Msgt Abbott: Equal Rights For The LGBT Community

When it comes to the gay rights movement, the structure and the history of how it got to where it is today is a huge factor in today’s society. There have been a lot of things that negatively influenced gay rights. In some ways, things have happened in a positive way as well. The gay rights movement today and legalizing gay marriage has struck some people the wrong way because of their beliefs. For the gay community, though, it has been a very positive thing. Some of the big key moments in history went the way they did because of important events and important people causing it to go that way. These include Jeremy Bentham, Magnus Hirschfield, Henry Gerber, the making of the Mattachine Society, Stonewall Riots, Clela Rorex, the Ryan White

“Gay rights have come a long way, but there’s more to do” by Greg Waters, Sydney Morning Herald (2018), outlines a national journey but also personal journey of the author. Waters highlights how as a nation, Australia has come so far since the 20th century in terms of gay rights, yet there is still more work that needs to be done, to ensure all discrimination stops. Waters uses evidence from 1972 to highlight how inhumanely gay people were treated, including being dismissed from employment for being gay and that protestors against these practices were not looked upon favourably . In 2018 however, a big win for gay rights was the legalisation of gay marriage in 2017. Yet, he argues there is still so far to go, as in 2018,

“God said Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve” we have all heard this quote. People use this quote because it is part of the Bible and people think that the Bible is the best judge out there. People diminish others by saying these types of quote. People also do not realize that the LGBTQA still do not have equal rights. People think that just because gay marriage was legalized that they also got equal. Some issues that the LGBTQA community faces is that they do not have any anti-discrimination laws. People should at least try not to be less hateful and be a little more informed.

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.

The LGBT community is a commonly defined as a community which contain lesbian, gay, bixsexual and transgender.

The larger bill in question is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the ACA or "ObamaCare" had a wide-ranging set of implications and a lot of those implications directly affect the LGBT community in one way or more one than one way. While the bill does not specifically cater and cover the LGBT, they certainly do get to enjoy benefits that they previously did not have access to or at least not as much as they now do given the changes to the law. This report will cover the author's position on this bill, how the bill affects the author personally, how it will affect the author's nursing career, how it will impact someone that is important to the author of this paper, one action that the author will take in support of the bill will be identified and the desired and expected outcome of that action will be identified.

Brought together by various organizations, and united by shared persecution, the gay community came together and pushed for their rights, and were able to obtain them through science and litigation. The outset of the gay rights movement can be traced back to World War I. The World War brought America out of its isolationism and exposed Americans to life outside America. For the first time Americans saw firsthand the way countries like, England, France, Germany, and others treated their citizens. For many Americans World War I was a catalyst for change, and the fight for gay rights is no exception.

Approximately four weeks ago, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history occurred not to far from UCF. Patrons of Pulse nightclub, a gay nightclub in Orlando where massacred by Omar Mateen, Mateen took the lives of forty-nine individuals all because of their presence in a gay establishment. This tragic incident wasn’t the first attack on the LGBT community, but it’s massive fatalities put Congress under even more pressure to reform gun laws, gay rights, and suspected terrorist legislation. As a political Science major, I take a special interest in the reactions among legislators after the Orlando incident and believe there should be more equal protection for gay people under the law. The two articles I will be analyzing, After Orlando, a Political Divide on Gay Rights Still Stands and Gay rights and wrongs: How the Orlando massacre affects the fight for LGBT rights furthers the discourse among the divide in Congress over gay rights.

Willy Wilkinson, an activist who is a trans man of Asian descent, developed a model of cultural competency that is meant to establish safety and respect for trans people and all of their intersectional identities (race, sexual orientation, class, etc.). According to Willy Wilkinson, “Cultural competency refers to the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with diverse populations and can be measured be awareness, attitude, knowledge, skills, behaviors, policies, procedures, and organizational systems.” (Wilkinson, “Memoir as a Cultural Competency Tool”) Through this model, Wilkinson has organized with others in order to address several issues affecting the trans community, including health inequities, the use of pronouns, addressing privilege and marginality within the scope of race, and more. While this more intentionally establishes a broad based trans movement, others have created and/or organized in response to societal neglect as well. Sylvia Rivera, while exiled from a movement she helped start, was able to be a founding member of Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a grassroots organization that was “willing to ruffle feathers and step on toes”, as they often planned demonstrations in order to fight for the rights of trans people (Rivera, p. 81). There were also

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

“What’s transgender?” Transgender means an individual that physically looks like one gender, but identifies themselves as the opposing gender. Unfortunately, transgenders’ individuals haven’t been the most accepted in today's society. However, I believe transgender individuals’ shouldn’t be discriminated, prompted on “modesty”, nor restricted; because “Trans lives matter”(Pratt 1).

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.

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

Gay rights have been of much debate the past year or so. Most had thought this debate was long over when the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 for the legalization of gay marriage. However, with the recent election of Donald Trump, LGBT rights have become, once again, a topic of discussion. A few of the LGBT rights that are “up in the air” are gay military service, adoption, discrimination policies in schools, and marriage. I hold the firm belief that LGBT individuals should have all of the same rights and privileges as every human being. According to the Declaration of Independence, “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.” (The Declaration of Independence) Homosexuals, however, seem to be overlooked in this statement. If all men are created equal, shouldn’t every human be entitled to the same rights? Specifically, same-sex couples are denied this “pursuit of happiness.” They are not allowed to attain their version of happiness when such a large multitude of restrictions are placed on them.

hroughout mankind's history, gays and lesbians have become fairly known as another scapegoat to societies venomous opinions about accepting anything new or unfamiliar in order to balance out any negative baggage left behind by previous generations. In order to accept them for who they are, we must not abolish anymore given rights from them due to the misconception that homosexuality could break the mindset through fear and righteousness of Christ; that we must beat them down until eradicated from the planet. Restricting all equal rights to the LGBTQ community could threaten the pillar of society and eventually, the destruction of equal common grounds for everyone. Granting equal based rights and legal marriage rights under the authorized laws, must be expanded far enough to not only the common men and women, but as well for the gays and lesbians too on this planet.