Nicole Schafer
The Paw Print
Sexual orientation is one of the biggest diversities a student will encounter while in college and it is still one of the ones that most people have an issue with. Granted it is being more accepted in today’s society, it is still a very touchy subject. Students will encounter gay men, lesbian women, bisexual men and women, transexual and even asexual peers.
Homosexuals undergo a significant amount of discrimination and prejudice, but homosexual men and women are just like heterosexual men and women. They want a committed relationship, a traditional marriage, and a normal life just as heterosexuals would have. Having these preconceived ideas about someone without having any facts or previous knowledge is known as prejudice. Discrimination is usually a violent act of treating someone entirely differently because of ethnicity, race, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
One of the most significant acts of violence against homosexuals happened close to Colorado. A young student who attended Wyoming University had ventured to Fort Collins to go to the Fireside Lounge. His name was Matthew Shepard. While there Matthew, met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson who decided they would take Matthew home. McKinney and Henderson drove the car to a remote and rural area where they robbed, pistol whipped, tied Matthew up, and left him there to die on October 6, 1998. 18 hours later he was discovered by a cyclist who mistook him for a scarecrow. He suffered from many lacerations, fractures to the skull and severe brainstem damage. He was in a coma up until October 12, 1998 where he pronounced dead at 12:53 am. This act of violence started to transform the world. It was on global news because of the brutal nature of the crime.
A person’s sexual orientation is one of the most discriminated diversity any student will encounter during their college career. Currently, many organizations are fighting for gay rights. As of right now, only nine states have legalized homosexual marriage: Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Maine, Maryland, Connecticut, Iowa, Washington, New Hampshire, and Washington D.C.. But those marriages are only recognized in that specific state. If a couple were to move because of work opportunities, they would not be legally considered married.
In some states, homosexual couples and singles are not allowed to adopt children because of the thought that having gay parents will make the children gay as well. Also in response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980’s, any man who had sex with another man since 1977, they were not allowed to donate blood. Thankfully that was revoked in 1985. Also many religious education institutions will not accept admittance of homosexual students. Other schools require the students a “no homosexual policy” stating if they engage in gay actions and are caught, they will be immediately expelled. Faith Christian Academy in Arvada, Colorado is one of these many institutions. Homosexuals are not given burial and death rights of their partners and also not given the right of inheritance with the absence of the will even if they have been with their partner for 30+ years. Homosexuals also cannot have same sex health benefits through health insurance institutions because of fear of fraud. Even something as simple as jointly filing taxes, homosexuals do not have that right.
There are many famous homosexuals such as Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen Degeneres, Ian McKellen, Adam Lambert, and Jodie Foster who are denied some of the basic rights that heterosexual couples have. Today, trying to expand acceptance for homosexuals is still a major goal of most organizations and activist groups.
What’s Been Said…