Tag Archives: gay rights

President Obama Speaks in Support of Gay Marriage

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Obama publicly declared his personal belief that gay marriage should be legal. It was truly refreshing to hear the president speak out for gay rights on an issue where he is potentially far enough ahead of public opinion to lose votes over it.

There are a lot of opinions about the political impact of this. While I will engage in such discussion given a few beers, I certainly don’t see value or validity in any opinion on the matter. I have only one general sense, and that is: when people will look back 50 years from now at the fact that gay people could not marry, they will see it the same way as we now see the fact that women could not vote in the United States in a relatively recent past.

In other words, we are making some kind of progress. None of it is trivial (though it might appear to be in retrospect) but it’s comforting to know that I live in a time when we as a society are actively struggling with big moral questions. And all of it adds up to real implications for ourselves and our neighbors.

Of course, I’m confident that in 50 years, there will be newly “identified” groups of people whom the majority will discriminate against, either through the law or just through the way we talk, think, and live. I believe that one such group is robots. It may seem like a joke now, but I do believe that the growth of the personal robotics industry (or perhaps cloning) will bring some damn tough moral questions to the forefront.

When Being Gay Was Illegal

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The mathematician I admire more than any other in the 20th century is Alan Turing. He is widely considered to be the father of computer science. I’ve studied his work and the consequences of his work for the last 10 years, but not until recently did I learn about the man himself.

I won’t get into a long Wikipedia-style retelling of his life, but focus on its tragic end. He was arrested in 1952 for “homosexual acts” which at the time were illegal in England (and remained so until 1967). Two years after that, Turing committed suicide.

Gay rights have been in the courts and in public discourse recently. The point of contention is whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry. I believe that of course they should (though I do believe marriage is a religious practice, and government should only just grant civil unions to everyone). Many people disagree. However, what bothers me is the amount of value the opponents of gay marriage assign to this issue. It seems the Christian community is making this its primary battle cry under the umbrella of “values”.

So whenever someone brings up the issue of gay marriage to me, I think of Alan Turing, and the suffering he endured at the hands of a society that couldn’t accept who the man wanted to love, but sure as hell could accept the brilliant contributions to technology and science that he provided.

To this day, the British government has not pardoned Alan Turing for having sex with another man.

Do Ask and Do Tell: Gays in the Military

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gays-in-the-miitaryBy some estimates, 2% of the U.S. military personnel are gay.

Today was the first day after the end of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, which means the law no longer discriminates based on sexual preference against the soldiers that put their lives on the line to defend our country.

However, I remember reading about the rampant racism that came to the forefront when slavery was abolished. It seems that it often takes decades (even centuries) for the view of the majority to catch up with the moral standard of the law.

Frankly, if I was gay and serving in the military, I would still not come out. That view is perhaps naïve and poorly thought out, since I know nothing of how difficult it is to hide such a fundamental truth from your fellow soldiers.

In either case, this is a good day, as a weight has been lifted off the shoulders of many brave men and women, who already have to carry a heavy burden.

A Medal for Killing Two Men and a Discharge for Loving One

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The title comes from the quote written on Leonard Matlovich tombstone: “When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

The “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy was repealed by the Senate, and today Obama is signing it into law, allowing homosexuals to openly serve in the military.

I think this policy was a disgrace, just like when 18 year olds could be drafted to go to war but would have to wait till 21 in order to vote (a policy changed by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution in 1971).

Despite my usual cynicism and skeptical outlook, this is a time to celebrate the progress of American social policy. Gay rights is at the forefront of the current leg of the civil rights movement in American. Even if you’re homophobic, or just don’t care about the issue, the repeal of this law is a sign that our country is moving closer and closer to the realization of the beautiful ideal represented by our constitution.