The year that was 2011 seemed bogged down with partisan bickering, pre-election campaigning and word of the awful treatment of LGBT people in foreign countries.
But domestically, 2011 was a year of progress on the road to equality in the LGBT community and cause for multiple celebrations.
This was the year the military finally dropped its â┚¬Å”Don't Ask Don't Tellâ┚¬Â policy, allowing for the first time gay and lesbian members of the military to serve openly. It's also the year marriage equality conquered New York; and it was in the spring of 2011 that the Obama Administration announced it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits same-sex marriages from being recognized on a federal level.
For sure, 2011 will be looked upon fondly as a mile marker in the road toward equality.
Marriage takes the Big Apple
In June, just as New York's LGBT community was celebrating Pride month, New York State legalized same-sex marriage, literally sparking celebratory dancing in the streets outside Stonewall Inn, where the LGBT civil rights movement began more than 40 years ago.
The Human Rights Campaign was at the forefront of the fight for marriage equality and released more than 30 videos featuring celebrities, sports and media figures, every day people and politicians to give a voice to marriage for all. Testimonies featured Barbara Bush, New York Rangers forward Sean Avery and actress Julienne Moore.
The videos received more than a million views on YouTube and earned plenty of media attention, putting faces with the issue of marriage equality.
While California's Prop 8, banning same-sex marriage, still wades through legal inroads toward appeal, New York's approval of same-sex marriage helped fuel a movement to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, of which its constitutionality the Obama Administration announced it would no longer defend.
While Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) has pledged to defend DOMA and has earmarked millions of dollars to do so, there's a movement to repeal the so-called â┚¬Å”marriage protectionâ┚¬Â law, which has the support of most Democrats and some Republicans. In September, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) became the first Republican Member of Congress to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act.
â┚¬Å”Getting the federal government out of playing favorites when it comes to marriage shouldn't be a partisan issue,â┚¬Â said HRC president Joe Salmonese. â┚¬Å”Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen is a longstanding advocate for our equality and has shown that respect for our community, and our marriages, is a mainstream and bipartisan principle. With the American people strongly supportive of DOMA repeal, we will continue to work with members of both parties to end this discrimination once and for all.â┚¬ÂÂ
In other positive marriage equality news, initiatives to put same-sex marriage up for votes in Iowa and Washington D.C., where gay marriage is legal, failed in 2011. That means both Iowa and D.C. will continue to be Meccas for marriage equality, along with New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont.
While they are often viewed as a path toward â┚¬Å”separate but equal,â┚¬Â many in the LGBT community still celebrated several civil unions laws that were passed in four states in 2011.
Illinois, Rhode Island, Delaware and Hawaii all passed legislation that would allow same-sex and opposite-sex couples to file state taxes jointly, rather than as individuals. The civil unions do not allow couples to enjoy some 1,000-plus benefits afforded by federal marriage, however, and marriage equality battles are ongoing in multiple states.
Don't Ask Don't Tell to Don't Worry
On Sept. 20, the nearly two-decade policy prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces finally came to an end. Don't Ask Don't Tell, created in 1993, was repealed and now service men and women cannot be discharged simply because of their sexual orientation.
It also gives dismissed service people a chance to re-enlist, which is exactly what Dan Choi planned to do immediately following the policy's death.
â┚¬Å”Going back to the military will be a vindication,â┚¬Â Choi said. â┚¬Å”I'm going back because I fought to go back.â┚¬ÂÂ
Choi became the face of â┚¬ËœDADT' after his sexuality became known during an appearance on the Rachael Maddow Show.
LGBTs in history
In July, California became the first state to require public schools to teach gay and lesbian history. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that mandates that the contributions of gays and lesbians in the state and the country be included in social science instruction and in textbooks. The new law must be implemented by January 2012.
â┚¬Å”This is definitely a step forward, and I'm hopeful that other states will follow,â┚¬Â said Mark Leno, a California openly gay state senator, who sponsored the bill. â┚¬Å”We are failing our students when we don't teach them about the broad diversity of human experience.â┚¬ÂÂ
The state already requires schools to teach students about the contributions of some other minority groups, including black people and women. But until now, gay figures like Harvey Milk received little mention in state-approved textbooks.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature passed a similar bill in 2006, but Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who was then the governor, vetoed it.
Gay Rights get global attention
In her speech on LGBT rights in recognition of International Human Rights Day in early December, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton forcefully stated that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” The speech and other actions by President Obama commit U.S. foreign policy to advancing gay rights internationally.
“I speak about this subject knowing that my own country's record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect,â┚¬Â Clinton added. â┚¬Å”Many LGBT Americans have endured violence and harassment in their own lives, and for some, including many young people, bullying and exclusion are daily experiences. So we, like all nations, have more work to do to protect human rights at home.â┚¬ÂÂ
Clinton's landmark speech was greeted with mixed reactionsâ┚¬â€Âwith more conservative countries and conservatives in America saying her focus was misguided. However, her speech coincided with a White House release of a presidential memorandum outlining a robust strategy to deal with human rights abuses of LGBT people.
â┚¬Å”Secretary Clinton distinguished herself as a legendary champion of rights for all people, including those of us who are LGBT,â┚¬Â Solmonese said. â┚¬Å”In a remarkable speech to an international audience, the Secretary showed the power of American leadership that calls on the world to live up to the idea that all people are entitled to basic human rights and dignity.â┚¬ÂÂ
And that helps cap of a powerful year for LGBT advances in the nation, the world and by President Obama, Solmonese said.
â┚¬Å”There is no question that the administration's record of advancing equality for LGBT people has been enhanced by the leadership of Secretary Clinton,â┚¬Â he said. â┚¬Å”It is clear that this administration will not turn its head when governments commit or allow abuses of the human rights of LGBT people. Additionally, Secretary Clinton's message directly to LGBT people around the world that they have an ally in the United States sends a powerful message.â┚¬ÂÂ
