what are the rights of gays in the United States? How many states are PRO Gay rights?
462880
not enough. when all states are pro gay that wil be enough
881879
Depends on the state or country -- in most American states gays cannot marry, in many of them they have no rights if their partners are sick or dying -- in some states they have no rights EVEN IF their partners have left living wills.  In some places they cannot adopt children.  In many places they have no equal protection, so they can be fired from jobs, for example, just for being gay.\n\nIf you go outside the US -- well, in the primarily Muslim countries, it is often punishable by death.  (Think of Iran).\n\nReyn\nbelieveinyou24@yahoo.com
156817
Well, I think the question assumes that gays have more/different rights than anyone else in California.  \n\nThe rights of gays are no different (someone please tell me if I'm wrong here) than the rights of straights.  If straights have the right to do/have/want/get/own something, then so do gays.  \n\nAhh...wait...there's the marriage thing.  Gays do not have the "right" to marry in California.  Argh...(remembering college paper on topic...) if we're talking about marriage in the church, then everybody needs to shut up.  The church can make it's own rules and if you don't want to play by them, take your ball and go home.  However, I certainly would agree that the government should afford gays all the exact same rights as straights, as to those matters the government can control.\n\nAm I missing something?  If I am, someone please straighten me out.   \n\nSorry - about the question: I have to believe interested persons can google "gay rights california" and come up with something.
534502
1) Gays can't get insurance or benefits for their spouses.\n2) Gays still risk losing their jobs if "outed".\n3) Gays are still persecuted by the police.\n4) Gay bashings still happen daily.\n5) Gay marriages are not recognized by the state.\n6) Gays are still denied adoption rights.\n\nHeterosexuals can visit their critically injured partners in the emergency room and ICU...homosexuals can't.\n\nHeterosexuals can inherit from their partners without expecting a raft of legal sh*t from their partner's parents...homosexuals can't.\n\nFor those supporters out there that point to the majority of citizens who wish gay marriage to remain illegal, I just want to remind everyone that a majority of people did not want to end segregation; it took the courts to do that. A majority of people did not want to end slavery; a majority did not want to go to war against the British in 1775. Luckily for us, though, we have a Constitution that is supposed to protect us from the tyranny of the majority.
116272
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."  Thomas Jefferson. If my neighbor is gay it doesn't hurt me either, there is also no scientific studies that proove two gay parents will raise a gay child either. This is America we live in.
267471
There are many bodies out there who are gay.\n\nWhat planet are you from?
926406
Massachusetts allows gay marriage.  (as does Canada, Sweden, Holland and various other countries).  VT has civil unions with the same rights.  NJ will pass a law within months either establishing gay unions or gay marriage.  NY is heading toward, but not at, gay unions.  \n\nWest Virginia still has a law on the books prohibiting gays completely -- but the law is unenforced and unenforceable -- a leftover of an older day.  As for Ohio -- I don't know but I believe that it is barred there as well, but I know homosexuality itself is legal.\n\nHope that helps,\n\nReynolds Jones\nbelieveinyou24@yahoo.com
853875
"Is it considered discrimination when homosexuals do not have the same rights as heterosexuals." [?]\n\nThat depends on who you ask. "Considered" by whom?\n\nOne of the vaguest laws in America is the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. If you want to learn a lot about how confused and confusing that Clause is, I suggest you read a book called "The Constitutional Underclass: Gays, Lesbians, and the Failure of Class-Based Equal Protection," by Evan Gerstmann, published in 1999.
747548
I don't know if marriage is a basic human right.  Living with dignity, access to clean water and decent food, those seem like human rights.\n\nMarriage is a convenient financial arrangement.  For that reason I think legal unions between gays should be allowed.  Right now a partner cannot be "next of kin" if the other is in the hospital.  Most employers and states don't recognize a partner as a beneficiary or a dependent for insurance.  Gay couples should have the same rights for this.  \n\nFor the people who are against it, I am not sure why.  It really doesn't affect them.  I also don't get why gays are barred from adopting children.  Is a kid better off bouncing around from group home or foster home to foster home?  Don't you think that kid would choose a stable loving household over institutional care?
776832
Geography has no relation to whether someone is gay or not.  Being registered to vote  is the same proportion as it is with straights.\n\nEstimates for percentage are between 5-10% of the population.
657636
Definityly gay people should be protected by law. Because there is discrimination against gay people. Therefore, there must be protection. Society can not be change in one day. So, law is very important. There are many details in each country according to this subject. For example in my country, in Turkey, there isn't any law mentioning homosexualism, or punishing it. However, there isn't any law against discrimination, either. You can find the detailed current legal situation of gay people in several countries, in this site:
1100443
Gays are roughly 10% of the American population. Homophobes are rather more than that. Do the math. The Republican party will be decimated if it concentrates on any of the matters it's been so negligent about in the past six years. So the important thing is to create a smokescreen - choose a (completely innocent) scapegoat, and pounce on it. Get the people wasting their time worrying about two people living their lives and not hurting other people and hope that they'll forget about all of the things that matter that have become worse over the last six years. It's the simplest of political tactics and they've gotten away with it time and time again.\n\n----------------\n\nA few sentences from Bush's 2006 State of the Union address:\n\n"To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another."\n\n"Every step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer -- so we will act boldly in freedom's cause."\n\n"Far from being a hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great story of our time."\n\n"Liberty is the right and hope of all humanity."\n\n"America is a great force for freedom and prosperity. Yet our greatness is not measured in power or luxuries, but by who we are and how we treat one another. So we strive to be a compassionate, decent, hopeful society."\n\nIf hypocrisy were a form of currency, America could have paid off its national debt in a single day!
192038
Individually, gay and lesbian individuals already have constitutional rights as citizens of the U.S..  \n\nI DO NOT favor amending the Constitution just because someone opposes gay and lesbian relationships/people. \nGays and Lesbians are human beings, their sexual preference is their choice and business, and noone, especially Government, has a right to discriminate against them for any reason. There are gay and lesbian individuals in all communities.  They work and pay taxes like every other citizen. They take care of homes and raise families too, so why discriminate against them.
549201
Yes many gays find love and devote themselves to one another. Have you seen on the news how many gays wanted to get gay marriage legalized.
901850
Boomer KINDA has a point. But gays should have rights, not as a group, but as individuals. Why shouldn't they have the right to get married and be miserable just like everybody else(except me, I'm not miserable.)?
676491
Gay marriage is a very stupid campaign issue.  There are about 1000 issues that are more important.  But I think the reason Laura Bush said that is because Republicans should realize that anyone campaigning against gay marriage will be on the wrong side of history in the long run.
700329
Why do Republicans push for discrimination at the national level? Republicans fought against rights for women and blacks. Now gays. Why do Republicans fear gays?