That Gay Thread

[Rev. Rye]

Here’s a place to start when you want to understand what systems oppressed gay people:



I’d say that the fact that until fairly recently (and by this, I mean 17 years ago), there were parts of America where having gay sex itself was against the law (plus it took until five years ago to legalize gay marriage nationwide) is a pretty good example of an oppressive system that targeted gay people. So, in terms of black history like the ones you just name-dropped, imagine that you had enough Massa blood in you to pass for white and you were living in a sundown town. Until 2003, that was the situation a lot of gay people were in, although they might not have been lynched per se, but they could get killed and their killers could get away with a gay panic defense. And until Illinois legalized same-sex relations in 1961, that was the case for gay people nationwide.

Hell, I actually linked to a specific government program (The Lavender Scare) used to fuck with gay people in my previous post.

Why are gay people being specifically named as beneficiaries In these laws and not black people? Because when civil rights laws were being passed in the 1960s, they used language like “All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.” And they thought that would cover all the bases. As it turns out, they didn’t, hence the need for additional laws covering gay people, the disabled, trans people, &c.