The LGBT community has made progress towards gaining more rights in recent years, although it has been an uphill battle. In the past year alone LGBT marriage has been legalized in Australia, Malta, and Germany, with the legalization of LGBT marriage in the U.S. in 2015 also being a resounding success. In addition, LGBT rights have also become a greater discussion topic in households, radio shows, and broadcasts around the world. However, while a lot of progress has been made, LGBT individuals and their allies are still struggling for the basic human rights they deserve.
Discrimination feels like a relic of the past--something Americans struggled against and that was outlawed in the 1960s. But this was not the case for LGBT individuals. Today, in America, land of the free and the home of the brave, a lesbian can be fired simply for being gay. A gay couple can be refused a wedding cake for the most important day in their life. A gay couple could be refused their right to adopt a child. Much of this discrimination is chalked up to a concept called “religious freedom.” Religious freedom is the right to deny service based on the idea that it conflicts with the business owner’s religious beliefs, and has been used most recently to defend discrimination against LGBT people. The world has heard this argument many times before. According to the LA Times, “1960s...a small chain of barbecue restaurants in South Carolina, said that its owner’s freedom of religion would be violated if
Next month will be very exciting for the LGBTQ community, when several of the openly LGBTQ communities, athletes will head to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to compete, which will be the most LGBTQ’s to participate in the Winter Olympics than ever before. Nonetheless, there were also seven openly LGBTQ athletes who competed in the Sochi games in 2014, which were all female athletes in the LGBTQ community
It’s not hard to say that America has come so far into society and our freedom. How can our country forget when slavery ended in 1865 and gave women more rights in 1920. However, over time America has ignored the basic rights of transgender people. Transgender people are not any different from African Americans, or women. Why should they be treated any different, they're humans just like everybody else. They deserve the same basic treatment as a human rather than being treated like they're not from this planet. There are transgender people today who are getting harassed and tormented for just going into the bathroom for what they identify as. They should be able to go into a bathroom for which gender they identify as. Rather than making special bathrooms for transgender people that make them stand out and feel like they’re labeling themselves for using.
“Discrimination and inequality faced by gays and lesbians in the United States are widespread, and the social movement to end such with the principles of equality and fairness.”( Blackwell, C. W., Ricks, J. L., & Dziegielewski, S. F. (2004). I do feel that we as society has come a long way since the Stonewall Riots of 1969 when it comes to obtaining equal rights for the GLBTQ community. However, there are still segments of today's population that hold personal prejudices against gays and lesbians. With these prejudices, it’s important to understand that there is a direct correlation between discriminatory practices within the state and federal systems and public policy drafting. As I have mentioned, we have come a long way in regards to changing policy and practices with our Country. However, there is still much work to be done regarding issues that affect the gay and lesbian population when it comes addressing lifestyles and equal rights. Here are just some examples of rights that many take for granted. However they are not always afforded to the gay and lesbian population and their
Throughout the years, the LGBT community has put forth tremendous effort to gain rights and recognition in the United States. Yet there have been numerous laws that have discriminated and made them feel unequal. LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered. Many people in the community have a hard time accepting who they truly are in terms of sexual orientation or gender identity. Coming out is challenging enough on its own, and laws and regulations that discriminate against those who only wish to live freely can make it hard for them to do so. Living in the time period we do, we have seen many changes in the right direction as far as having equal rights for all, but it has not always been this way. There have been many movements and actions the LGBT community has taken over the years to get to where we are today. There have also been many laws and regulations specifically targeted at same-sex and transgendered individuals, some of which that still apply today.
All families face challenges in their everyday life. For some, the challenges are easier to handle while for others, surmounting those challenges can be more difficult. Over the years, the LGBT community in the US has faced many hurdles. Whether it’s the legalization of same-sex marriage to adoption rights to alimony, child support and child custody in case of divorce, legislation specific to gay and lesbian couples still has a long way to go.
The government has been trying to figure out what to do when it comes to bathroom laws and more importantly, insurance coverage. Transitioning from one gender to the other is very
The LGBT community in the United States has always had massive difficulty fitting into our society. For many years they put up with constant mistreatment and other forms of abuse coming from the those who do not agree with their lifestyle. They have for long advocated for the acceptance of their existence and punishment for crimes committed against them. One of the hardest battles the community has had to face was the right to marry in a society that still holds the values of a traditional relationship which is between a male and female. The struggle was quite harsh but it all paid off by 2015 when the supreme court granted gay couples the right to marry. This historical decision did not go without outcry and criticisms. Most of the dissatisfaction came from those who hold very religious values and beliefs that claims homosexuality is a sin. Religion has always been a part of the American way of life since the nation's founding and with that homosexuality has been demonized throughout our society. Now that gay couple possess the legal rights to have a marriage license, religious companies and/or stores are now denying service to LGBT couples as they believe it sinful on their behalf to even take part. Many people gay or straight who fought for gay rights believe these is pure discrimination and that stores should not have the right to deny service for any customer for any reason. However, this belief is unconstitutional and goes
The United States is an example for diversity and tolerance in the world. There are laws, policies and protection for a person’s rights. However, even with this in place many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) are still discriminated against. LGBT Today faces discrimination with housing, jobs, relationships, insurance, medical care, adopting, religion and social prejudice. The rights of homosexual persons are not equal to a person who is heterosexual. A person who is homosexual are told that they cannot have the same as others because of their sexual orientation Many times we like to think of the United states of American as a place that has move in to a higher level of progression, unfortunately this is not the case as we
Despite the dramatic progress that the LGBTQ community has made within the past five decades, they still face a multitude of issues today. In recent years, LGBTQ individuals, especially the transgender community, have fallen victim to numerous forms of violence and discrimination in the United States. The LGBTQ community also still has to struggle with the stigma that surrounds their sexual orientations and identities. Little is being done to effectively resolve these issues; however, there are a number of policies and laws currently in place to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTQ individuals. On the other hand, many states have tried to limit LGBTQ rights by implementing laws that allow discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, particularly in public services and employment.
One reason why LGBT Americans are mostly treated unfairly is because currently, LGBT Americans only have a handful of rights. One of the biggest milestones was when on June 26th, 2015, LGBTQ+ marriage was legalized at a federal level in all 50 of the United States. And the LGBT community is popping up more and more in the media. This article states "The struggle of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) people for equal rights has moved to center stage. LGBT people are battling for their civil rights in Congress, in courtrooms and in the streets. Well-known figures are discussing their sexual orientation in public. Gay and lesbian people are featured in movies and on television - not as novelty characters, but as full participants in society." (“The Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered People”). In some states, discrimination of LGBT people is illegal. LGBTQ+ people's lives are improving, and the amount of laws protecting them is growing. Slowly but surely, full protection is drawing nearer.
Last summer Gay-Marriage was legalized in the United States. Yet, it is evident that sexual discrimination continues to exist. Nevertheless, people who are homosexual or transgender are bestowed with the same unalienable rights as a heterosexual. It is not my job, nor is it the job of society to criticize or discriminate against those with different sexual orientations. Instead it is my duty, and the responsibility of society to accept people for
In the last few years the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community have made major strides in a positive direction toward equal rights within the legal system, including the recent Supreme Court decision ruling that same-sex marriages will be recognized in all 50 states. Sixteen of those states and the District of Columbia have full anti-discrimination laws that include protecting gender identity and expression. This leaves roughly 70% of the country’s population living in states without comprehensive anti-discrimination laws (Cobos & Jones, 2009). The work has just begun, as the LGBT population continue to face discrimination regarding education, employment, housing, and healthcare.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, also known as LGBT population have experienced a great deal of oppression worldwide. These particular individuals undergo discrimination from society, whether for reasons of ignorance, fear or intolerance, this population faces challenges in multiple areas of social justice sexual. Although the LGBT culture has made some strides in the areas of state and federal legislation, there is still a wide range of criminalization that takes place within our culture. Understanding the LGBT community and the history of their oppression may be the first step in becoming culturally competent. For many years this culture was denied their basic constitutional rights that were afforded to their equal heterosexual peers. Basic rights such as, adoption and marriage were uncommon to this culture until the 20th century.
The current context of LGBTQ+ and women’s rights such as abortion with the recent election of President Trump was the inspiration for my research. I feel it is important for everyone to know when there has potentially been a violation of right’s, no matter the side one person and one vote can make a difference in so many lives. My mind has always been overcome with questions that relate to religion and the role it plays in politics. I have found through personal experience that religion plays in integral part in the political decision making of many individuals. These questions led me to formulate a formal question to give direction to my research. This question is, “How has Christianity impacted the passage of LGBTQ+ and women’s rights laws
As the society changing, the history of marriage also changes. Marriage is legally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship, but do those two partners always have to be a man and a woman? Most people believe that homosexuals should be granted equal rights as heterosexual couples. Being as an important social issue, same-sex marriage has become a hot topic of public debates in the recent years. For over the past decade, public support for the same-sex marriage has quickly risen. The United States is one of over twenty countries that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. I believe that same-sex marriage should be legalized in all countries for several reasons, such as being an issue of equal rights, separation of church and state, no negative effect on the heterosexual communities, increasing in child adoption, and decreasing divorce and suicide rates.