Gay Rights Speech
Gay Rights Speech
The word gay, in the common school setting often has a negative connotation associated with it. “Hey, homo!”, “Hey Faggot” and “That’s so gay” are some of the most commonly used slurs, degrading the meaning of those words to something one could instead call ‘stupid’ or ‘bad’. This presents the constant negative image of a different sexual orientation. There was supposed to be equality; Equality in marriage, and equality in lifestyles between all people of all sexes and all sexual orientations. Instead, today, that is simply not the case.
The injustice felt by the LGBT community is one similar to the Black Civil Rights movement felt across the world in the 1950’s and 60’s. Were we not supposed to learn from the mistakes of our past? Discrimination was supposed to be lost in history while justice and peace reigned above all else- promoted as the years wore on. Right? Wrong. In Canada, we are lucky enough to be able to have had an openly understanding government, with many of our Prime Ministers embracing gay rights. Since the 20th of July 2005, same sex- marriage has been legalized in Canada. Pierre Elliot Trudeau can even be quoted saying that “The State has no business in the bedrooms of the nation”. But it seems even open support from our government has done nothing to eradicate the prejudice our society holds towards members of the LGBT community.
While we, as Canadians are basking in the sun enjoying a nice cold beverage, there are still people actively working the lands of change in other countries, so that their rights will be recognized. One of these countries has been thrust into the spotlight of recent news. Ladies and gentlemen we present to you Russia and their anti-gay laws. Just this year, President Putin signed a new “anti-propaganda” law which would ban the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors”. The violations of the fundamental rights of Russia’s gay citizens have included multiple bans on gay
The word gay, in the common school setting often has a negative connotation associated with it. “Hey, homo!”, “Hey Faggot” and “That’s so gay” are some of the most commonly used slurs, degrading the meaning of those words to something one could instead call ‘stupid’ or ‘bad’. This presents the constant negative image of a different sexual orientation. There was supposed to be equality; Equality in marriage, and equality in lifestyles between all people of all sexes and all sexual orientations. Instead, today, that is simply not the case.
The injustice felt by the LGBT community is one similar to the Black Civil Rights movement felt across the world in the 1950’s and 60’s. Were we not supposed to learn from the mistakes of our past? Discrimination was supposed to be lost in history while justice and peace reigned above all else- promoted as the years wore on. Right? Wrong. In Canada, we are lucky enough to be able to have had an openly understanding government, with many of our Prime Ministers embracing gay rights. Since the 20th of July 2005, same sex- marriage has been legalized in Canada. Pierre Elliot Trudeau can even be quoted saying that “The State has no business in the bedrooms of the nation”. But it seems even open support from our government has done nothing to eradicate the prejudice our society holds towards members of the LGBT community.
While we, as Canadians are basking in the sun enjoying a nice cold beverage, there are still people actively working the lands of change in other countries, so that their rights will be recognized. One of these countries has been thrust into the spotlight of recent news. Ladies and gentlemen we present to you Russia and their anti-gay laws. Just this year, President Putin signed a new “anti-propaganda” law which would ban the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors”. The violations of the fundamental rights of Russia’s gay citizens have included multiple bans on gay