The struggle of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people for equal rights has moved to center stage. LGBT people are battling for their civil rights in Congress, in courtrooms and in the streets. Well-known figures are discussing their sexual orientation in public. Gay and lesbian people are featured in movies and on television - not as novelty characters, but as full participants in society.
Despite these advances into the American mainstream, however, LGBT people continue to face real discrimination in all areas of life. No federal law prevents a person from being fired or refused a job on the basis of sexual orientation. The nation's largest employer - the U.S. military - openly discriminates against gays and lesbians. Mothers and fathers lose child custody simply because they are gay or lesbian, and gay people are denied the right to marry.
One state even tried to fence lesbians and gay men out of the process used to pass laws. In 1992 Colorado enacted Amendment 2, which repealed existing state laws and barred future laws protecting lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from discrimination. The U. S. Supreme Court struck it down in the landmark 1996 Romer v. Evans decision.
We must conclude that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everyone else. This Colorado cannot do. A State cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws.
-- Justice Anthony Kennedy
Majority Opinion in Romer v. Evans I
The modern gay rights movement began dramatically in June 1969 in New York City's Greenwich Village. During a typical "raid," police tried to arrest people for their mere presence at a gay bar, but the patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back - and the gay rights movement was launched. Using many of the grass-roots and litigation strategies employed by other 20th century activists, gay rights advocates have achieved significant progress:
Ten states, the District of Columbia, many municipalities and hundreds of businesses and universities now ban employment discrimination.
"Domestic Partnership" programs exist in dozens of municipalities and hundreds of private institutions, including many of the country's largest corporations and universities.
Sodomy laws, typically used to justify discrimination against gay people, once existed nationwide; they are now on the books in only 18 states and Puerto Rico.
But the increased empowerment of LGBT people has brought about even more open and virulent anti-gay hostility:
Although unrelated to an individual's ability, sexual orientation can still be the basis for employment decisions in both the public and private sectors in most states and municipalities.
Violent hate crimes, such as the 1998 murder of Wyoming student Matthew Shepherd, depict a grisly backlash against LGBTs or people perceived to be gay.
LGBT students and teachers face daily harassment and discrimination in the schools, and LGBT student groups in high schools and colleges still face roadblocks.
