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Inclusive Non-Discrimination Law

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Although the Supreme Court brought marriage equality to all 50 states, there is still no fully-inclusive non-discrimination law to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The lack of such a law allows doctors to refuse medical care to a newborn because the parents are a same-sex couple, realtors to deny housing to a transgender person, employers to fire someone for just being LGBT, and many more examples. The absence of a law sparks outrage because nearly two thirds of the LGBT population has been personally discriminated against. Although there are several supporters of a non-discrimination law, there are many opponents trying to prevent the enactment of such a law because they believe it to be unconstitutional …show more content…

As a result, they are in favor of a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This popularity should motivate the government to pass such a law. According to a poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for the Human Rights Campaign, 69 percent of likely voters were in support of a law “that would prohibit discrimination against people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender” (HRC Poll). This statistic highlights that the majority of citizens want to progress as a nation and protect the rights of all people. There should be no citizen in America that is denied rights because they are different, and a majority of voters recognize that. In the same study, 27 percent of participants were opposed to a federal non-discrimination law. Unfortunately, the current laws do not reflect the majority of voters but the minority. This injustice needs to be resolved by Congress, so the American government can protect all of its citizens from discrimination (HRC …show more content…

They believe that forcing citizens to provide services to LGBT persons goes against their First Amendment rights and that such a law “could be used to punish [them in the form of] discrimination” (Blaire, Cordileone, and Lori). However, “the Supreme Court has consistently held that the government may not accommodate religious belief by lifting burdens on religious actors if that means shifting meaningful burdens to third parties” (Franke et al.). In the case of Elane Photography, LLC v. Vanessa Willock, Elane Huguenin refused to photograph Willock and her same-sex partner’s commitment ceremony because it would violate Huguenin’s Christian beliefs. Huguenin believed that because “photography is expressive, a business that provides photography services has a First Amendment right to enter the commercial marketplace, solicit customers from the general public, and then … refuse to provide photography services to particular customers based on their race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other characteristic” (“Elane Photography”). Although photography can be an expressive act, Huguenin ignored the fact that taking photographs for hire was not an autonomous expressive act, but instead, a service to consumers. Therefore, she did not have the right to deny service. Also, Willock was left with the burden of

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