Throughout history people who manifested an attraction for others of the same sex usually have gone through a lot of maltreatments, discrimination, and have often been regarded as “sexual deviants.” Relationships between people of the same sex have been present since the beginning of history. Their lives have not always been easy, because they have been persecuted and sometimes even forced to go through a psychiatric evaluation. At the same time, in order to gain their rights and dignity, they had to take their fight to the legal system because as George Chauncey, a professor of history at Yale University mentioned, “although most people recognize that gay life was difficult before growth of the gay movement in the 1970s, they often have only the vaguest sense of why: that gay people were scorned and ridiculed, made to feel ashamed, afraid, and alone” (290). However, discrimination and maltreatment were not the only reasons homosexuals had to take their struggle to the courts. An American professor of history at Yale University, who has testified in a number of gay rights cases, has exposed the ins and outs of the legal system in the second half of the twentieth century.
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Merriam-Webster defines equality as the “quality or state of having the same rights, social status, etc.” This value is one that is societal, meaning it is followed relating to society. It is seen that denying equality promotes discrimination in society, and leaves room for unconstitutional judgment. Within the duties of the United States Constitution, citizen’s rights are protected. Because equality is protected under the Constitution, it is a civil right. Same-sex marriage should be legalized in all states because equal rights should be given to all citizens, not just some.