What is the controversy concerning gay rights in the United States?

Over the past few decades there has been an increase in the discussion of gay rights and
whether they should be accepted or rejected here in our country. This has sparked an interest to
me because I have friends who are a part of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender)
community. Even though most of my friends may not be looking for marriage right now in their
present day lives, these rights could affect them later in life if they so chose to embrace that
sexuality. Seeing as though Im a Christian, the entire basis of the LBGT community goes
against the core values of Christianity. With that being said, I am all for the passing of any gay
rights because I believe that a persons sexuality is very personal and should not be barricaded by
any unjust laws. I do not have any personal experiences with the LBGT community nor have I
seen any successful same sex marriages thus far in the state of South Carolina but I do know they
exist else where. I do know that with gay rights being such a widely talked about topic, in our
country, it is a must that they be researched and carefully examined.
In Paul R. Brewers section in The Shifting Foundations of Public Opinion about Gay
Rights he analyzes how there has been growing support in America for gay rights policies in the
past couple decades. Data taken from the 1992, 1996, and 2000 elections shows how Americans
began to favor gay rights in such a short period of time. A major value that can be found in this
journal is that during the 1990s there became growing support for the policies that allowed gays
and lesbians to enlist and serve in armed forces as well as not be discriminated when looking for
employment. These are policies that can are enforced today but still look to be strengthened over
time. This research journal is also an informative source that does not have bias, but only states

facts. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Southern Political Science Association is
a credible source.
In Colin Ashleys article she focuses on how the people protesting for gay rights were
once radical but as time passed they became more passive and less aggressive. Ashley claims that
gays a lesbians have now fought their way into the democratic process so the riots which were
once happening are now unnecessary. The main values that the LGBT community was once
protesting for was marriage equality no matter the sex. These protests that took place in the
1960s and 1970s were not only for gay rights but also tied to other major issues at that time like
civil rights and womens rights. This research article is an informative source that does not carry
bias but does serve as a resource for information on gay rights and their protests. Colin P. Ashley
has her PhD is Sociology and is a member of the LGBT/Queer Studies Certificate/Concentration
Programs so she is a credible source on the topic.
With the upcoming election in 2016, there is a lot of talk concerning same sex marriage
amongst all the presidential nominees and how they plan to handle it if elected. In Emma
Margolins NBC news article she speaks on how Ben Carson opposes same sex marriage and
plans to work with all Americans that oppose same-sex marriage as well. Ben Carson feels as
though according to the constitution everyone has rights and is entitled to those rights but no one
should be allowed the privilege to receive extra rights. Ben Carson also took it to another level
by pronouncing that God cant bless a country or society that has no regard for human life or one
that allows the selling of body parts. Seeing as though this article is mainly based around politics,
Im aware that it does contain a lot of bias and Emma Margolin is just reporting so I dont
believe she is as credible of a source as people who have done research on all the specifics
concerning same gay rights and the policies behind them.

My research question is arguable because there are different viewpoints, and there have
been for decades, on whether or not gay rights policies should be accepted or rejected in society.
I found disagreements between Ben Carsons stand on gay rights in the news article and
Brewers section is his journal where he showed evidence of there being an increase in the
support of gay rights policies over a span of elections. These different perspectives and
standpoints on gay rights policies and the LGBT community still do not affect my viewpoint on
gay rights which remains that it should be accepted in our society today due to human
personality.
Garrett,
So, this is one of those blacklisted topics. I think weve already talked about it. If you want to
continue with the topic, thats okay with me. Youve done same great preliminary research,
getting yourself informed on all the discussions surrounding this issue. As you formulate your
inquiry question to something more specific, make sure you are doing just that: asking something
more specific. The topic of gay rights is really broad. For instance you could inquire into samesex marriages in terms of the health of those marriages as compared to heterosexual marriages.
See if you can find anything there. Again, try to select a single thread in this broad topic and
cover it in the short 7 or so pages of your research paper. Good work here.

Works Cited

Ashley, Colin P. "Gay Liberation." New Labor Forum (Sage Publications Inc.) 24.3
(2015): 28-32. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Brewer, Paul R. The Shifting Foundations of Public Opinion About Gay Rights. The
Journal of Politics 65.4 (2003): 12081220. Web.
NBC News. NBC News, 12 Feb. 2016. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/ben-carson-gives-south-carolina-evangelicalsred-meat-pitch-n517711>.