LGBTQ Rights
Summary: LGBTQ mistreatment is an epidemic that requires a systemic political change to remedy.
LGBTQ people are inadequately legally protected against hate crimes and violence.
We must Pass the Equality Act, which would provide additional protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as education, employment, and other essential rights.
We must roll back SESTA/FOSTA, and instead invest real resources into existing Department of Justice programs like the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS).
We must combat the weaponization of laws such as the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and other protections for religious freedom in the United States.
Over the last 30 years, the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S. has experienced both unprecedented wins and devastating losses. At a time when our LGBTQ+ neighbors’ lives and livelihoods are increasingly at-risk, it is crucial that we show up with new leadership to get the essential first steps outlined here implemented and to push beyond LGBTQ+ policies of the past 30 years.
Obergefell v. Hodges (June 26, 2015), the landmark Supreme Court case that secured the right to marry for same-sex couples in the United States under the Fourteenth Amendment, is not codified. This means that states are not required to uphold the ruling in law and in practice. At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are continuously threatened at individual states’ discretion, it is imperative that this and other protections are codified and expanded, and that new ones are implemented. Currently, 27 states do not have laws in place that explicitly protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; this places LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly transgender individuals and queer People of Color, at a disadvantage across areas such as housing, healthcare, access to a stable education and employment, and so much more. Queer and transgender lives are in danger because lawmakers continuously fail to protect all people equally. We must codify Obergefell.
With this in mind, We must Pass the Equality Act, which would provide additional protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as education, employment, and other essential rights. In addition to amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we must pass the Fair and Equal Housing Act to explicitly protect Americans from discrimination in access to housing on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Further, We must pass the PrEP Access and Coverage Act, which would require public and private health insurance plans to cover preventative HIV medications, eliminating out-of-pocket costs for these life-saving medications. The PrEp Access and Coverage Act would also ensure equal access to coverage for disability and long-term care insurance and would implement grant programs for health care facilities to provide preventative HIV medications to individuals without insurance.
These proposals are only the tip of the iceberg; they are the first steps toward leveling an incredibly uneven playing field among non-LGBTQ+ Americans, LGBTQ+ Americans, and disparities within the LGBTQ+ population. Within the LGBTQ+ community, transgender people are particularly at risk in employment, with 44% of transgender people experiencing unemployment or under-employment. In turn, this exacerbates issues in access to necessities like food and quality healthcare. As we work toward creating a society that serves everyone, it is crucial that we do so in a way that centers populations that are at greater risk like the transgender and disabled communities; this means that policies related to an industry like sex work, which marginalized communities are more likely to utilize as a source of income, should not further threaten the livelihoods of sex workers physically or economically. As the sex-work industry has moved in the past 20 years to a predominantly-online industry, it is critical that we take steps to prevent sex and child trafficking while also protecting the rights and autonomy of voluntary sex-workers. SESTA/FOSTA are laws that attempted to mitigate sex trafficking but have, in reality, brought harm to many in sex work industry online. SESTA/FOSTA holds website publishers responsible if third parties are found to be posting ads for prostitution, which includes consensual sex work. This means that LGBTQ+ people in the United States are disadvantaged by SESTA/FOSTA. We must roll back SESTA/FOSTA, and instead invest real resources into rebuilding trust and coordination between trafficking-affected communities and law enforcement, so that vulnerable communities and individuals have the resources and capabilities to fight back against trafficking in its early stages.
Further, it is essential that we combat the weaponization of laws such as the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and other protections for religious freedom in the United States. RFRA was weaponized in the Trump era to privilege protections for some over others, bringing harm in particular to America’s LGBTQ+ communities, those seeking reproductive healthcare, religious minorities, and people with disabilities. Both Congress and the President must work to re-establish fair and equal separation of church and state and to equally protect the religious rights of all Americans. It is crucial that Americans have equal access to government-funded and services at faith-based providers in areas such as health care and employment. In an era where some lawmakers view trans kids playing in sports divisions that reflect their gender identity and drag shows as bigger threats than assault weapons, in an era of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills, we must take steps to ensure democracy functions fairly and safely for all.
LGBTQ+ people are inadequately legally protected against hate crimes and violence. This lack of protection from violence alongside the lack of legal security for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people is an epidemic. A 2015 survey concluded that 47% of transgender people are assaulted at some point in their lives. Already in 2022, at least 14 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been murdered in the United States, a majority of whom were trans women of color.
It is far past time to deliver safety and freedom to all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. With a hostile Supreme Court and countermajoritarian rule in this country, we are experiencing an erosion of civil rights and liberties. It is crucial that we elect a new generation of leaders and messengers to fight for these rights over the next decade and begin to win this country back over.