During the summer of 2001, a guy stopped by my house collecting signatures and donations for a group who were trying to get laws enacted in Minnesota treating hate-crimes against homosexuals more harshly than the same crimes committed against other groups. There were two things that bothered me about this. The first thing that bothered me was that they wouldn't take a signature for their petition without a donation. The second took me longer to figure out, and it was that I don't think hate-crimes legislation is a good idea. Thinking about it more, I realized that hate-crimes legislation doesn't aim to punish the actual crime, but rather the motive (or thoughts) behind it.
Under these legal issues, violence is qualified as a form of hate crime. Hate crimes are bias-motivated acts where one targets another because of their real or perceived membership of a social group. The basis of this social group-sexual identity-is still a divisive issues even in the west-area of the world. In today’s age, the act of homosexuality has been legalized in almost all countries; violence against LGBT has been regarded to as a hate crime. It is claimed to have been connected with either religious or some political ideologies, which tend to be against, strongly condemn homosexuality, and associate it with weakness, morally ill, and feminine.
They believe this was a right that they were given by our Four Fathers, which is clearly not true. Yes, they have the freedom of speech but when should the freedom be taken away? What about the rights of the innocent victims and their families? Hate crimes, because of their nature will always lead to violence and this is not a freedom that people should have. In my opinion, the penalties for hate crimes should continue to be more severe than that of a regular crime because so many innocent people are injured and even killed simply because they are different.
Colorado is one of the only states in the Union that does not support Jessica’s Law, or the safety of children. The fact that these Liberal states won’t take a law like this seriously just shows the way our country is heading. It is clear that frivolous issues such as the legalization of marijuana are far more important to Colorado than the safety of children or else they would pass Jessica’s law and stop making excuses about their laws being tough enough. Colorado is now a place where sex offenders and perverts flock, over 10,000 of them in that state alone; and sadly, the number keeps growing (Gidenko). Again this number could be even higher, but due to the fact their law does NOT require them to register, how do law abiding citizens of that great state know?
Homosexuality has not always been discussed on television. It was once considered a taboo topic but once the AIDS epidemic hit in the early 1980’s homosexuality was everywhere. HIV/AIDS was dubbed the “gay disease” and lead to much gay hate on both television and in public (Gross 145). Gay men and women on TV were portrayed as hypersexual beings that deserved to contract this terrible illness. It wasn’t until the late 90’s with shows such a Will and Grace and Friends that TV’s portrayal of homosexuality changed from negative to positive.
This case led to the questioning of whether the legal system is effective for the individual and the community and whether it really brought justice to the victims of crime. A large proportion of society feel let down by the legal system, as a mechanism put into place to protect and bring justice has obviously failed in this case. The fact that serious sex offenders who place a black mark on the well being of victims, both physically and mentally being let off in less than 20 years caused a lot of conroversy. Although it may be argued that 55 years was a harsh penalty and didn’t warrant the crime, the victim’s of the crime received a much harsher sentence, a life of trauma and a constant feeling of alarm. Denele Crozier a Women's Health NSW executive officer asked the question many women had asked after the appeal was established ``How many times do women have to be constantly let down and disappointed by the legal
Homosexuals and Blood Donation Introduction For the past 3 decades, homosexual men, or MSM’s (men who have sex with men), have been banned from donating blood in a number of countries. This has been an ongoing issue since the 1980’s AIDS epidemic, when it was “determined” that homosexuals were more likely to be affected. This is not necessarily true, and is a very prominent form of bigotry in today’s society. Homosexuality does not define a person, therefore people who live their lives in this way should not be denied the same opportunities as everyone else. Why They Are Not Allowed Since the 1980’s, gay men have been banned from donating blood due to the belief that they are more likely to be affected by HIV/ AIDS.
Each of these perspectives has their own influences as to why someone becomes a homosexual whether it is from being within the family or the chemicals within the brain causing it. Historical perspective is the perspective that a person becomes a homosexual because in some cases it is part of their tradition. Homosexuality has been around for a long time and was also displayed in areas such as vases within Rome. Homosexuality was looked down upon though by many including the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic communities. When it came to homosexuality it was looked down upon so much that if convicted the person did not get sent to prison but instead was sentenced to pay a fine.
How would you feel if someone randomly approached to you and tell you “you’re gay”? Yes, you, like me or everyone else in this classroom, would definitely be angry and baffled because you take that comment as condescending. It generally means stupid or weird, but as you all may know, the word “gay” stands up for something else as well – a homosexual person. Homosexuality, (or bisexuality inclusive), has been the key word for ethical, religious, social, or any kinds of debate in the United States in the recent years. Despite such rapid development of human beings and extensive globalization, our view towards people who are different from us still remains narrow and conservative.
The results, however, are largely inconclusive as many other causes that are not easily isolated, such as ethnicity and health, are involved when comparing homosexuals with heterosexuals and determining economic discrimination. “Homophobia” is a term describing the irrational attitudes of hate and loathing felt toward homosexual people. Within the past thirty years, this word has spawned a more blatant and more profound discrimination toward this group of people with sexual preferences challenging the norm. In fact, recent studies have unveiled that more than 30% of gay youth have been threatened or injured because of their lifestyles. Hate crimes, such as the 1993 Brandon Teena slaying, remain prevalent (Burns, 2007).