I can't help but to wonder if 2014 is going to be a step back for LGBT rights. Look around, Africa is going full on anti gay. Russia is only getting worse with the Gay hate. Now we have state governments trying to force through legislation to allow discrimination of gay people. I'm not convinced it's getting any better. 2014 is not looking good...
Not at all! What you are witnessing is action (ours) and reaction (theirs). No progress has ever been made without some opposition. I take these reactions to be the unmistakable signs of change for the better! The fight is on folks, no time to sit back and let things happen! There are plenty of things we can do to keep these injustices in the spotlight, and we are doing them, together!
Doesn't mean much if at the same time there is anti-gay genocide in other countries. And just because more states make same sex marriage legal doesn't mean everyone is suddenly okay with homosexuality.
There is not much we can do about what is happening in Russia, we have no power over them. Gays have been killed over there, it wasn't that bad five years ago.
Keep in mind that a lot of gay marriage bans in conservative states are being struck down. These anti-gay bills that allow discrimination are not successful. Even republicans are against them! Anti-gay activists are at an all time rage mode. Their voices are heard the loudest, but that doesn't mean they are winning.
The planet is a big place and there are billions of people on it. At any given moment, for every social advance you hear about, there are some number of bad things happening as well. If all you ever do is focus on the bad things you will become terribly depressed and probably demotivated to try and make the world a better place. In the longer term the trend seems to be toward more people getting more rights. But this is neither a smooth nor pain free process. Feel for the people who are suffering - then get up and start looking around for what you can do to improve the situation. Todd
Depends on where you live in the world. If you live in the cultural West (U.S.A, Canada, Western Europe), LGBT rights are on the march, and we shall achieve even greater victories in the months and years to come. If you life in the east or south, like Russia or an African country, things are probably going to be getting worse. Partly as a response to our success in the West, as rulers of these nations, from Putin to Mugabe to Museveni, thrive off of anti-Western sentiment and claim to be defending their nations from "Western imperialist immorality".
There are gonna be setbacks in overly conservative places like the South, or countries like Russia and the African countries. This setback is the result of the progress made in more liberal parts of the world. But the setback wont be permanent. They just feel threatened, because they know they'll loose sooner or later when it comes to gay rights And there are gonna be more states and countries legalizing gay marriage this year, I guarantee you that. Maybe even a supreme court case that'll legalize it in all the states. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
Frankly, the way I see it is this: The *reactions* to all the Russia/etc crap is GOOD. There once was a time when other countries killing homosexuals would've been normal, or at least "oh it's their business". Not anymore. The fact that so many places around the world DO, or are beginning to, accept homosexuality, means that all the homophobic killings/hate are getting more publicized, producing more anger. And these laws that are trying to be passed in the US? The only *reason* people are pushing for them is because nowadays homosexuals *do* have rights and they don't like that. More and more often homosexuals are being treated with a certain amount of equalness, so suddenly it's more important for the other side to be *heard*, via these bills/laws. At one point in time it wouldn't even be an issue because refusing a gay service would've been commonplace.
