In every colony, sodomy was a capital offense-at least five men were executed during this era-and other homosexual acts, from “sodomitical practices” to lewdness between women, were punished with whippings and fines. Colonial statutes severely punished homosexual activity. In Connecticut, the wording was taken from Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death their blood shall be upon them.” The statute remained so worded until the 1820s. The language of colonial sodomy statutes was drawn from the Bible. For seventeenth-century settlers, with a precarious foothold on the edge of an unknown continent, the metaphor of an angry God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah must have been potent. The English carried these beliefs to North America, and the power of religion in early America guaranteed that such beliefs would shape colonial attitudes.Ĭolonial ministers spoke out frequently against the “sin of Sodom,” castigating its appearance and warning of its dangers. Homosexual behavior was thereafter excoriated as a heinous sin. But with the recodification of canon law under the influence of Thomas Aquinas, new attitudes set in. Until the thirteenth century, the Christian tradition was ambiguous in its attitude toward homosexuality. Religion has been of central importance in shaping this climate.
By making gay men and lesbians the object of scorn, this hostility has kept much homosexual behavior hidden. Since the seventeenth century, homosexuality has been the target of condemnation and discriminatory laws, public policies, social customs, and cultural beliefs. Throughout history those sharing homosexual interests have formed clubs, societies and special locations to share and explore their interest in homosexuality. Buddies Private Men’s Club is a private club established December 2003 exclusively for men sharing homosexual interests.Īs demonstrated by the following history of homosexuality, the Buddies Private Club’s roots run deep.