment, housing, or in businesses and public places, or the suppression of their free expression or privacy rights'.
• Parenting – Whiles the issue of parenting is somewhat mute considering that thousands of gay men and women are parents the salient issue extends itself to adoption by gay couples and the rights thereof. Currently in the US, full joint adoption by same-sex couples is fully allowed in 21 states. State to state adoption laws are very diverse and can have a duplicitous meaning when left to interpretation from one judge to the next. (Note the 'best interest of the child'- what studies have been done?)
• Relationships and Marriage – The issue of gay marriage is such a 'volcanic' topic that it carries serious political consequences in the US. The political divide on the issue is very contentious. At the heart of the debate is The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Section 3 of DOMA 'codifies the non-recognition of same-sex marriages for all federal purposes, including insurance benefits for government employees, Social Security survivors' benefits, immigration, and the filing of joint tax returns.' The US Supreme Court on June 26, 2013, after hearing arguments pertinent to 'UNITED STATES v. WINDSOR', decided that Section 3 is unconstitutional. Whiles the ruling certainly redefines the approach to DOMA, the language of the Law has yet to be overturned such that it still officially recognises marriage as 'between' a man and woman.
• Youth and School – The LGBT and their representation by the ACLU has determined that the rights of young people who are of the LGBT influence must be protected in their rights to properly integrate into the public school system. Specific to the rights in contention is the right to freedom of expression such that LGBT children would attend school dances with dates and the freedom to cross-dress. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits abridging the freedom of speech.
