When did same-sex marriage become an issue?

Answer 1

Homosexuality has always been a political issue. Dating as far back as 2000B.C. the only difference is that any one found to be gay would executed or castrated. as the years went by homosexuality became more politically involoved when we started fighting for our rights. rights like marriage, adoption, filin taxes jointly, and many more. We still fight today but the biggest homosexual political event was the Stonewall Riots in NYC when a large number of homosexuals were kicked out local clubs. in the western world the 1960s was the time when people started to question orthodox wisdom and it grew from there. We are at a point now where homosexuality is becoming part of an acceptable reality.

Answer 2

Depends on what culture you're talking about and what you mean by "issue".

Early European Christians apparently got the idea of claiming that the Messiah would return in the year 1000, perhaps as a recruitment device. When the year 1000 came (and went) without the appearance of the Messiah, it was necessary to find someone to blame, and there was an upsurge in prosecution of heresy and other presumed violations of Biblical precepts.

Another possible explanation is the struggle between the Church and secular powers. Accusations of impropriety were thrown back and forth, and suggestions of homosexual "sin" in same-sex monasteries and convents were easy to make and hard to disprove. At the same time, the Church was sometimes able to unseat uncooperative rulers by accusing them of heresies including "corruption of the young" and homosexuality.

A deeper source of concern is the misconception (forgive the pun) that sperm was in short supply and shouldn't be "wasted". Consequently, any non-procreative sexual activity (among men -- apparently there wasn't much concern about lesbians) was labeled "sinful."

This same scapegoating strategy led to persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the bizarre claim by Communists that "homosexuality is a Capitalist disease."

More recently, the spread of Christian fundamentalist missionaries has led to the rise of hostility toward homosexuals in some newly "Christianized" communities in Africa.

Answer 3

In 1970, two Minnesota men attempted to obtain a marriage license and were denied. They appealed, but lost at the state level, so they appealed to the US Supreme Court. The appeal was rejected because the US Supreme Court found no Federal issue. The question was not raised again until the 1990's in Hawaii.

In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme court ruled that the state law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples was unconstitutional unless the discriminatory policy could be justified, and sent the issue back to the lower court to determine if there was, in fact, a justification. No justification was found, but in 1998 the Hawaii constitution was amended to prohibit same-sex marriage, making the Supreme Court case moot. Since then, the issue has been raised repeatedly in various states.

Answer 4

The legality of Same-sex marriages first became an issue in 342 A.D. when they were outlawed in the Roman Empire by a Christian Roman Emperor.

The issue began being raised in the 70s after the APA voted in conference that homosexuality was a sexual orientation not a mental illness. Also in that decade, the state of California made all its laws gender-neutral, causing some to believe that there was now a loophole for same-sex marriage.

In the 1990s, the issue of possible legalization was again raised in Hawaii, causing the Congress to pass the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

Answer 5

Homosexual acts have been a concern in some cultures throughout recorded history. In some cases, they were of minor concern, in other cases they came to have critical importance. The idea of homosexual persons, however, did not arise in Europe until the 19th century.

In the United States, homosexuality got little attention until the First World War, when a number of men who had previously been isolated "discovered" each other while in the military. After the war, these men tended to settle along the coasts, where they found it easier to establish relationships in larger cities like New York and San Francisco. Even then, most people weren't too concerned, since most homosexuals were "closeted" -- hidden from casual view.

In the 1950's, however, some politicians used "the threat of homosexuality" to get votes and political power. US Senator Joseph McCarthy was among those who claimed that the government was "riddled with homosexuals" who would -- somehow -- allow Communists to take over the country. Small groups of homosexuals staged various peaceful protests, mostly in the New York - Washington D. C. corridor, but the movement remained low key until the "sexual revolution" of the 1960's.

In 1969, a group of drag queens (homosexual men who performed as women in drag shows) and their friends revolted against police harassment by taking over the Stonewall Bar in New York for 3 days, launching the modern gay rights movement in the United States.

Answer 6

The Church has no issue with homosexuality per se. It does have an issue with homosexual acts, such as anal sex, which it considers as sodomy and a grave sin. This dates well back into the Old Testament - remember Sodom and Gomorrah?

Answer 7

It started in New York, on June 28, 1969 with the Stonewall Riots.