In recent news.

LGBT right supporters have worked to bring human right equality topics to the forefront of societies attention in recent years. There have been many changes on major issues.  Three of these include the updated Hate Crime Bill, equality on marriage and adoption rights, and the most recent Boy Scout scandal.  These issues are changing how equal rights are being perceived in the public eye. 

            A hate crime is any crime committed due to a persons’ perceived or actual race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or any disability.  The original Hate Crime Law was introduced in 1966 and passed in 1968. The law is also referred to as the Shephard/Byrd act, which relates to the tragic murders of Matthew Shephard and James Byrd.  In 1998 Matthew Shephard who was a college student at the time was tied to a fence and beaten to death with a gun because of his sexual orientation. James Byrd was murdered in 1998. Three white males abused Byrd, then drove with James chained to their truck until he died. In 2008 Obama signed the updated act, which grants state and local law officials up to 100,000 dollars to cover the extensive cost of fully prosecuting a potential hate crime. 

            Right now 10 states legally support same sex marriage.  Americans for Marriage Equality is encouraging more states to vote in favor of same sex marriage with their slogan “Love. Honor. Commitment.” Related to this is same sex adoption laws.  Currently 16 states and DC permit joint adoption statewide, Minnesota will allow same sex parents to adopt in some jurisdictions.  Ohio does not support same sex marriage, and state courts have ruled that second-parent adoptions are not available in Ohio.

            Recently in the news ere has been quite a bit of talk about boy scouts allowing gay members.  As of now, gay children are banned from boy scouts on a national level.  The most recent news from New York times suggests that Boy Scouts decided during a deliberation on January 28^th that the decision would be put off until a national meeting that is planned for May.

            Regardless of personal opinions it is vital to stay informed and educate yourself on the journey of equal rights.  These issues affect everyone in some way, personally or through loved ones and deserve to be heard. 

CES

Valencia, N. (2011). Man executed for dragging death of James Byrd. CNN Wire Staff.             Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/justice/texas-dragging-death-execution.

Shapiro, A. (2009). Obama set to sign bill widening Hate Crime Laws. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114223708

Matthew Shephard Foundation. (2013). Our story. Retrieved from             http://www.matthewshepard.org/our-story

Human Rights Campaign. (2013). Retrieved from www.hrc.org.

Johnson, K. (2013). Boy Scouts say gay debate was ignited by a leak. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/us/boy-scouts-say-    leak-undermined-plan-on-gay-ban.html