Gay Reparations Are Past Due

A gay pride flag hangs at half-staff during a memorial service for the victims of Florida’s Pulse nightclub shooting in San Diego, California, on June 12, 2016. (Source: SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

It may seem surprising to American readers, but one of the most vibrant human rights movements around the world today is “gay reparations,” or policies intended to make amends for the legacy of systemic discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In the last decade alone, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom have embraced gay reparations.

This article is adapted from The Case for Gay Reparations, Omar G. Encarnación, Oxford University Press, 216 pp., $24.95, June 1, 2021.