Stonewall, Hiv / Aids, And The Adoption Crises - 1128 Words

Stonewall, HIV/AIDS, and the adoption crises are the major events that raised awareness for LGBT rights and ultimately led to the Obergefell v. Hodges supreme court case victory. The idea of being gay had been under wraps since the beginning of time. In fifteen thirty, Henry VII created the Buggery Act, defining homosexuality as a crime punishable by death. Later, in eighteen eighty-five, Parliament passed an amendment brought forth by Henry Du Pre Labouchere making it legal to prosecute gay men. This law did not apply to lesbian women, because the idea of two women being in any type of romantic relationship was unthinkable at the time. The Gay Rights Movement ignited after the Stonewall riots in June 1969. The movement started right towards the end of the civil rights movement, so the nation was growing weary of constant protests, peaceful or not. Martin Luther King Jr. died just over one year before Stonewall, leaving America little time to recover from the end of one major movement to another. The propaganda quickly spread across the country and gained national attention that has stayed relevant since then. Stonewall was the first major event that shook t he United States and made the the importance of lesbian, gay, bisexal, and transgender (LGBT) rights known. In the 1980s and 90s, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic once again brought major national attention to the LGBT community- but this time in a negative way.