By Ke’Aun Charles ’15*
Frank Bruni—the New York Times’ first openly gay op-ed columnist—has written several pieces on being gay in America, sexuality, and religion, and the legal battles the LGBTQ community is waging to secure rights. On September 30, he was on campus to give a talk titled “A New Day: Same-Sex Marriage in America” to a jam-packed audience in the Hyman Forum. In his presentation, he talked about the recent shift in public sentiment on gay marriage in America.
Although gay people still face hardship and discrimination, gay rights have come far in a short time span, according to Goucher College Chaplin Cynthia Terry. In 1999, Terry and her then-partner went to a lawyer to make sure they would have legal rights over their children (they were pregnant at the time). Their lawyer, without malice, told them not to expect any rights, ever.
Within seven months of this legal counsel, the legislature of Connecticut — where Terry and her partner were living — voted in a law that allowed for second parent adoption. In effect, this created a way for Terry and her partner to have rights over each other’s child in the way “traditional” families share rights over their children. Connecticut legalized gay marriage in 2008, 11 years later.
“It never crossed our minds that [gay marriage] would be legal in our lifetimes” said Terry, shaking her head. When gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004, Terry and her partner rushed there to tie the knot. She says she was never sure about the possibility of gay marriage spreading beyond Massachusetts and was surprised at the speed at which gay rights have advanced since then. Or at least, she says, “It feels quick to me.”
Gita Deane, a learning specialist in the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE), engaged in a long battle with the Maryland courts for marriage rights. In 2004, Deane, her partner Lisa Polyak, eight other same-sex couples, and one single man who lost his partner but wanted the right to marry a same-sex partner, all filed a collective lawsuit against Maryland. They argued that denying homosexuals the right to marry violated the state constitution. The case went to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in 2007, where it lost by one vote. It would take another five years and another defeat in Annapolis until Maryland—through referendum—passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage.
Despite the almost-decade-long battle, Deane still believes gay rights are advancing quickly, saying, “I think … it’s really light speed.” Deane went on to say that alliances with other civil rights groups such as the NAACP and straight allies have helped give the movement momentum.
Most Goucher students interviewed hold the same view. “I think [gay rights] are advancing at a moderate to medium-fast pace,” said Justin Jeffries ’16. Francisco Javier ’15 stated that the gay rights movement “has reached critical mass. It won’t be done with tomorrow, but … things are going successfully.”
These statements might be surprising; after all, this generation doesn’t have the same memories of struggle against anti-gay legislation like Terry and Deane do. Jefferies explained his stance on the matter: “I think the reason people would disagree [that gay rights are moving at a fast pace] is because we live in an age of instant gratification … . People seem to forget that for other groups that have gone through similar circumstances it took decades, even over a century in some cases, to be able to have some rights.” He added, “We, as allies, just need to be patient.”
Although gay marriage rights seem like the largest part of the movement, no one interviewed thought that it was the only part. “Protections for transgendered people are really important,” said Deane. “For them it’s a life-or-death struggle.” Terry and most of the students identified transgendered protection as an important issue. Franz said she would want to see gay rights go from a “primarily political issue to an issue of individual accountability and responsibility,” adding that political battles may not be so effective in more conservative states.
*Ke’Aun Charles, is a junior from New York City and the Office of Communications’ newest student intern. Charles will be writing stories for In the Loop and the Goucher website, and will help support our social media efforts. Earlier this week, Frank Bruni, the New York Times’ first openly gay op-ed columnist presented a talk on campus about gay marriage. In anticipation of Bruni’s presentation, Charles spoke with members of the Goucher community about their views and experiences with gay rights.