Gays in the wild wild west.
(A reply to the assertion that men didn't hold hands in California during
the 1850's)
From an email circulating the internet after Californias power problems around
y2k.
Do
you know what happened this week back in 1850, in
California
?
California
became a state. The State had no electricity. The State had no money. Almost
everyone spoke Spanish. There were gunfights in the streets.
Basically,
it was just like
California
today, except the women had real tits, and the men didn't hold
hands
Funny... Right up to the
last comment.
But... I see nothing wrong
with men holding hands. When I walk places with my 9 year old son, a fine
young man, I often hold his hand so that I will worry less about him possibly
wandering off, being kidnapped, or getting hit by a car. I have clasp
the hand of my ex-pastor (a man) during prayer and when thanking him for
his help in difficult times. Had I been with him when he lay dying last week
in the hospital, I would have held his hand. I count you a friend, and if
you ever needed someone to hold your hand, I would be happy to do so. I'm
sure these same things happened in California in 1850.
If you ment to imply that
there were no gay men, this is simply not true. There were certainly gay
men in California in the 1850's. If this were not so, the sodomy laws would
not have been so popular. From:
1801
Though carried out under Spanish law, the last known U.S. death sentence
for sodomy occurs in California. Eighteen-year-old Jose Antonio Rosas is
shot by a firing squad.
1850
California’s
first criminal code is enacted, and includes a ban on sodomy. The law begins
with the preface, “The People of the State of California, represented
in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:”. However, the law was
enacted in April when California still was a territory. It did not become
a state until September, and it is unclear if this made the original law
invalid.
1951 A
California appellate
court rules that Gay
men are vagrant per se, permitting them to be jailed without committing any
criminal act.
There have been gay men
and lesbian women and transgender men and women since the beginning of human
history. And before that, where were gay animals.
Curators say a Norwegian exhibition on
homosexuality among animals has been well received, despite initial indications
of strong opposition. The Oslo Natural History Museum opened the show
last week and says it has been well attended, not least by families. Organisers
reported early criticism of the project, and being told by one opponent they
would "burn in hell".
But there has been strong interest in an aspect of animal behaviour the museum
says is quite common. It says homosexuality has been observed among 1,500
species, and that in 500 of those it is well documented. The exhibition -
entitled Against Nature? - includes photographs of one male giraffe mounting
another, of apes stimulating others of the same sex, and two aroused male
right whales rubbing against each other.
"Homosexuality is a common and widespread phenomenon in the animal world,"
says an exhibition statement. "Not only short-lived sexual relationships,
but even long-lasting partnerships; partnerships that may last a lifetime."
...
While homosexuality would appear to contradict evolutionary imperatives,
scientists involved in the exhibition say it appears to do no harm and may
actually help in some circumstances. Sometimes a pair of male birds may rear
eggs donated by a female.
In the case of flamingos, for instance, "two males can hold a much larger
territory than a regular flamingo pair, thus more chicks can grow up", the
exhibition states.
In some colonies, as many as one in 10 pairs of penguins may be same-sex,
while "in some animals the whole species is bisexual", the exhibition says,
giving bonobo chimpanzees as an example.
G.B.L.T.'s are perfectly
natural. They have always been with us, and always will be. Someday, we
will learn to accept this simple fact of life.
Comments:
-
It is completely natural, and there should be no fear
We hope to reject the all too well known argument that
homosexual behaviour is a crime against nature
