We have made steady progress when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. LGBT folks can now legally marry their partner in all 50 states. In 2014, President Obama's Executive Order amended Executive Order 11246 of President Lyndon B. Johnson. This prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity alongside race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Yet we have a long way to go when ensuring that the LGBTQ+ community is protected and granted their rights as citizens. For example, as of 2016, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Florida, Arizona, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Idaho are the only states with campaigns working to amend existing state anti-discrimination laws to also protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

The Orlando Massacre reawakened the hard and terrifying truth that the LGBTQ+ community is still a target. Transgender folks still have to both worry about being killed on the street alongside whether it is safe for them to use a public restroom. The LGBT community is still trying to assimilate themselves in a system not made for them, with an anti-LGBT rhetoric founded by our very nation to match. With this being said, it has infested our country with needless intolerance and hate which only complicate these issues further. Our fight is multidimensional and thickly layered.

But, amidst the good fight for LGBTQ+ rights, there is one that has seemingly slipped under our nose and has not been put into the spotlight. Our LGBT elders need us more than ever to ensure that they are well taken care of in their old age. When a friend of mine posted this story about Marsha Wetzel, my heart sank. Our LGBT elders have pushed themselves in the front-lines since the wee beginnings and have lived their lives out then to help the community live their lives out now.

Marsha Marie Wetzel is a disabled and elderly lesbian woman living in Glen Street. Andrew Living Community in Niles, Illinois. She was evicted from the home her and her lifelong partner, Judy, shared. Judy passed away from cancer and her family did not approve of their relationship prior. Judy's family confiscated all of her possessions, which included the house Marsha and Judy shared jointly. With nowhere to live, Marsha settled in to St. Andrew's.

At first, living in the community was peachy. Marsha was making friends with her fellow residents and she felt safe in her new home. After being asked by another resident where her husband was, Marsha explained that she did not have a husband but a lifelong partner. Marsha further explained that her and Judy raised their adopted son together. News spread within the living community which sparked the formation of a homophobic and hostile living environment.

Marsha states that other residents displayed “gay hate,” and there were “a handful of residents I could tell were really going to give me trouble.” She said that she tried to avoid them, but they would seek her out and taunt her. Residents would call her slurs such as “fucking dyke,” “fucking faggot,” and “homosexual bitch,” and physically attack her.

When Marsha reported the incidents to the facility administrators, they only further marginalized and isolated her instead of taking action. It was then that she contacted the Lamda Legal Help Desk which specializes in LGBT rights cases. On the behalf of Marsha, Lamda has an active court case against St. Andrew Living community under the claim that "...under the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex."

It is my personal belief that we must continuously help those who came before us and spread the same love, compassion, and warmth in order to move forward and make progress. Therefore, it is imperative help those who need their voices projected and stories heard. Marsha needs our support now more than ever, and so do other elder LGBT folks that may be in the same community living environments. Our LGBT elders have fought too hard to be swept back into the closet for their own safety. They deserve to age with dignity, just as we do. Marsha has spoken up, and we must do our part to stand with her.

Lamda Legal has set up a page for people to send a note of support as she goes through the court case. There is also a GoFundMe for Marsha, and all funds donated will go directly to her. It is assumed she will use it to pay her legal and living fees. Also, an address is provided to send her letters of encouragement and love.