Homosexuality
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Laws against GaysIn regards to the law’s view on homosexuals, there was a very clear stance. First of all, there were numerous laws at the time that banned all homo sexual acts (77). There was no legal outlet for any kind of sexual life for these individuals. They were constantly targeted by police who would routinely patrol place with a lot of homosexual activity. Plainclothes cops would trick gay into “…drawing indecent proposals” (78) which would get the individual arrested. What exactly would the individual be charged with? Most arrests made were under the crime of sex offender or they would be called “sexual psychopaths (78).” There was this idea that gays were always pernicious and that they were less likely to be in marriages. It is also important to note that many cops often infiltrated “gay bars” and would rarely arrest anyone in there. Rather, they made it clear that they were there to do irregular harassment. The goal was never to shut down the bars eventually, but just to make their presence known by harassing the attendees and business owner of the gay bar (81). Another major point is that police would act vigorously in cases that involved minors, but the overall attitude of police towards homosexuals was to “live and let live.” Overall, dealing with police was difficult and the laws put against homosexuals made everything that much harder. Finally, it is important to note that these laws were not made to protect a victim separate from the wrongdoer. In this case, the wrongdoer and the “victim” are both the same person.
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