Since the 2016 election, social-political issues including race, abortion, and equality between men and women have moved to the forefront of the American voters’ minds. One of the most controversial social issues has been the legalization of LGBTQ+ rights in regards to marriage, equal opportunity and discrimination. Ultimately this issue divides Americans within the Democratic and Republican parties. The Republican Party has historically been opposed to same-sex marriage. After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that rid same-sex marriage nationwide, the Republican Party now faces whether to accept the ruling or to fight it by measures such as a possible amendment to the Constitution. The history of homosexuality in America has been largely hidden due to social stigma. For decades, being gay meant to be forsaken by family, fired by employers, even risked arrest or forced hospitalization. Through all of the persecution, members of the gay community stayed strong and the LGBTQ+ is now being embraced by the public. Although the Republican Party has made some progress towards some parts of the LGBTQ+, they are still quite closed-minded to the transgender community specifically.
The Republican Party has historically believed in the traditional idea of marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman. This opposition to gay marriage does not come from a hatred of gays, but rather the belief that our founding fathers had set the institution of marriage, and it has always been this way. Many Republicans believe that if this definition left by the founding fathers is changed, it will compromise the sanctity of marriage. Also, Republicans opposing gay rights stems from the idea when raising family, having a male and female role-model is a healthier and balanced way for a child to grow up. However, this does not mean Republicans oppose gay rights entirely (Views). The Republican Party believes that individual states should decide for or against the recognition of gay marriages. The party also believes in a smaller federal government, which places fewer restrictions on the people, and that states have the right to make their laws, based on the beliefs of their citizens. Concerning gay marriage, the Republican Party believes that state’s rights should extend not only to the right to legalize or not legalize gay marriages, but also to gay marriages from other jurisdictions, and decide on tax and adoption rights for gay couples (Views). Although the majority of the Party is still against same-sex marriage, the Party has been more accepting of this idea within the past 5 years. In 2014, only 26% of conservatives support same-sex marriage. Since then that number has jumped up to 36% (Pew Research). This shows that slowly, but surely the majority Republican Party will be in favor of same-sex marriage.
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Although there are some Republicans in favor of same-sex marriage, many of the same Republicans are against transgenders. If someone is in support of the LGBTQ+, they most likely believe in the idea of gender fluidity. This is the idea that gender is not what sex you were born at but rather a social construct, and that one could switch their identity as they please. This also breaks the traditional mold of their only being two genders. Many Republicans are against trans people because they believe that there are only two genders, male and female. That the set of chromosomes that you are born with, either XX or XY is what dictates your gender. Some Republicans would go as far as to say that being transgender is a mental illness. They try to back their argument up by talking about Gender Dysphoria. According to the American Psychiatric Association, Gender Dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity (Parekh). Another argument made by this group that being transgender is a mental illness is because of the transgender suicide rate. Over half the transgender male teens reports that they have attempted suicide at some point in their life, while around 30 percent of transgender female said they have attempted suicide. Non-binary teens, around 42 percent said that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives(Hassanein). Though many transgender young people report family rejection, bullying, and harassment, or feel unsafe for simply being who they are, some Republicans will argue that harassment and rejection isn't the reasoning but mental illness is. An example of a Republican who is against transgenders is our President, Donald Trump. In March of 2019 Trump, released a set of tweets banning transgender people from serving in the military. The Department of Justice sent a memo to the Supreme Court, Title VII, a civil right law protecting against discrimination based on sex does not extend to transgender workers. Another ruling could override anti-discrimination for LGBT people by allowing religious employers to hire only persons whose beliefs and conduct are consistent with those of the company. New Trump Administration rules would roll back sex discrimination protections for transgender people in health services. The Trump Administration wants to legally define transgender out of existence by officially recognizing only a person's gender at birth (Olorunnipa). In speeches and interviews, Trump seems to be persistent in that he is for LGBTQ+ rights when he is not. It appears that Trump and the Republican Party are playing a game of tug of war in which they are trying to gain new voters by trying to seem open-minded, but also trying not to lose their older core conservatives. This take from Republicans is a push to the far right of the political spectrum because Trump is stripping trans people of their rights, but this is not popular with the American people because around 62% of American thinks trans people should have equal rights.
This week the Supreme Court will listen to three cases that will decide whether it is legal to fire a person because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Bostock v. Clayton County and Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda both involve gay men who accuse their employers of firing them because of their orientation. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC case is about a trans woman fired by her boss because he claimed he would be “violating God’s commands” if he employed a trans person. All the cases have to do with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans employment discrimination “because of” an individual’s “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Now the question for the Supreme Court is whether LGBTQ+ people are protected by this act. Conservative advocacy groups, including some that supported Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, both appointed by Trump, have lobbied against an LGBTQ+ inclusive interpretation of Title VII, and to have several congressional Republicans who endorsed both justices(Barnes). There is the possibility that the conservative justices on the bench today hold anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs that will cloud their analyses of the issue. A 5–4 decision by the Supreme Court excluding LGBTQ+ employees from Title VII seems disturbingly probable. The Republican Party is trying to push for a more reactionary stance by trying to allow employers to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This stance isn’t that popular with the American people because around 60% of Americans believe employers should not have the right to discriminate against LGBTQ+ citizens (Pew Research).
The Republican Party has become more open to same-sex marriage in recent years, but they still discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. They are currently trying to make sure LGBTQ+ citizens are not protected under Title VII, and with a Republican-dominated court, it will be interesting to see how things play out soon. It was around 60 years ago that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson to help fight another Civil RIghts issue in America - equal rights for African Americans. Exactly how LGBTQ+ citizens are trying to fight to not be discriminated against based on their orientation or identity in the workplace, African Americans were fighting for the same issues. It was yet again the Republican Party that was fighting against this act. Controversial conservative at the time, Barry Goldwater, a man that would shape the GOP to this day, was strongly against allowing this civil rights act to pass because he felt that it wasn’t the government's place to legislate on this issue. It will be interesting to see if Donald Trump impacts the laws in American now that there is a majority conservative Supreme Court.
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