Unequal Rights to Homosexual Americans

In todays modern society, one would like to think that we have progressed into a country that has granted equal rights and equal treatment to all of the people within its boarders. One would like to think that people within our country aren’t discriminated agiasnt due to their beliefs, sexuality, gender or skin color, but they are. Discrimination within the United States is a major social problem and can take many forms, against a wide varity of people. Today, I would like to discuss discrimination against homosexual Americans. I would like to look at this social issue of homosexual discrimination from the structural functionalism method. A structural functionalist looks at society as a bunch of interworking systems. These systems or structures all need to function properly in order for society as a whole to function properly. Looking at this social issue of homosexual discrimination from a functionalist persepective, I will look at flaws within the structures of society that could be causing this social issue.

To begin, I would like to point out some of the main froms of discrimination agaist homosexuals today.  Discrimination against homosexuals often comes in the from of unequal rights and unequal treatment.  In most states, homosexuals are not allowed to get married and are not allowed to receive the benefits that other heterosexual couples would receive. Homosexuals who are married  legally, are limited to the places they would like to live because some states such as Texas and Utah do not recognize homosexual marriages. Although the Homosexual Rights Moevment has gained a lot in the last fourty years, homosexual couples are still not treated as complete equals.

I see this social issue as originating from a flaw within many structures in society. I find the most prominent of these to be the strucure of government. A flaw in the government has caused this unequal treatment of homosexuals. The government, weather it be federal or state, is not providing proper legislation that would allow homosexuals to receive the same rights and benefits that heterosexual couples do. By not providing legislation to end the discrimination of homosexuals, the government structres are causing this social problem within society, and to fix the social problem, we must turn our heads to fixing the governement. If we were to fix the flaw within the government structure, the social issue of discrimination against homosexuls would make great progress. They would recive equal rights, leading to a better functioning society as a whole.

References:

Scott, Christopher. "Utah and Gay Divorce." Salt Lake Tribune [Salt Lake City] 17 July 2011, n. pag. Print. <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52146084-82/gay-divorce-doesn-marriage.html.csp>.

Unknown, . "The American Gay Rights Movement." Infoplease.com. High Beam Research, n.d. Web. 22 Nov 2011. <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html>.

Many. "Same-Sex marriage in the United States." Same-Sex marriage in the United States. Web. 22 Nov 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States>.