On June 26, the Supreme Court made a monumental decision: same gender marriage was legalized in the entire Unites States. Hooray! Same gender partners are now entitled to the many benefits that come with marriage: rights to visit a partner in the hospital, the ability to obtain medical benefits through a partner's employer, joint adoptions and the right to live in family only neighborhoods -- just to name a few.
While this is a great step for our country there is still a long way to go, and this SCOTUS decision does not mean that discrimination against LGBTQIA people is over. In fact, we are a far cry from that. Unfortunately, the SCOTUS decision on equal marriage rights for all does not even begin to scratch the surface on legal moves that need to be made to protect groups that are marginalized, even within the LGBTQIA community. These range from teen homelessness, homophobic family members, conversion therapy, violence and harassment against LGBTQIA (especially transgender) people, surgeries to relieve gender dysphoria among transgender individuals not being covered by health insurance agencies to employers who are legally permitted to discriminate against, and even fire, individuals solely based on the fact that the identify under the LGBTQIA spectrum.
Despite the fact that all people can now legally marry, regardless of gender, much of the United States still has a right to discriminate against LGBTQIA people. Only 19 states (plus the District of Colombia) have laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace, including firing based on sexuality and gender identity and/or expression. But just think, there are 28 states that have no laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, and only three that prohibit discrimination based on sexuality but offer no protection to transgender/gender nonconforming people. The same numbers stand for states that protect or don't protect individuals from being unfairly evicted or denied housing based on their sexuality and gender identity. And, amazingly, only 17 states prohibit business and public spaces from discriminating against or denying service to individuals based on sexuality or gender identity and expression.
In addition to this, LGBTQIA homeless, especially among teens, is a growing issue. Almost half of homeless youth self identify as LGBTQIA; 68 percent of these youths have been kicked out of their homes by their own families because of their sexuality, or gender identity, and 54 percent reported being abuse survivors -- abused and harassed by their own family. Being merely children and teens, these young individuals are particularly susceptible to physical and mental health issues, which leads to ill LGBTQIA individuals, who are unable to access healthcare, eventually finding their way into a correctional institution.
Another issue that is particularly pertinent to LGBTQIA youth is the legality of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is an extremely damaging and horrifying process unfairly inflicted upon LGBTQIA youth. Unaccepting parents and family are able to send youths to conversion therapy "camps" or to individual sessions with a "therapist," basically a "pray the gay away" method. LGBTQIA individuals are treated as if their sexuality and/or gender identity are a disease that needs "fixing," as if they as humans need fixing, and that their identity was just a farce they created and "underneath" this was their true "innate heterosexual" self. This type of abuse can lead already vulnerable youths to a life of mental illness, particularly personality disorders, or post traumatic stress disorder.
Violence and harassment against LGBTQIA individuals is also on the rise, and with all societal issues, this also ties in with racial discrimination in our country. Of all the LGBTQIA murders that happened in 2011, a whopping 87 percent were people of color. We, as a society, need to recognize the intersectionality of these societal issues if we are ever to repair them.
Trans women account for the largest percentage of victims of all LGBTQIA hate murders, with 45 percent of victims being trans women. We also need to recognize the damaging effects of imposed hyper masculinity in this country. Feminism among young people is on the rise, which is great, but feminism needs to account for the atrocities being committed against all women, not just cisgender women. The legalization of same gender marriage is a wonderful first step to becoming a totally accepting society, and there are some great rights that come along with the ability to get married.
We need to recognize that discrimination and violence against LGBTQIA people is not over just because same sex marriage is legal now, there are still many pressing issues that need to be addressed immediately if we want to see a safe nation for LGBTQIA people within our lifetime. We have come so far as a society, and it is amazing to see, but please remember that we still have quite a ways to travel in front of us. Please remember that even though you may not be seeing or experiencing something firsthand, there are people out there suffering unfairly. #LoveWins.
For more on these topics:
http://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_th...
http://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimin...
http://www.avp.org/storage/documents/Reports/2012_...
http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/u...
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2013/02/04/op-e...
http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/u...
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/report...
