Discrimination Against LGBT Community

The state of Mississippi just recently signed into law that allows businesses to deny service to gay couples. This bill called HB 1523 signed into law by Governor Phil Bryant is being called the religious freedom bill. The bill now signed into law has received major backlash from the entire United States during the almost two weeks that it has been enacted. The Governor has made statements saying that the bill was signed into law to protect religious beliefs and the convictions held by the individuals associated with private businesses and organizations. Many major organizations including the federal government have spoken up about this bill claiming to stop federal funding to not supporting that state by closing stores and businesses within the state. Nothing like this has ever been enacted in this country and the harsh attacks on the Governor and state of Mississippi have not stopped. Many LGBT organizations along with civil rights unions have called the bill discriminatory to the LGBT community in the state of Mississippi. The bill allows private businesses to withhold service from the gay community due to religious beliefs, which is from a moral standpoint wrong because sexual orientation is a part of a person that is instilled into someone and is on the same level as racial discrimination. Governor Phil Bryant and the state of Mississippi has no right to say that people should be allowed to be discriminated towards because of their sexual orientation it goes

The LGBT community in the United States has always had massive difficulty fitting into our society. For many years they put up with constant mistreatment and other forms of abuse coming from the those who do not agree with their lifestyle. They have for long advocated for the acceptance of their existence and punishment for crimes committed against them. One of the hardest battles the community has had to face was the right to marry in a society that still holds the values of a traditional relationship which is between a male and female. The struggle was quite harsh but it all paid off by 2015 when the supreme court granted gay couples the right to marry. This historical decision did not go without outcry and criticisms. Most of the dissatisfaction came from those who hold very religious values and beliefs that claims homosexuality is a sin. Religion has always been a part of the American way of life since the nation's founding and with that homosexuality has been demonized throughout our society. Now that gay couple possess the legal rights to have a marriage license, religious companies and/or stores are now denying service to LGBT couples as they believe it sinful on their behalf to even take part. Many people gay or straight who fought for gay rights believe these is pure discrimination and that stores should not have the right to deny service for any customer for any reason. However, this belief is unconstitutional and goes

Mississippi lawmakers on Tuesday called for the repeal of a controversial new law that allows businesses to refuse service to gay people based on religious objection. Ellen DeGeneres called it "the definition of discrimination," while singer Bryan Adams canceled his upcoming show in the state to show his opposition to the law.” (Reilly, 2016). Misguided people are being driven by the nose by tricky "Christian" pioneers and legislators who have a personal stake in the matter of ensuring that their assemblies and their constituents remain profoundly and honestly perplexed of the myth of the "gay person plan." Know this: If the LGBTQ people group has any sort of motivation of all, it is achieving the same essential human rights that other people appreciates. That is all. That is the plan. Try not to fall for some other clarification of it. Gay people are not after your children. They are not attempting to change over you or change you. They are not worried with being comprehended as much as they are worried with being dealt with like some other person has the privilege to be dealt with. On the off chance that you trust that any gathering

Sexual orientation is “the clear, persistent desire of a person for affiliation with one sex rather than the other”, otherwise known as sexual preference. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com) Prejudice against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals (otherwise known as LGBT people) remain widespread in American society. LGBT people have always been a target for discrimination. Like other forms of prejudice, this discrimination is based on a hostile attitude toward a specific group and in this case minority. The current strides in the controversy of the legalization of the same sex marriage is a prime example of this discrimination. Sexual orientation prejudice

Finally, sexual orientation discrimination is denying an individual an opportunity or treating them differently because of their sexual orientation. This includes lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals or heterosexual individuals (Moran, 2013).

According to the Center for American Progress, “studies show that anywhere from 15% to 43% of gay people have experienced some form of discrimination and harassment at the workplace. Moreover, a staggering 90 percent of transgender workers report some form of harassment or mistreatment on the job.” (Burns & Krehely, 2011) This doesn’t just affect the individual, it affects the worker’s productivity and confidence on the job, in some cases it may affect the pay which ultimately throws off the individual’s income for stability within their responsibilities, this can affect the business in a negative way. The list can go on and on of the consequences brought on by employment discrimination. According to USA Today’s Jennifer Calfas, “it is legal to fire someone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. While there is some federal recourse through civil rights and equal employment claims, there's no national anti-discrimination law to protect LGBT workers from state whims. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits job discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion and nation of origin, but does not extend those protections to LGBT people.” (Calfas, 2015) Luckily, USA Today’s Jennifer Calfas also states that “Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting employers from firing employees due to just their sexual orientation or gender

Identity salience and changes in one’s salience hierarchy may be affected by one’s experiences of discrimination as they often function as a structural reinforcement of one’s primary identity (Moore 2011). Experiences of discrimination could be understood as recognition of difference and distinction between as well as the positioning of groups against one another (Higginbotham 1992)—a marker of difference and a reinforcement of a certain group membership imposed by others. Furthermore, strong centrality of and group identification with a particular identity could also affect the ways in which individuals perceive discrimination. Social psychologists Sellers and Shelton (2003) have found positive associations between racial centrality and the levels of perceived racial discrimination among black college students. Similarly, in the case of black LGBT individuals, I argue that their perceived experiences of racial or sexual identity-based discrimination would

This would then lead them as a group or individual being disadvantaged and in turn lead to them being oppressed. Despite the social, legal, and political advances that have been launched in an attempt to grant homosexuals basic human rights, in some parts of the world they are still seen to be an inferior group which has lead to them being oppressed.

“If business owners in Arizona wanted to deny service to gays, they could do so in most of the state under current law.” In the same respect, people in support feel that even if a business were to deny service to a person, there would be plenty of other businesses willing to serve them. Another common belief is that these laws are similar to Jim Crow laws, and have pre civil right movement ideals. Supporters of the bill argue that Jim Crow laws are forced discrimination laws, and the new laws are nothing more than the ability to deny to violate religious beliefs. They believe that religious practices and discrimination do not go hand in hand with one another, and that the ability to practice your religion freely is the most important aspect at play.

“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”-Nelson Mandela. When people are prohibited from being who they are, it is almost like telling them that they are not human. Whenever people are hiding their true selves, they are usually miserable and depressed. This is why we have movements such as Gay rights movement, civil right movements, women rights movements, etc. fighting to be accepted in the world. No one wants to ever feel isolated especially in a place that is supposed to be safe. Gay rights and ethnic oppression are fighting for different rights and struggles; however they are trying to achieve the same outcome.

As a nation, the United States often views itself as a champion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights. While we are far ahead of many countries, quite a few of which still criminalize same-sex relationships, we aren’t the queer utopia we like to see ourselves as. Even today, there are many states within the US that do not have laws explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace or during the hiring process. According to the Human Rights Campaign’s website, there are currently sixteen states that have no statewide employment laws protecting the rights of queer and/or trans individuals in the workplace. An even larger number of states have no laws protecting LGBTQ from housing discrimination. Since same-sex marriage was legalized in June 2015, many people feel as though the fight for equal rights is over. However, what people tend to forget about, are the dozens of macro and microaggressions queer people still face in many cities, towns, and states throughout the country. Not only are LGBT people in the United States still subject to discrimination in educational institutions and in hiring practices, but these discriminatory acts are highly regionalized.

Since I live in California, I selected the state California to conduct research on active laws that prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. The State of California has included sexual orientation as protected class along with race, sex, gender, religion, color and national origin (Shegerian & Associates, 2013). The California Government Code § 12920, 12940 and 12949 offers protection against job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (Holt, 2015). In the State of California, the Department of Fair Housing enforces the law on sexual orientation discrimination and the Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity (Shegerian & Associates, 2013). Sexual

People of lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, or queer identification in the United States are not given equal employment opportunity and or treatment in the workplace compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. There is currently no federal legislation that prohibits a person with LGBT identification from being fired, or federal legislation that protects employees of varied sexual orientations and gender identity from discrimination at work.

Growing up in South Korea as a Korean-American lesbian who did not neatly fit into any category, I constantly wondered about how other people of marginalized identities understand their belongingness in the larger society. I had not yet developed my sociological imagination, the ability to critically examine how the larger social structure shapes the ways in which people like myself understand their social worlds while empowering and affirming themselves. However, my training as a sociologist has allowed me to develop theoretical, methodological, and organizational approaches necessary for exploring how individuals of marginalized identities and statuses navigate through the society, including how discrimination influences individuals’ identity

While this entire course has been interesting to me, the rule of law that truly stuck out is ENDA. The topic of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is something that I think will continue to garner huge political attention for years to come. This law sticks with me, not because I belong to any of the classes of people it is trying to protect, but because I see that those people really are not getting the fair treatment they deserve. It seems so dumb to me to not hire someone because of his or her sexual orientation. I truly believe that the person most deserving of the job, because of their credentials and personality should receive the job. I don’t think it should matter at all what that person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is. The fact that we as a country cannot come together and pass this law is truly shameful for me personally. We live in a country where we supposedly have freedom and civil liberties. The lack of passage of this law makes me question whether or not we really do live in a country that is as free as it is said to be.