Only four senators voted against the bill to ban gay conversion therapy — one of them was Kenneth P. LaValle, the representative for most of eastern Long Island and namesake of Stony Brook’s sports stadium.
Imri Kalmann shared his experience of what it means to be gay in Israel at the event “Understanding the LGBTQ movement in Israel,” held by Stony Brook Hillel.
As people are becoming more aware of themselves and the people around them, there are many more options to identify with in terms of sexual and romantic orientation.
The most interesting argument against gay marriage I’ve heard is the famous “Where does it end?” defense. If gays can marry, what’s stopping polygamy, pedophilia, zoophilia?
This year, New York became the tenth of 15 states and the District of Columbia to legalize gay marriage. But in the United States, men who have sex with other men still cannot donate blood. On Nov. 6, Stony Brook University’s Blood Donor Equality movement presented “The Blood Donor Policy Panel” in the Charles B. Wang Center Theatre. The event highlighted both social and scientific perspectives on the ban.
It is apparent that we are coming to a turning point in American history. The issue of homosexual rights, the civil rights issue of our time, is hitting a crescendo that has manifested itself in the hearing of two Supreme Court cases this month: the case against the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 from California. There is reason to believe that the Supreme Court will tilt the balance in favor of marriage equality later this year, but this social change in American society must be handled delicately should we want it to last.
