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LGBTQ Civil Rights

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LGBTQ Civil Rights

LESSON 1

The LGBTQ Community

& Marriage Equality

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Activity:

What does LGBTQ mean?

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Lesbian - A woman who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to other women.

Gay - A person who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to members of the same gender.

Bisexual - A person emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one sex, gender or gender identity though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree.

Source: http://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms

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What does LGBTQ mean?

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Transgender - An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. The alternative to transgender is cisgender.

Queer – An umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities. It was previously used as a slur but is now being reclaimed by some members of the LGBTQ community.

Source: http://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms

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What does LGBTQ mean?

LGBT rights activist Marsha Aizumi and her transgender son, Aiden.

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Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country. Before then, 13 states banned same-sex marriage because there were no federal mandates that prevented states from doing so. Click for map.

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LGBTQ Rights – Marriage Equality

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“The right of same-sex couples to marry that is part of the liberty promised by the Fourteenth Amendment is derived, too, from that Amendment’s guarantee of the equal protection of the laws.”

“The fundamental liberties protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices defining personal identity and beliefs.”

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Marriage Equality – Supreme Court Ruling

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“In Loving the Court invalidated a prohibition on interracial marriage under both the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause. The Court first declared the prohibition invalid because of its unequal treatment of interracial couples… the prohibition offended central precepts of liberty: “To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State’s citizens of liberty without due process of law.””

“The reasons why marriage is a fundamental right became more clear and compelling from a full awareness and understanding of the hurt that resulted from laws barring interracial unions.”

Marriage Equality – Supreme Court Ruling

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Dissenting Opinion – Justices who don’t agree with a ruling (those who vote no) explain their reasoning in the form of a dissenting opinion:

  • “Although the policy arguments for extending marriage to same-sex couples may be compelling, the legal arguments for requiring such an extension are not. The fundamental right to marry does not include a right to make a State change its definition of marriage.”
  • “…definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman is no historical coincidence. Marriage did not come about as a result of a political movement, discovery, disease, war, religious doctrine, or any other moving force of world history... It arose in the nature of things to meet a vital need: ensuring that children are conceived by a mother and father committed to raising them in the stable conditions of a lifelong relationship.”

Marriage Equality – Dissenting Opinion

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Loving v. Virginia addressed interracial marriage as a civil right.

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If interracial marriage is a civil right

then same-sex marriage should also be a civil right.

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Both were discriminating individuals from marriage.

Marriage as a Civil Right

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�

Loving (2016) Trailer

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    • What is this movie about?
    • Who are the individuals involved?
    • What events influence their actions?
    • What different ideas of love, marriage, and race are represented in the movie?

Loving (2016) – Lesson 1 Classwork

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Discussion Questions - Answers

    • This movie is about the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia.
    • The individuals are Richard Loving and Mildred Loving (née Jeter). They are husband and wife. One night, a cop arrests them because it is illegal for a white and “colored” couple to be married.
    • Their arrest compels them to find a way to fight their conviction. They take their case to the Supreme Court.
    • Characters in the movie have conflicting ideas about who is able to get married. Some believe that people of different races should not be able to marry, while others believe that people should have the choice to love and marry regardless of race.

Loving (2016) – Lesson 1 Classwork

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For homework, read “Representing LGBT Communities” on pages 9 and 10 of the George Takei story and answer the questions on the Lesson 1 Homework Handout.

Lesson 1 Homework

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LGBTQ Civil Rights

LESSON 2

Defining Civil Rights

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What is the main idea of “Representing LGBT Communities?”

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Support your answer with at least two examples or pieces of evidence from the text.

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Quick Write Activity—

Lesson 1 Homework Review:

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  • Civil rights are the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment (and to be free from unfair treatment or discrimination based on certain characteristics, like race or disability)
  • Civil rights are guaranteed by the Constitution or protected by legislation

What are Civil Rights?

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  • Interracial marriage, also known as miscegenation, was illegal through state laws that had been in place since the US colonial era.
  • They were meant to enforce segregation and maintain the “purity” of races.
  • These laws remained in place until 1967.

Interracial Marriage as a Civil Right

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In 1967, through Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled to lift bans on interracial marriage: “Marriage is one of the ‘basic civil rights of man’… The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.”

Interracial Marriage as a Civil Right

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Both Loving v. Virginia and Obergefell v. Hodges extended the freedom of choice to marry on the basis of the 14th Amendment

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Actual Text:

“Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The 14th Amendment

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“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States…”

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Equal Protection Clause: “…nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”

🡪 all people must be treated equally by the law

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Due Process Clause: “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”

🡪 the legal rights of a person to be treated equally and fairly

The 14th Amendment

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  • The 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868 as one of three post-Civil War amendments that abolished slavery and established legal and civil rights for Black Americans
  • Since then, the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of Section 1 have been used in the decisions of landmark civil rights cases, such as:
    • Brown v. Board of Education: ended state-sanctioned racial segregation
    • Roe v. Wade: protected the right to abortion
    • McDonald v. City of Chicago: defended gun possession rights
  • It was also used by Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which further secured civil rights for many groups.

The 14th Amendment

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The Civil Rights Movement

Legislation from the Civil Rights Movement set the precedent for and secured rights for many different groups. Some legislation includes:

  • Brown v. Board of Education (1954)—declared “separate but equal” schools as unconstitutional, a new stage in the Civil Rights Movement
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964—outlaws discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin
  • Immigration and Nationality Act (1965)—reformed immigration laws to allow greater influx of non-white immigrants, which shows one way of how the Civil Rights Movement helped Asian Americans
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965—aimed to overcome legal barriers at local and state levels that prevented African-Americans from exercising their right to vote

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The precedent set by the Civil Rights Movement and the rights it secured illustrates how marriage equality is a civil rights issue:

  • Loving v. Virginia (1967)—ruling: “The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations.”
  • Equal Rights Amendment (1971)—sought to guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of their sex; passes in Congress but not ratified by states
  • Li & Kennedy v. Oregon (2004)—case to determine whether denying same-sex couple the right to marriage violated Oregon Constitution

ruling: Multnomah County lacked the authority to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and the licenses issued were void when issued

  • Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)—ruling: “The Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects.”

The Civil Rights Movement

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The Civil Rights Movement

John Lewis, civil rights activist & US House Representative:

“I fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up and speak up against discrimination against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. I see the right to marriage as a civil rights issue.”

Police officers beating Lewis during a march from Selma, Alabama in 1965.

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Mild—Unit Assignment

Prompt:

Using at least three examples from the close reading and class discussions, write an essay answering the following question:

To what extent was the struggle for marriage equality a continuation of the earlier Civil Rights Movement?

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Spicy—Unit Assignment

Prompt:

Is the United States a place of liberty and justice for all? Cite at least one example from George Takei’s story, one example from class discussions, and a current example related to the LGBTQ community to support your answer.

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Tree Map handout

  • Purpose: helps you structure and organize your essay by serving as an outline
  • Grabber/Hook statement: the opening of your essay—should grab your audience’s attention and make them want to keep reading your essay
  • Thesis statement: the central argument of your essay—should be clear and answer the question in the prompt
  • Conclusion: ties your essay together and restates your thesis statement (not word-for-word) to emphasize your argument

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Lesson 2: Homework [Mild]

Tree Map handout:

Fill out grabber/hook statement and two of the examples you will use to support your thesis statement

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Lesson 2: Homework [Spicy]

Tree Map handout:

Fill out grabber/hook statement and find the current issue/example that you will be using in your essay.

Write the source name, a brief summary of the example, and how it relates to your thesis.

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LGBTQ Civil Rights

LESSON 3

The LGBTQ Movement and Asian Americans

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Read “The LGBT Movement and Asian Americans” on page 10 of George Takei, Leading Man:

  • First Reading: Circle words or phrases that you don’t understand.
    • Begin filling out the Vocabulary Handout as you read and use the blank rows to write down any additional unfamiliar words.
  • Second Reading: Underline the main themes and important people, ideas, and events.
  • Third Reading: Focus on the main person/subject and who/what influenced them.

Reading Strategy: Close Reading

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  • The push for civil rights & equality for gay, lesbian, transgender, and gender non-conforming people has many similarities to racial equality movement.
  • Laws banning same-sex marriage & laws limiting mention of homosexuality are like anti-miscegenation laws which criminalized interracial marriage.
  • Despite a significant proportion of people of color in LGBT community (34% of LGBT Pew Research survey respondents), they are often not represented and visible in mainstream LGBT activism.
  • Recognizing invisibilization of people of color in the movement is important because they face many injustices based on their different identities.
    • Example from reading: Transgender people of color are six times more likely to suffer police violence than white, cisgender people due to a confluence of transphobia and racism.

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Close Reading: Major Themes

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  • Marriage Equality Supreme Court ruling: “The fundamental liberties protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices defining personal identity and beliefs.”
  • Marriage Equality dissenting opinion: “Although the policy arguments for extending marriage to same-sex couples may be compelling, the legal arguments for requiring such an extension are not... definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman is no historical coincidence... It arose in the nature of things to meet a vital need: ensuring that children are conceived by a mother and father committed to raising them in the stable conditions of a lifelong relationship.”

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Lesson 1 & 2 Recap

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In pairs of two—

    • Person A will take three minutes to share their grabber/hook statement and one example they’ll be using in their essay
    • Person B will then have one minute to share any feedback or suggestions they have for Person A
      • Person A should take notes during this so they can use this feedback while writing their essay later!
    • Switch! Now Person B will share for three minutes & Person A will share feedback and suggestions

Lesson 2 Homework—Quick Review

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    • Start off by making any changes to your grabber, thesis, and choice of examples.
    • Fill out the tree map in its entirety, filling in the examples you will be using, supporting details + analysis, and concluding statement.

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Now you’re ready to write your essay!

Completing Your Tree Map & Writing Your Essay

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    • The completed Tree Map handout and a rough draft of your essay will be due at the beginning of Lesson 4.
    • Lesson 4 will focus on revising and editing your rough drafts. At the end of Lesson 4, you will have time to start incorporating this feedback to write your final draft.

Lesson 4 Preview

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LGBTQ Civil Rights

LESSON 4

Editing and Revising

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  • Revising: using the Peer Revision worksheet, determine whether the essay answers every part of the prompt. If the essay does not answer a part of the prompt, note what is missing on the worksheet.
  • Editing: focus on grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and improper punctuation. Circle mistakes as you see them.

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Peer Revising & Editing

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  • You will complete two rounds of revising and editing your peers’ essays.
  • Pass your essay to their left, so everyone has an essay that is not their own. You will have about five minutes to revise and edit that essay.
  • After five minutes, you will pass that essay and the peer review sheet you filled out to the left, so each person now has a new essay that is not their own. You will have another five minutes to revise and edit that essay.
  • Fill out the Peer Revision handout in its entirety for each essay and be sure to edit each essay as well, circling grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and improper punctuation.

Peer Revising & Editing

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  • Using the feedback and edits from your peers, start writing your final draft.
  • Your final draft must be completed for homework and will be due at the beginning of class.

Final Draft

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Curriculum Developers:

Megan Roberto

Prabhneek Heer

Kristy Phan

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LGBTQ Civil Rights

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