Rights of Gays and Lesbians

Opposers of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement have accused gays of seeking special treatment and seeking to introduce quotas to employment regulations. Gays serving in the armed forces are typically categorized as representing a security risk. President Clinton's Executive Order was opposed by House representatives who drafted an amendment to the Treasury/Postal Service appropriations bill that would prohibit the expenditure of funds to implement, administer or enforce the order. Other citizen groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention, called on the president to rescind the order.

A key issue argued in courts, in scientific studies and in public debates is whether gay men and women choose to be gay or if it is genetic. In the Supreme Court's first case addressing the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians, Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) lawyers supporting gays used choice-affirming arguments and lost.