Hillary Clinton's Speech - Beneficial or No?

Valeria Giberti

December 7, 2011

World Politics – Professor Craig

Briefing Paper

Hillary Clinton’s Speech – Beneficial or No?

Discrimination against the LGBT community has been an issue in politics for decades, but only in the last few years has it grown to become an important dilemma in the U.S. On December 6^th, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a bold and risky speech to the U.N. condemning the discrimination of gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual people. Her speech had an enormous impact in the U.S. as well as all over the world. Her main claim was that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” (Clinton). Throughout her entire speech, she refers back to this statement, which enforces the idea that all humans born have human rights; since LGBT people are also human, that gives them the right to possess human rights. The main goal of this speech was to raise awareness of the problem and to persuade the U.N. members to instill the same belief in their countries. Although the LGBT people are humans and deserve to have better treatment, the government has no way to implement the respect for human rights without violating some of the rights on the way. Also, one government cannot expect for all of the nations or citizens of the nations to have the same mentality about this issue. However, there are two sides to every story. No person should be denied to have human rights. The speech was made with good intentions, but it raised more commotion than good.

According to the United Nations, human rights refer to “rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status,” (What are Human Rights). Based on this definition, Secretary Clinton’s assertions are correct and justified. Because the LGBT people are human, they are equally entitled to have human rights without discriminations and/or persecutions. Some of these rights include: the right of sexual orientation or preference, freedom of speech, the right to practice religion or religious beliefs in public, the right to own property, the right to have an opinion that is different than that of it’s government, freedom of expression, etc. Most of these rights are considered to be universal human rights, which means that the government should do everything in its power to protect them. Sadly, governments are not taking the LGBT problems seriously. “In many countries lesbians, gays, and bisexuals are denied equality in rights before the law,” (Sexual Orientation and Human Rights). The LGBT are being deprived of basic rights just because of their sexual orientation. So, just because they are different, they are not human? If they are not being granted human rights, then the governments and the other citizens do not see them as being humans.

This discrimination happened right in our back yards. In 2004, President Bush endorsed a constitutional amendment that restricted a marriage just between a man and a woman, but it left the possibility for each state to allow or decline civil unions between gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. He imposed this amendment after the Mayor of Massachusetts allowed the marriage between gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The amendment stated that, "The union of a man and a woman is the most enduring human institution, honored and encouraged in all cultures and by every religious faith. Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society," (Bush). However, President Bush was only acting on what he thought was the good for the people; many people still believed that the LGBT community should be treated as second-class citizens. Because President Bush was afraid to lose supporters, he decided to overrule the Massachusetts bill. This marked many of the attempts of the States to allow the LGBT community to have human rights, but was denied by the government, causing their sovereignty to be overlooked.

The US has been very accepting with having same-sex marriage and has shown a little discontent towards the LGBT community having human rights. However, there are cultures around the world that see homosexuality as a crime, and even a crime punishable by death. “The concept of same-sex union is still illegal in 76 nations and punishable by death in five countries - Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Yemen and Sudan,” (Shah). Although Secretary Clinton’s worries have been acknowledged, other nation’s governments are not going to change what they believe in just because one person with some power told them to do something. The same concept works with people. Citizens that do not like the LGBT community and will not support the LGBT community having rights will express how they feel in whatever way they believe is appropriate. They can throw protests because they have the freedom of speech and they can write newspaper article about their beliefs because have the freedom of press. If the government was to stop the discrimination, it would have to take these basic rights from its citizens. Although it is not right to deprive someone of his/her human right, whether gay, lesbian, or straight, people’s mindsets are not going to change, especially if their religion says to discriminate against the LGBT community.

Hillary Clinton’s speech sparked a lot discussion on the LGBT community and their rights. Although governments have been doing a lot to promote equality for the community, they cannot do much without overstepping sovereignty or other people’s rights. The constant globalization needs the nations to agree on a set of principles on this issue, so no further arguments can be made. However, the constant evolution in people's mindsets is not shared all over the world, so there is always going to be discontent and debate on this specific topic.

Works Cited

"Bush Calls for Ban on Same-sex Marriages - CNN." Featured Articles from CNN. 25 Feb. 2004. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .

"Sexual Orientation and Human Rights." Human Rights Education Associates. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .

"What Are Human Rights?" United Nations Human Rights. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .

Clinton, Hillary. "Hillary Clinton On Gay Rights Abroad: Secretary Of State Delivers Historic LGBT Speech In Geneva (VIDEO, FULL TEXT)." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .

Shah, Sabir. "Homosexuality Permitted in 113 Countries, Illegal in 76." The News International: Latest, Breaking, Pakistan, Sports & Video News. 9 July 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .