Rutgers LGBT History
LGBT NJ and Rutgers University
The University Community Working Alongside State Legislature
National Impact:
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Wikipedia definition of the legislation
The Matthew Shepard Act, officially the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, is an Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (H.R. 2647). This measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The bill also: removes the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally-protected activity, like voting or going to school; gives federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue; provides $5 million per year in funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes; requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track statistics on hate crimes against transgender people (statistics for the other groups are already tracked). The Act is the first federal law to extend legal protections to transgender persons.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME.
In this Act--
(1) the term `crime of violence' has the meaning given that term in section 16, title 18, United States Code;
(2) the term `hate crime' has the meaning given such term in section 280003(a) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (28 U.S.C. 994 note); and
(3) the term `local' means a county, city, town, township, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State.
Amendment involving Gender Identity
(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR DISABILITY-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, in any circumstance described in subparagraph (B) or paragraph (3), willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of any person.
New Jersey:
"III. Current New Jersey Law Pertaining to Sexual Orientation". Final Report of the Task Force on Gay and Lesbian Issues. New Jersey Supreme Court.*
Laws directed at the rights of individuals on the basis of sexual orientation are relatively new, though in the past New Jersey lawmakers and courts have considered the subject in a variety of settings. Such settings have concentrated solely on individual situations and others have entailed a larger scale, but ultimately these have affected and continue to change societal norms.
I. There was a striking, early attempt to regulate sexual conduct in New Jersey in an 1898 criminal statue prohibiting sodomy. It read as follows:
This law was repealed in 1978.
Even before sexual orientation became protected under New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law, recognition of the rights for queer individuals was emerging.
II. The most important legal expression of protection against social orientation discrimination is found in the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”).
This legislation prohibits discrimination based on an assortment of classifications including race, gender, age, etc.) in the areas of employment, housing, and public places. The law was amended in 1991 to include “affectional or sexual orientation” as a prohibited basis of discrimination. This is defined as: “male or female heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality by inclination, practice, identity or expression, having a history thereof or being perceived, presumed or identified by others as having such an orientation.” N.J.S.A 10:5-5hh.
Many cases arise involving employment discrimination, but sexual orientation is in fact protected in this context. It is unlawful to refuse to hire or employ someone, or to bar from employment, fire or force such person to retire for discriminatory purposes. Employers may not inquire about sexual orientation on employment applications.
Gays and lesbians are afforded nearly all the legal rights and protections to which all other New Jersey citizens are entitled. New Jersey is in the forefront among the states, many of which have yet to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination.
New Jersey created civil unions for same-sex couples in legislation. This was passed on December 14 2006. It is the
functional equivalent of marriage.
A bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state has been introduced in the House and Senate. President of the New Jersey Senate Richard Codey promises a vote on it on December 7, 2009.
The links provided below give more detailed information regarding the legal state of language and protection under New Jersey state law. Same-sex sexual activity legal Legal since 1978 Gender identity/expression Sex change recognized
Recognition of relationships Civil unions since 2007
Restrictions: No marriage
Adoption: Same-sex couples may adopt jointly
Discrimination protections: Sexual orientation and gender identity
Civil Unions legislation passed at the end of 2006 and they have been recognized since 2007
The following link leads to a page from the Attorney General’s office which contains Civil-Rights posters with information about specific anti-discrimination laws in New Jersey:
http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/posters.html#posters
Rutgers:
In 1969, three months after the Stonewall Riots in NYC, Lionel Cuffie, a sophomore at Rutgers College at the time, founded the first LGBT organization at Rutgers, also the first “out” organization in New Jersey, the Rutgers Student Homophile League. The original constitution of the organization included language about being open and honest with family and friends, putting a final end to police harassment, the complete dissolution of laws banning homosexuality, and ending discriminatory practices of the government against homosexuals.
In 1976 Homophile League members decided to change the organization’s name to the Rutgers Gay Alliance in order that they would not be likened with their predecessors who had chosen not to respond to or protest homophobic effigies and actions presented by the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Following this change, the LGBT student leaders on campus spent four years protesting the fraternity’s homophobic actions and displays, though at times to an un-moved University administration.
In 1981 Rutgers became one of the first universities to adopt policies which barred discrimination on the basis of sexual identity and orientation.
In 1983 the name of the LGBT organization was changed to the Rutgers University Lesbian/Gay Alliance.
In 1987 Susan Cavin, a professor in the Women’s Studies Program released the results of the “Rutgers Sexual Orientation Survey”.
In 1987 the “Select Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns” was created to judge the quality of LGBT life on campus and what, if any, alterations needed to be made to University policy in order to keep the school a safe and welcoming place to people of all orientations.
In 1989, the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Rutgers Homophile League, the Select Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns released “In Every Classroom,” a report which would go on to become a working model for universities and organizations across the country.
In 1992 the Office of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian and Gay Concerns was created.
In 1993 Rutgers began offering full partner benefits to individuals engaged in Civil Unions as well as other types of domestic partnerships not legally recognized as “marriage” under state or federal law.
In 2001 there existed a total of 10 LGBT student organizations at Rutgers University.
Currently, in 2009, there are 4 main LGBT student organizations at Rutgers-New Brunswick, most of whom have joined forces with Garden State Equality to try to ensure the successful future of the same-sex marriage bill.
- All information on this page was attained from these sources:
Beyond Polarities
