The United States is facing a frightening upswing of bias based violence and other related forms of discrimination against a group of its citizens, not unlike that which occurred during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. In this case the victims are those who were born with a sexual orientation which differs from that of the nation's majority. Through no fault of their own, they find themselves the targets of a host of unjustifiable and illegal acts.

It will take a long time, as the history of gay rights has taught us, to get equality and perfect gay civil rights. One example of the battle is seen in how hard gay people have to fight to have a family. Various states do not see gay marriage as a real definition of marriage. It is not a legal contract in any circumstances. Even if two people really do love each other, society dictates that they cannot join as the rest of us do.

Gay civil rights are an area of law that is improving. Many new laws have been instated to make sure that housing and employment opportunities do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. While this is a huge step forward for gay civil rights, it is not guaranteeing that gays are offered the same chances as those who are not gay. Many employers and the like have found ways around these laws, especially in the 'right to work' states.

Statistically, gay hate crimes are in decline. However, that doesn't necessarily indicate that they are happening less often. Since the struggle for homosexual rights is still very much ongoing, many gays are frightened or embarrassed to notify authorities when they are victims of such incidents. For this reason, while the numbers related to reported violence may be right, many occurrences are never talked about or are called in as another type of illegal behavior.

Conservatives are probably the biggest opponents of the gay movement. They tend to be resistant towards change, and prefer tradition over progression. Usually, Conservatives have staunch religious beliefs that fuel their anti-gay sentiment. They feel that gays are against nature, and should be hated for being gay. People are being murdered on a daily basis due to such beliefs.

Gay civil rights are changing. They are being refined to offer more protection from perpetrators of hate crimes. It may never end up being perfect, but we need to learn from the history, from the sixties in America. It is also important for people to start talking and communicating about what is going on. The world needs to know what it needs to stop.

In our present day and age, these crimes are occurring against those that chose a sexual orientation or gender identity outside the norm. By doing this, they may accidentally invite a lot of hate into their lives. The history of gay rights shows us that it will be a long and tedious project to obtain total equality and equal gay civil rights. The battle that many of these people are fighting is seen in the war that gays have fought to simply be a family. Many areas still do not see gay marriage as a legal binding contract.