History is, no doubt, one of the most unpopular subjects in American high schools today. Students don’t understand why they need to know it, or why they should care. But if they take a moment to examine our society the way it is now, and compare it to the way it was then, they might find something interesting: History repeats itself. And, it’s repeating itself right now.
Today’s fight for gay rights is highly reminiscent of yesterday’s fight for civil rights for African-Americans.
Many people fought against African-American civil rights, just as many people are opposed to aspects of gay rights now. But now, the majority considers opponents of African-American civil rights to be deviants who hold inappropriate, improper attitudes. Civil rights are here to stay and continue to progress.
Great strides will be made for gay rights in coming generations. Like it or not, it’s coming. It’s bound to. History dictates it.
Though each group’s struggles may be different, the main idea is the same – a repressed minority is fighting for rights equal to those of the powerful majority.
At one time, African-Americans were not permitted the right to legally marry in many states. From our current, modern perspective, that’s a ridiculous notion, but in the 1800s, it was a way of life. And, many people didn’t dare question it, because those who were in power felt African-Americans were beneath them and, thus, did not deserve equal rights, including the right to marry.
And now who is fighting for the right to marry? Who must now prove that their relationships are deserving of the title “marriage”?
Many southerners viewed Martin Luther King Jr. and his radical ideals as threats to their secure, segregated way of life.
Now, proponents of gay rights are viewed the same way.Those who support gay marriage are accused of supporting the desecration of the institution of marriage.
Many heterosexuals who support gay rights are afraid to speak out for fear of negative consequences toward themselves and their families, just as whites who agreed with integration were often afraid to speak out, for fear of becoming outcasts themselves.
And marriage isn’t the only issue at hand – simply “coming out” as a gay man or a lesbian can cause the loss of a job or a place to live.
No person should be kept from getting a job or living in a certain area simply because of his or her sexual orientation, just as that person’s race should not affect his or her chances of getting a job or finding a place to live.
African-Americans were lynched in the late 1800s and early 1900s because they were becoming “too successful,” and thus encroaching on what was thought of as “white territory” at that time. Their success made some whites uncomfortable, so those whites used violence to alleviate what they saw as a problem.
Matt Shepard was gruesomely murdered because his openness with his sexual orientation made his killers uncomfortable. Although the vast majority of cases do not garner the high profile Shepard’s hate-crime did, violence is committed every day against innocent human beings for no reason other than their sexual orientation.
No one should have to live in fear – the fear of being injured or murdered, the fear of not being able to get a job or the fear of not being able to find a place to live – simply because of his or her sexual orientation.
There is legislation to prevent these types of discrimination when race is the factor in question, so why not do the same for factors like sexual orientation as well? No one should be denied the right to marry the love of his or her life, regardless of whether the partners are of the same or opposite sexes.
Although those fears are very real now, one day they won’t have to be. Just as we now judge people “not for the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” we will one day treat people as people, and love as love, regardless of the sexes of the partners.
Opponents of gay rights can march, shout and sputter all they want – the tides of change have begun to roll in, and they can’t be stopped now.

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