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Imagine if you were restricted by vendors because of who you’re married to. Now imagine if someone fired you from your job because of the person you were dating. These are real-life scenarios that people in the LGBT community endure each and every day. To clarify, LGBT is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. Although you may not be gay or lesbian yourself, you probably know someone who is. Think about what they go through in life: name-calling, bullying, or even abuse. Think about how they feel being constantly singled out for who they are. In order to show you how important it is to protect those in the LGBT community, let’s clarify the discrimination that people experience, how we can solve it, and how this solution would help those that experience injustice.
LGBT discrimination is a worldwide epidemic. Although it mostly goes unnoticed, LGBT people endure discrimination in the form of verbal and sometimes physical abuse. According to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for the rights of all humans, LGBT youth are twice as likely than their peers to be physically assaulted. This statistic is focused on LGBT youth because of the major concentration of abuse in schools. Also, people in the LGBT community may be denied the right to adopt a child. Instances in which gay people are denied services that other people are offered create a second class of citizens. Discrimination against the LGBT community is more widespread than most would think. According to BrandonGaille.com, a blog on marketing statistics, 41% of LGBT employees say that they’ve been physically or verbally abused by their co-workers. Additionally, a study showed that 47% of transgender employees said that they were either not hired or fired from a job because of their gender identity. As someone in the LGBT community, I have experienced discrimination because of my sexuality. The word “faggot” is a popular choice of most people that try to make me and many others feel as though we are wrong for being ourselves. According to the New York Times, there is no question of whether the LGBT community faces discrimination, “for the record shows that it clearly does.” The constant reminder that you aren’t normal can really get to people and cause emotional distress. In his book LGBT Health, Smalley claims that mental and emotional disorders are some of the biggest issues facing those in the LGBT community. Anxiety and depression are some of the most common plagues of those that identify as such.
In order to help end this discrimination faced by the LGBT community, there must be an act to make it unlawful to do so. This law is called the Equality Act. The Equality Act is an extension of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against individuals based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The act would include the protection of sexual orientation and gender identity. This act has been passed through the House of Representatives, but it still has to pass through the Republican majority Senate and the President. The Equality Act would protect against denial of entry into any establishment, which has been a problem ailing those in the LGBT community. Another provision of this act is that it protects people from unfair treatment as seen in the workplace. The Equality Act also protects against harassment and violence, which has become an everyday occurrence for those that identify as LBGT. Dissenters of the passage of this act argue that it will become oppressive to those who aren’t of the LGBT community. According to The Heritage Foundation, businesses would be forced to serve people against their religious beliefs. This argument is invalid. Any “private” business has the power to decline access to anyone for any reason. But, if a business is open to the public and is in any way benefitted by federal funding, it is a public service and by law is not allowed to decline entry to anyone unless they are a threat to others. For example, a private school can reject whoever they want because they are funded by students. On the other hand, a public school has to accept anyone because it is funded by the government. The rejection of LGBT people in public is a violation of civil law.
Now just for a minute, imagine your child was gay. If the Equality Act is not passed, your child will fall victim to discrimination and abuse. Would you want them to live with the fear that they might be beaten for holding the hands of their significant other? Discrimination is not going away unless we have a law to make it stop. The Equality Act is a step in the right direction towards true equality for those in the LGBT community. Studies have shown that states with anti-discriminatory laws have fewer cases of violence against LGBT people. If other states follow suit and cases of discrimination decrease, then it is proven that these types of laws work. This is similar to the passage of anti-discrimination laws against African Americans. Although discrimination is not totally eradicated, there is a much lower rate of serious incidents than before the laws were passed. This is the only solution.
In conclusion, currently in the United States LGBT people are discriminated against in many aspects of life. To end this discrimination, we must create a law to protect them from this injustice. The Equality Act is a law that includes people in the LGBT community in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act would be a stepping stone to true equality. To bring a halt to this inequality, I encourage you to write your senators. I mean, it only takes a few minutes to draft an email. We have the power to make this change. Inform them of the good that this will bring to people who are currently facing discrimination. Tell them to pass this law!
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