Everyone should have the right to love who they love and be comfortable with who they want to be and how they identify. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, and queer citizens/activists have fought for equal protection and treatment under the standards of the United States Constitution for far too long. Many people in the LGBTQ+ community have one thing in common, the fear of unacceptance. I have known since my freshman year of high school that I am bisexual, meaning that I have had my own personal fear of unacceptance if I were to come out to loved ones, friends – even my sister, who I consider to be my best friend. The people of the LGBTQ+ community live in fear of others not accepting them for who they are or who they aspire to be. They fear losing loved ones, friendships and relationships with family. I have experienced those same fears. I feared telling my closest friends, afraid of how they would see me or if they would act differently around me. I still live in the constant fear of telling my family, including my own parents. People of the LGBTQ+ community should not have to live in fear of unacceptance, or the fear of being ridiculed in public if they do not conform to the society’s standards of the stereotype of genders, or the fear of being discriminated against if they are out in public with the person they love. The LGBTQ+ community should not have to live in fear of going out in public, or of just being themselves openly. Something needs to be done about this immediately. A hypothetical solution that could solve this discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and their rights would be stricter hate crime laws, as well as more rights that would protect people within the community. This could be achieved by LGBTQ+ educational outlets, peaceful protests, petitions, and media recognition. I feel as though more people need to be educated about the LGBTQ+ community, and realize that it is not a sin to love who you love and to feel comfortable within your own skin and how you identify. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer citizens/activists have fought for equal protection and treatment under the standards of the United States Constitution for far too long, and the only solutions that could potentially solve this crisis are stricter nondiscrimination laws and protection rights in which could be achieved by LGBTQ+ educational outlets, peaceful protests, petitions, and a notable amount of media recognition.

A local interview was conducted with an openly gay man named Joseph Hutenburg who single-handedly helped bring LGBTQ+ diversity to his small region of Ocean County. When asked if he ever had a fear of being unaccepted by his family or friends for being gay, he responded by stating “No, I knew that my family would be okay with it, I knew my closest friends that I cared about would be fine with it, I didn’t come out because I didn’t want to be gay. I would try to do things that would make me not gay, which that didn’t work out.” Joseph had no fear of coming out to friends or family because he was gay, but he had more of a fear of coming to terms with it himself. He had a great deal of internalized homophobia, which can be indirectly defined as a gay/lesbian person deterring all of the negative outcomes of being gay onto or upon oneself. Joseph had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he was gay. He lived in fear of unacceptance for himself. This caused more fears to stem from his internalized homophobia of discrimination or mistreatment within his future social or professional life. When asked if being gay had ever affected him socially or professionally, he answered by saying “Yes, yes it actually has. Socially yes. When you go out in public and you dress a certain way and express yourself or act a certain way because you are who you are people are just going to not like you for that. You know, I have been confronted by people out in public, dirty looks have been given, long stares, pointing, you know things like that.” Joseph Hutenburg himself has experienced discrimination and unacceptance by total strangers publicly. He believes that there is no real solution to getting rid of the discriminatory people, but when asked if he still lives in fear of the unacceptance of himself, he responded by stating, “This is one thing that I think everyone just has to learn, the faster you can understand that people are just not going to like you no matter who you are, straight, gay, bi, all off the letters of the LGBTQ+ community, somebody is not going to like you and you’re just going to have to get over it.” This was well said by Joseph Hutenburg, a man who now lives openly with his sexuality.

All citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be treated equally and fairly. In 1924 the first documented gay organization was founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago, named The Society for Human Rights. He felt his own personal calling to protect the rights of lesbian and gay citizens following the German homosexual emancipation movement he had experienced while interning as an alien in World War I for Germany (“Henry Gerber”). Nearly twenty years later in April of 1952, the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual listed homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance (“LGBTQ Rights Milestones Fast Facts”). Doctors actually thought that being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer was a mental disorder. It was not until 1969 that protests and demonstrations began; later becoming known as the impetus for the gay civil rights movement in the United States (“LGBTQ Rights Milestones Fast Facts”). The rights that the movement rightfully fought for were not achieved until forty-seven years later when gay marriage was finally legalized in all fifty states in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015 (“LGBTQ Rights Milestones Fast Facts”). This was still after the fact of a multitude of people trying to veto, ban, or take away protection rights or anti-discrimination laws that would ultimately help the LGBTQ+ community gain the rights they have so justly been fighting for. There are still, unfortunately, many Americans who believe that homosexuality, or the attraction towards the same gender, as well as different gender orientations and identities is disgraceful and should be rightfully discriminated against. Homosexuality is presently outlawed in over seventy countries, and is even punishable by death in some. This is the problem that our world faces. Opponents of the LGBTQ+ community most likely all have a common mindset, that of which includes that idea that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, and also that there are a total of two genders, a male and a female. The way that homophobic, biphobic, or transhpobic people think is very close-minded and not open towards actually learning about the history of the community or realizing that homosexuality is not directly stated as a sin within the bible. This close-minded thinking can lead to discrimination and hate towards the LGBTQ+ community. 

All people within the LGBTQ+ community are affected by the discrimination and hate that is received by people who choose to have a problem with people loving who they want to love and being who they truly are. The impact that the discrimination has on the people of the community is devastating. It is proven that the stigmatization causes a much higher likelihood of emotional distress, anxiety/social anxiety, depression, and even in the most extreme of cases, suicide (“The Impact of Discrimination”). In a 2016 study, it is shown that one out of every four LGBTQ+ people report experiencing discrimination (Singh, Durso). The discrimination that is experienced can affect all aspects of an LGBTQ+ person’s life whether it is socially or professionally. Although our nation has made advancements in acceptance over the years regarding LGBTQ+ equality, it isn’t enough. Sejal Singh and Laura E. Durso worded it well when they state “But to date, neither the federal government nor most states have explicit statutory nondiscrimination laws protecting people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.” There is no set standard of anti-discrimination laws that each state within the country has to conform to. It was reported that between 11 and 28 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer workers lost a promotion because of their sexual orientation, and 27 percent of transgender workers reported being fired, not hired, or denied a promotion within the past year (Singh, Durso). Not only does this discrimination routinely affect the LGBTQ+ community beyond their workplace, but it sometimes costs them their homes, access to education, and even sometimes the ability to engage socially (Singh, Durso). Although the Equality Act was passed on May 17, 2019, meaning that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, public accommodations, housing, credit, and federal funding, among other provisions was banned, it was not enough to accommodate the rights of the heterosexual and  cis-gendered people (Singh, Durso). Something must be done about this inequality immediately.

 There are many ways that the people of the LGBTQ+ community have tried to gain equal protection and rights. One prime example would be pride month or pride parades. These marches/parades get an immense amount of media recognition and celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer open self acceptance, their accomplishments, and civil liberties. LGBTQ+ pride month occurs in the United States to commemorate the past Stonewall riots, which were violent protests by members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid which occurred at the end of June 1969. As a result, many pride marches, parades, and events are held during this month to recognize the impact that the LGBTQ+ people have had globally (“LGBTQ Rights Milestones Fast Facts”). There is a downside to pride month, many homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic people use this as an excuse to discriminate against the community. Heterosexual and cis-gendered people are mostly jealous that people of the LGBTQ+ community get an entire month to celebrate social and self acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride (Minor). Robert N. Minor, Ph.D., and Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas stated “Should he show gentleness and the ability to be in touch with other human emotions, he’s a threat to the straight role. That’s the danger of Pride Fests to this whole system as well as other examples of LGBTQ people out and proud as healthy and happy.” He was trying to explain how the stereotypical role of the straight man is what causes the immense amount of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia during pride month. If people were more educated on the topic of LGBTQ+ history and their rights, their homophobic prompted interactions would occur less often. The use of religion as an excuse to be homophobic is old and overused. All religions are free to believe what they want to, but when it comes to the rights of other humans there is no justifying it with proverbs from a holy text or scripture. A new idea of amelioration for the LGBTQ+ community needs to come to light, and it needs to come soon.

A solution that could solve discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and their rights would be stricter hate crime laws, as well as more rights that would protect people within the community. This could be achieved by more LGBTQ+ educational outlets, peaceful protests, petitions, and media recognition. There are only a handful of states that require LGBTQ+ history within their curriculum, New Jersey being one of those very states. LGBTQ+ history classes would teach students the continuing struggle that all people of the community still have to face. Many states have little to no anti-discrimination laws. If children from a young age learned the hardships of the community and what they faced, many more would be accepting to the community and would teach future generations to be as accepting.  These future generations could potentially grow up to be LGBTQ+ rights activists, or people involved in government that could determine future nondiscrimination laws/protections rights. It is a cycle that would continue to repeat. For now, if the peaceful protests, petitions, and media recognition could achieve the educational outlets for the LGBTQ+ community, the cycle might just be able to get started. When the Facing History educator resource stated within their online article “LGBTQ History and Why It Matters,” “This lesson also gives students the opportunity to consider whose experiences are included in the history taught in schools, whose are often left out, and how that may reflect and perpetuate the “in” groups and “out” groups in our society”, the unnamed writer was trying to suggest that the lesson on the LGBTQ+ community helps students recognize all of the discriminatory experiences every person in the community went through.  Educating students on the history of the LGBTQ+ community can create more equal learning environments and lead to future anti-discrimination laws/protections rights being legalized or put into place. 

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer citizens/activists have fought for and continue to fight for equal protection and treatment under the standards of the United States Constitution. There are still, unfortunately, many Americans who believe that homosexuality, or the attraction towards the same gender, as well as different gender orientations and identities is disgraceful and should be rightfully discriminated against. This is the problem that our world faces. Everyone should have the right to love who they love and be comfortable with who they want to be. Opponents of the LGBTQ+ community all have a common mindset,  the idea that legal marriage should only take place between a man and a woman. They also think that there are a total of two genders, a male and a female. Same-sex marriage was only legalized in 2015. In the years that followed, same-sex couples started to adopt children. Opponents of the LGBTQ+ community were alarmed by this trend. Opponents of the LGBTQ+ community think this is detrimental to society. The opposers feel as if same-sex couples are raising children, the children will also grow up to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community or have the same sexuality as their parents. Their thinking is that more generations of same-sex couples will ruin our society as a whole. I feel as though more people need to be educated about the LGBTQ+ community, and realize that it is not a sin to love who you love and to feel comfortable within your own skin and how you identify. Every sexuality, gender, and pronoun is valid. Love is love.

Works Cited

“Henry Gerber.” The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame, Tracy Baim, http://chicagolgbthalloffame.org/gerber-henry/. Accessed 25 January 2021.

Hutenberg, Joseph. Personal interview. 24 January 2021

“LGBTQ History and Why It Matters.” Facing History, Facing History and Ourselves, https://www.facinghistory.org/educator-resources/current-events/lgbtq-history-and-why-it-matters. Accessed 25 January 2021.

“LGBTQ Rights Milestones Fast Facts.” CNN, CNN Editorial Research, 25 January 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/us/lgbt-rights-milestones-fast-facts/index.html. Accessed 25 January 2021.

Minor, Robert. “It’s the pride part of LGBTQ pride that still drives them nuts.” Liberty Press, vol. 23, no. 10, June 2017, p. 33. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A499494236/GPS?u=bayv26582&sid=GPS&xid=ef35885f. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

Singh, Sejal, and Laura E. Durso. “Widespread Discrimination Continues to Shape LGBT People’s Lives in Both Subtle and Significant Ways.” American Progress, Center for American Progress, 2 May 2017, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-rights/news/2017/05/02/429529/widespread-discrimination-continues-shape-lgbt-peoples-lives-subtle-significant-ways/. Accessed 25 January 2021.

“The Impact of Discrimination.” Beyond Blue, Beyond Blue Support Service, https://www.beyondblue.org.au/who-does-it-affect/lesbian-gay-bi-trans-and-intersex-lgbti-people/the-impact-of-discrimination. Accessed 25 January 2021.