LGBT Issues Including Gay Marriage (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

LGBT Issues Including Gay Marriage
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LGBT Issues Including Gay Marriage
Policy and its Historical Development
The United States has struggled to approve LGBT rights due to the massive societal discrimination of the LGBT people. Before 1962, the U.S. federal and state governments criminalized LGBT activities. However, Illinois was the first U.S. state to decriminalize gay and lesbian acts between two adults in a private relation in 1962 (PBS, 2021). The LGBT community held mass protests in the 1970s and the 1980s to pressure the United States government to recognize the LGBT people and legally approve their rights (PBS, 2021). The Democrats endorsed the LGBT rights platform in 1980 as the first major political party in the USA after its Democratic Rules Committee opted to stop gays and lesbians’ discrimination (PBS, 2021). In 1996, a former president, Bill Clinton legalized the Defense of Marriage Act that only recognized the union between a man and a woman and discriminated against same-sex marriage across the country (PBS, 2021). In 2000, Vermont became the first U.S. state to legally recognize same-sex unions, and Massachusetts initiated gay marriage legalization in the USA in 2004 (CNN, 2021). President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum in 2009 to allow federal workers’ same-sex partners to access certain benefits, but it excluded full health coverage (CNN, 2021). In 2015, all the U.S. states legalized same-sex marriage, which marked the LGBT community recognition (Hickey & Avery, 2021). Indeed, United States has gradually recognized the LGBT rights since Illinois decriminalize homophile activities.
Social Problems that Policy Address
The LGBT rights policy prevents various social issues that LGBT individuals experience. The policy prevents the LGBT people’s discrimination from other Americans who oppose gay and lesbian activities. The LBGT rights policy would enable people to recognize and respect the LGBT community. The policy concentrated on assimilating the LGBT community into mainstream society and enlighten people that gender-queer activities are ethical. The policy prevents individuals from attacking and harassing gays and lesbians people as seen before its implementation. For instance, Dan White assassinated Harvey Milk in 1978 for introducing gay rights to prevent employers from firing gays and lesbians (PBS, 2021). A U.S. court convicted Mr. White for manslaughter and served a 7-year prison term, which infuriated the LGBT community (PBS, 2021). The LGBT rights policy helps to prevent such acts against the LGBT people. Further, the policy prevents bigotry and prejudice against gays and lesbians from mainstream society (PBS, 2021). Therefore, the policy prevented gays and lesbians from bigotry, prejudice, discrimination, and attack from other people in the USA.
Policy Changes
The LGBT rights policy has changed with time from one state to all parts of the USA. In 1962, Illinois set the LGBT rights policy foundation by repealing its Sodomy laws to prevent gays and lesbians from discrimination and criminalization (PBS, 2021). Equally, Harvey Milk introduced a gay rights ordinance in 1977 to protect lesbians and gays from losing their jobs (PBS, 2021). Besides, Wisconsin criminalized discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1982 to protect the LGBT people. In 1993, the United States federal government introduced the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevented the U.S. military from discriminating against recruits based on their sexual orientation (PBS, 2021). Vermont introduced a policy to legalize same-sex partnerships and civil unions in 2000, which set a milestone for same-sex marriages in the USA (PBS, 2021). Three years later, the U.S. Supreme Court made the sodomy laws unconstitutional In Lawrence versus Texas case (PBS, 2021). A former, United States president, Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum in 2009 that allowed federal employees’ gay and lesbian partners to access certain benefits (PBS, 2021). In October 2009, the U.S. government expanded the Hate Crime Law by enacting the Matthew Shepard Act to prevent attacks and discriminations based on sexual orientation (PBS, 2021). In 2015, the United States legalized same-sex marriage countrywide to recognize the LGBT rights (EQUALDEX, 2021). Indeed, the LGBT rights policy that started in Illinois has expanded to cover several LGBT people’s rights.
Themes presented
The policy presented various themes to protect the LGBT community. For instance, the LGBT rights policy promoted equality between homosexual people and other people in mainstream society. The policy advocates for equal employment opportunities, marriage rights, and employment benefits regardless of sexual orientation (Medina, Gruberg, Mahowald, & Santos, 2021). The LGBT rights policy promotes the LGBT people’s recognition by other people. The policy encourages individuals to avoid discrimination and prejudice against the LGBT community. The LGBT policy enables Americans to positively perceive LGBT individuals as normal people, but not as mentally disabled (PBS, 2021). To this end, the LGBT rights policy promotes themes such as equality and recognition to facilitate the LGBT people’s wellbeing in the United States.
Strategies used
Diverse strategies facilitated the LGBT rights policy development. For instance, legal cases advocating for the LGBT rights recognition contributed to the LGBT rights policy development. In the 2003 Lawrence versus Texas case, the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated sodomy law in Texas to improve the LGBT people’s rights (Flock, 2013). Additionally, the LGBT rights movements in the United States sparked the need to develop the LGBT rights policy. For example, the United States’ 1969 Stonewall outrage, the National LGBT task force, and the human rights campaigns contributed to social and legal reforms to recognize and accept the LGBT community (Levy, 2021). Indeed, strategies such as legal cases and LGBT rights movements contributed to the LGBT rights policy development.
Implications for Social Work Practice
The LGBT rights policy will have significant social work practice implications in the future. The policy will help same-sex couples to adopt children similar to heterosexual couples. According to EQUALDEX (2021), the U.S. federal government is yet to recognize same-sex child adoption nationally, which hinders the LGBT people’s parenting rights. Moreover, the policy will enable social workers to have a shared commitment to promote programs, policies, and laws that will promote LGBTQ individual and family values and support in the United States. Social workers will promote LGBTQ people’s inclusion and social justice, which will promote societal unity (NASW, 2021). Additionally, social workers would help LGBTQ people acce