voice
than 20 permit lesbians, gays, and bisexuals to serve.
European gay people do seem to enjoy a freer
society, both in terms of civil rights, and in terms of
protection against discrimination on the basis of
gender or sexuality. Although a few steps have been
taken in the US to protect gay people against
homophobic discrimination, overall there is: “very
little statutory, common law, and case law establishing
employment discrimination based upon sexual
orientation as a legal wrong” according to James
Donovan PhD, in his 2007 survey of Sexual
Orientation and the Law.
America does seem be trying to catch up with
much of the western world but, unfortunately, the
policies surrounding gay marriage and “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” seem to give with one hand and take with
the other. Perhaps it is the strong ‘Bible Belt’ presence
which hinders American gay rights progress. But as
the laws gradually change from state to state, it may
be the laissez-faire attitude to each individual state’s
self-governance that contributes to a lack of overall
clear gay rights policy in America.
Will the newly appointed President be the one to
make bold changes for the civil rights of current and
future LGB generations? Obama plans to strengthen
federal hate crime legislation and expand hate crime
protection, by passing the Matthew Shepard Act. He
supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
and has said that anti-discrimination laws should be
expanded to include sexual orientation and gender
identity. Most recently, he has stated that he plans to
repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, but added the
US armed forces are already stretched thin fi ghting
39
two wars.
Obama supports full civil unions between gay and
lesbian couples, giving them the same legal rights and
privileges to that of married couples. But despite all
of this, Obama is against gay marriage. In an interview
with the Chicago Daily Tribune he said: “I’m a Christian.
And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs
dominate or determine my political views on this
issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious
beliefs say that marriage is something sanctifi ed
between a man and a woman.”
It seems that America’s progression towards
giving gay people equal rights will be speeded up
under Obama, who does have clear policies in place
to move policy in the right direction. However,
religious dominance and the state-by-state political
system has just as much infl uence in how much can
really change, and how quickly.
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