The process of coming out is not well understood by the
straight world. Coming out has been compared to being reborn or
having an immense weight lifted. Some have said it is a time when a
life of deception and lies is abandoned for a life of honesty.
Much of the gay rights movement is involved with this issue. Whether
it is gays in the military, domestic partner benefits, civil rights
legislation, etc, the issue at the center of the struggle is
the goal of creating a safe and nurturing environment where people can
be honest about their sexual orientation.
Goto section dealing with coming out.
Families that are comprised of anything but a married man and wife
face much discrimination in our society. Even though only about 20%
of American families meet the definition of a
traditional family with a husband and a wife that stays at home
with the children, our society has been slow to respond to the
One method that has gained popularity for dealing with same-sex
couples and their families is domestic partnership. Until
states begin to sanction same-sex unions as they do opposite-sex
unions, domestic partnerships offer employers and local municipalities
a remedy to the state's discrimition. Definions of domestic
partnerships often require the couple to state that they live
together, share responsibility for each others welfare, and require
documentation of financial entanglements, such as a shared morgage or
bank account. If you'd like to learn more about his issue, visit my
Domestic Partner page
I also maintain the internet domestic partners mailing list. If you'd
to subscribe or get more information, click here to send mail to
firstname.lastname@example.org. For information, the body of your
message should be
info domestic. To subscribe, the body of the message should be
subscribe domestic user@host
Gays, lesbians and bisexuals have played important roles throughout
history. Whether its Alan Turing's contributions to the Allied war
effort during World War II, Walt Whitman's influence on modern
American poetry, or Eleanor Roosevelt's secret relationships with
women, gays and lesbians have had an influence.
gay and lesbianhistory page
section on gays in the military
Scientific evidence for a genetic basis of sexual
There is a longstanding debate about whether human sexuality is a
learned trait or is pre-programmed. I highly recommend Dean Hamer's book
The Science of Desire for anyone interested in this subject. The
articles in this page were collected from the net.
scientific inquiry into the origins of human sexuality.
In contemporary society, may members of the radical right use religion
as an excuse for discrimination against gay men and lesbians. On the
other hand, many religious groups are accepting of gay men and
lesbians, and many gay men and lesbians have found ways to explore
their spirituality. This section explores these issues.
Political and legal
Within the past 25 years, a number of political and legal issues have come
the forefront of American politics. This section deals with issues of
privacy, gay rights and anti-gay rights initiatives, same-sex
marriages and other political issues. Articles published in the
internet journal National Journal of Sexual Orientation Law
are also available from this page.