The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and the Evolution of Marriage Equality

The Controversy Surrounding the LGBTQ Community and the Civil Rights Movement

There is a lot of controversy in the LGBTQ community. Some people support it. Some people don’t, just like interracial couples. The case of Loving vs. Virginia is a case that changed the Constitution for interracial couples. The case of Obergefell V. Hodges is another case that changed civil rights. There are so many things that have happened in the news with the LGBTQ community. A few years ago, it was the pulse shooting in the club. Then during that same time of the Pulse shooting, it was the “lives matter movement.” That started a whole other issue with this country.

Key Moments in LGBTQ History: Obergefell vs. Hodges and the Pulse Nightclub Tragedy

The LGBTQ community, over the past several years, has had a lot of controversies. In 2015 there was the case of Obergefell vs. Hodges, which had to do with same-sex marriage. The court basically ruled that love is love when it comes to marriage. This case helped raise the ban on same-sex marriage in the thirteen states that still had the ban.

In 2016, there was a shooting in Orlando, Florida, at the Pulse nightclub. Pulse was a Gay nightclub; one night, a shooting went in and shot and killed forty- nine people in the club. Making this the biggest terrorist attack since 9/11. The shooter pledged to be part of ISIS on the phone to dispatch. Having the Constitution is essential to the United States; we have the right to be treated equally no matter where we come from or who we are. The First Amendment gives us freedom of expression, being who we want to be, and freedom of speech to what we feel.

Loving vs. Virginia: An Emblematic Case of the Civil Rights Movement

Another iconic case was the case of Loving vs. Virginia. This case changed the Constitution when it came to marriage. In this case, Mildred and Richard Loving were sentenced to jail for being married. They had a set sentence of twenty- five years unless they pleaded guilty to the charge. Then it would be one year, and they could not return to the state of Virginia for twenty- five years. The movie “Loving Story,” explains how the whole case played out. In the end, they took their trial to the Supreme Court and got their kids involved. Since the Loving in the movie went back to Virginia before the twenty- five years were up, they got rearrested, and that’s how the case got to the Supreme Court (‘The Loving Story’). This case changed the Constitution for marriage when it came to interracial marriages. The civil rights movement has changed so much in the past centuries.

Religious Views, Marriage Equality, and Growing Support

The controversy between both same-sex marriage and marriage equality is nearly the same. It comes down to religious views on both sides. Some people, because of their religious views, don’t support same-sex marriage because God created men and women, and only men and women are supposed to get married, not ones of the same- sex. Marriage equality is how people view and what people believe. For example, some people were raised to marry ones of their own race and not another race.

Since 2015, there has been a reverse on the protected right of same-sex marriage. Ever since the case of Obergefell vs. Hodges, every state lifted the ban on same-sex marriage. Altogether, it comes down to what a person believes and how they grew up. Today, so many people have become more supportive of the LGBTQ community and have become more supportive of marriage equality. At the end of the day, love is love.

References:

1. Guides: A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Obergefell v. Hodges Source: https://guides.loc.gov/civil-rights-primary-sources/obergefell-v-hodges
2. Fantz, A., Karimi, F., & McLaughlin, E. C. (2016). “Orlando shooting: 49 killed, shooter pledged ISIS allegiance.” CNN. Source: https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-shooting-what-happened/index.html
3. OpenStax. (2016). “The First Amendment.” U.S. History. Source: https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/14-1-the-first-amendment
4. “Loving v. Virginia.” Oyez. Source: https://www.oyez.org/cases/1966/395
5. “The Loving Story.” HBO. Source: https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-loving-story