The Gothic Times

Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Culture

Media Credit: www.flickr.com

America still reels from the culture wars: blue state vs. red state, men vs. women, black vs. white, etc. It seems like the preoccupations of our 21st Century society will be identical to those of the 20th Century, yet there seems to be a new era in the gay rights movement. With the California State Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage a few months ago, there is a long awaited socio-political awakening in the gay community. Gay rights have been coming into the forefront.

However, the gay rights fight is not a new battle front in human history.

"There's been a long history of L.G.B.T. [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] civil rights, even pre-Stonewall," said 26 year-old Guido Sanchez, the Executive Director of Hudson Pride Connections (HPC).

HPC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose headquarters are located near Journal Square on 32 Jones Street, Jersey City, NJ.

HPC describes itself as "A center of community support & empowerment for the LGBTQ communities and all people living with HIV, since 1993." The 'Q' in LGBTQ oftentimes refers to "questioning."

The aforementioned Stonewall riots occurred in 1969 and mark the start of the modern gay rights movement. Sanchez did admit that the past few years have signaled change as well, "We're definitely in a new era."

Even with the landmark ruling this year by the Supreme Court of California, which stated that it is unconstitutional to withhold equal marriage rights from same-sex couples, and an equivalent state Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts in 2004, society may be advancing faster than the laws. A Zogby poll taken in August 2008 showed that a majority of people in New Jersey favor gay marriage over civil unions for same-sex couples. Out of the 803 participants surveyed, 59% stated that they would not be bothered if the civil union law in our state is changed to gay marriage.

Beyond gay marriage, society seems more open to the L.G.B.T., at least publicly. It's still difficult for young adults and teens to come out of the closet, but they are coming out of the closet more frequently and at earlier ages.

"One thing that's amazing is how young people can come out now," said Sanchez, who came out when he was 14 years old. Yet, he stated that gay youth "still deal with the same issues as before."

Sanchez cited that about 40%- 50% of the homeless teens in New York City can be identified as members of the L.G.B.T. community and the figures are likely to be similar in other cities of the tri-state area. Sometimes a young person that just came out will get kicked out of his or her parent's house.

Continued...

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