LGBT Rights And Discrimination In The United States

Lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender Americans face many oppressions and do not share the same civil rights as their fellow heterosexual citizens. In my opinion, your sexual preferences should not dictate your civil rights. Sadly, this is not the case in America. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that “all men are created equal” with the right to “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.” However, in today's society homosexual are not giving the same opportunity to achieve their pursuit of happiness. Many LGBT Americans have fought and still fighting for the rights, safety, and freedom of this country but are still not given the same rights as heterosexual Americans. #2 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Americans should have the same rights as heterosexual Americans in all fields including but not limited too are marriage equality, job security, and human rights.

LGBT individuals are being discriminated against because of who they are; this undermines the freedom of expression that U.S. citizens are guaranteed. All people in the United States deserve to freely express who they are without

“Discrimination [dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuh n]: treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.” Right from the dictionary, the definition is clear. Look back 95 years to 1920, where women across America raised their voices and fought back for the right to vote. Now take a look back 48 years ago when in 1967, interracial marriage was finally legalized. These were all monumental events fighting against discrimination. However, the definition is still blurring in minds of some across America as a multitude of bills are being passed permitting people to act with bigotry towards members of the LGBTQ+ community, the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts just being one of them. In discussions of bills such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, or RFRA’s, one controversial issue has been whether or not they permit discrimination. On one hand, those supporting the laws argue that they only reinforce the free practice of religion. On the other hand, those against them contend that with their vagueness it plays out as disguising legal discrimination. My own view is that the RFRA’s and other anti-LGBTQ+ laws should be repealed or at the very least backed with a state wide non-discrimination law for LGBTQ+ individuals. This is in order to prevent a large amount of service being denied to LGBTQ+

America’s foundation is built upon the words of the Declaration of Independence. This document states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Since the writing of these words, America has had to overcome slavery, child labor, voting rights, women’s rights, civil rights, and LGBT rights. We have come a long way but there is still work to be done. The LGBT equality movement is relatively young compared to other social movements, but is no less important.

When you hear the word discrimination what is the first thing you think of? A majority of the population says wither blacks and whites or Jews and Nazis, but that’s not the only discrimination there is. Discrimination is, actually, unjust treatment of a different race, age, sex, or sexual preference. On this note, gays are probably one of the most discriminated against.

Do you honestly, know the top five hate crimes that happens in society? Well, the main community that many American oppose of is the Gay Community. There has been numerous of stories where Homosexual couples were brutally attacked due to their sexual preference and how they live their life style. Many American who are against Gay rights say that this will affect the society of America. The reason why they feel this way is because they feel it can bring huge financial and emotional stress. Then many Americans feel that their health risk are enormous to themselves and others. Even many Americans feel if Gay marriage begins to expand this means having the morals of the minority forced on the majority. Moreover, gay marriages reduce the number

Our nation is one that is constantly changing and accepting new social norms for what we believe is right or wrong. Most notably in 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States declared Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. Although same-sex couples now have the privilege of marriage in the United States, LGBT Americans are still far from being treated equally compared to the rest of our country's population. The Civil Rights Act should protect sexual orientation and identity. LGBT citizens struggle to find and keep employment. They face issues obtaining healthcare and acceptable plans. LGBT citizens are commonly denied equal education opportunities. Finally, they do not receive equal use of public accommodations and facilities

The LGBT community has made new laws each day to bring equality to all. “Throughout its, America has symbolized equality of opportunity for people of all races, origins, religions and creeds, serving as a beacon of hope for anyone seeking a better life. However, despite its founding principles of equality and acceptance, the United States also has a long history of denying basic rights to certain people” (LGBT Equality). When the US discriminates against a certain thing people retaliate and rise up and try to make new laws to help their cause. The LGBT community has been striving to bring equality in many ways. The LGBT community has made great strides in gaining equality of same-sex marriage, gay adoption, and transgender equality.

LGBTQ rights have been a largely debated issue for many years now. Many questions about gay rights still stand. Should people who are LGBTQ have the right to marry? Do they deserve the same rights? In October 2014, only 19 states legalized LGBTQ marriage. (“By the numbers, Same-sex”) Now, in March 2015, that number has almost doubled. ("37 States with Legal") It’s no question that people are starting to open their eyes and realize that everyone deserves equal rights. As a matter of fact, in 1996, only 27% of Americans believed that LGBTQ people should have the right to marry. In 2014, this same poll gave a result of 55%. (“By the numbers, Same-sex”) While LGBTQ people are starting to get more rights, there still is plenty of work to do. 13 states, still do not allow LGBTQ marriage. ("37 States with Legal") These states make up 89 million people, or 28% of the US population. ("State & County QuickFacts") Also, many LGBTQ people are harassed regularly on the streets and at school. However, many laws and measures are being taken to protect LGBTQ rights, internationally, nationally and in specific states including New York.

To willingly want to fight for the safety and security of your country is courageous, selfless, and deserving of the utmost respect. One would think that more people would not want to risk their lives at war, than those who do. But countless brave souls go off to war because they want to and they love the idea of defending their home and loved ones. So the idea that such institutions would ever deny someone of risking their lives for the country seems absolutely ridiculous. But this was the very harsh reality of the LGBT community who wanted to serve in the military and be proud of not only their country, but also their identity and orientation. The extremely controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy treated the gay and lesbian soldiers

Key concerns of advocates of LGBT rights are the exclusion and discrimination of LGBT people. Many people have misconceptions about homosexuality or homophobic tendencies that LGBT have to try to work against. I think that many LGBT advocates are scared of being judged because of their sexual preferences. During the dialogue, we discussed the similarities of the fight for LGBT rights and minority rights. For example, African-Americans had limited legal rights and there were restrictions on facilities they could use. Similarly, laws were passed in Mississippi discriminating against same-sex couples and gay marriage. I would identify these as key issues because I think that violating LGBT rights is going against human rights of all people. Also, I believe that people should be allowed to engage in relationships with and marry who they choose. A great concern at this time for advocates of LGBT rights is gay

As I lay in my bed, I feel trapped with my thoughts, I feel concerned, and a bit unsure about how I’m going to make a change for my future. It feels right to me, but wrong to others. My sexual orientation is not by my choice, though I am told otherwise. The world we live in consists of people who know right from wrong, though others are very close minded on their opinions. To break this barrier of what others call the norm, we have to stand up and fight for our equality. We are all human, no matter what people say. They might push us down to make us afraid, but these are just the little things in our lives that we have to learn to deal with and overcome, before they lead us to more intense life threatening situations. What we do today may not matter to others, though just like the civil rights movement, we have to take charge to make a change for the better of our future.

Transgender people are discriminated on an almost daily basis. They are discriminated in the workplace, as shown in a study commisioned by the Equalities Review. In a group of transgender people who have jobs and are prone to workplace-enviroment effects and opinions, “many respondents experienced harassment from co-workers and employers.” Nearly 29% of the group experience verbal abuse and harassment in the workplace enviroment, and about 4% received physical abuse. About 7% experienced threats, and about 27% experienced some sort of different treatment due to their gender non-conforming ways.(Whittle 38-39). In another study, it was found that being mistreated in the school years would have a negative effect on future outcomes relating to employment. “Those who were physically attacked in school were considerably more likely to stay in a job (64%) compared to those who were not (42%) (Grant 50).” They are also discriminated in public as well, adding on to the distress that many transgender people suffer from regularly, making it seem as if all transgender people are crazy. Transgender people are just more likely to be diagnosed as someone with a mental disorder because its helpful to see that those who have been diagnosed are “hurting and something needs to be done to help (Kreitler 1).” In

LGBT which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, are people who have their own gender and sexual preference. There is an estimated 3.5% of adults in the United States who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and an estimated 0.3% of adults who are transgender (Gate, “How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender?”) There are cases such as Freddie Mason, Bernina Mata, and Duanna Johnson, which are some events that embellish a long shadow of criminalization of LGBT people in the United States. They are discriminated within their jobs, in housing, within the government, and even going into public places. The LGBT community is no different, so why are they seen just for their sexual preference? There needs to be a change, a change in which would provide better and safer lives for the LGBT community. In saying this, Congress should create a law which will abolish discrimination, and ensure civil protections for the LGBT community.

"There is no one like us on the earth. We are special. Everyone is valued the same amount of worth." This was said by Jennifer Byrne in her poem "Isn't It Right? We Are Equal". When it comes to civil rights not everyone sees things the same. An example would be Peta and how they believe animals should have civil rights. I know a lot of die-hard vegans would agree with the movement, but I personally don’t see a lion or a tiger having the same rights as you and me. Another example would be the older generation and the younger generation. The older generation aren't very happy about civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Yet, the younger generation is much more accepting and encourage to be yourself. I'll explain in detail a little later in this essay about the civil right for the LGBT community. Civil rights were created to form equality and freedom for everyone, no matter what ethnicity, belief, age, or gender they are or were wanting to become. Civil rights were created in 1964 originally for African Americans to eliminate segregation in public. Not knowing that this would open up so many more doors for others tospeak up for what they believe is right and start developing more civil rights.The whole reason why we have civil rights for Women, LGBT community, Native Americans, and Hispanics is because of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 for African Americans. For centuries African Americans have been below white man, along with any other