Legalizing same sex marriage didn’t make acceptance easier for many in the LGBT community. There is much more work to do.
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Last year, when the Supreme Court declared marriage a constitutional right to same sex couples, many people believed that discrimination was finally coming to an end. They were wrong.
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Currently, there are 18 states that offer no protection to LGBT people at all. Four states have laws protecting sexual orientation, but not gender identity. Seven states only protect state employees. Three states only offer protection for sexual orientation for state employees, but not gender identity.
In 2015, 17 states introduced legislation creating or altering their “Religious Freedom” laws to counter the perceived attack on their religious freedoms when it appeared that same sex marriage would be legalized. It could be argued that the Supreme Court’s decision to allow marriage rights to same sex couples only upped the ante for discrimination against members of the LGBT community.
Republican candidates have vowed to roll back LGBT rights. Marco Rubio said, “That includes reversing any administrative decisions made by this president that force religious, or religious-motivated entities.” In New Mexico, Republican representatives filed anti-LGBT legislation for 2016, which would allow individuals and businesses, based on their religious beliefs, to legally discriminate against LGBT people.
While 2015 saw the banning of conversion therapy in three other states, it is still legal to send children under the age of 18 to therapists to attempt to change their sexual orientations from gay to straight.
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While 2015 saw the banning of conversion therapy in three other states (New Jersey, Illinois and Oregon) and the District of Columbia (it was already banned in California), it is still legal to send children under the age of 18 to therapists to attempt to change their sexual orientations from gay to straight.
As with any human rights issues throughout history, the process is never easy. It is never a straight path to the ultimate goal. When the Supreme Court allowed interracial marriage in 1967, 72% of American adults were opposed to the ruling. 48% favored criminal punishment for those who did marry. By 2013, roughly 13% of American adults were still opposed interracial marriage. Even with an African-American first family in the Whitehouse in 2015 – and a president who is half-black – racial discrimination and racial tensions still exist.
Much of what 2016 looks like for LGBT people is continued education through organizations like GLAAD, which “rewrites the script for LGBT acceptance,” according to their website. GLAAD works with media outlets to ensure positive LGBT representations are made in the media. Several LGBT-positive movies and shows will be released this year.
The Human Rights Campaign helped bring about several changes in 2015, along with the first ever U.S. appointed senior government official working in the U.N. to advance LGBT rights and equality around the world. Additionally, the HRC continues to serve as a resource to LGBT people and their families, addressing related topics. On the forefront of their efforts is religion and sexuality.
Religious organizations continue to deny human rights to the LGBT community more than any other entity. Unfortunately, religion and politics in the United States has melded into a single force.
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Religious organizations continue to deny human rights to the LGBT community more than any other entity. Unfortunately, religion and politics in the United States has melded into a single force. At one time, according to moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whether a person voted Republican or Democrat held no distinction about their faith. This is no longer the case.
According to Pew Research, 65% of white evangelicals identified as Republicans in 2008. That number grew to 70% by 2011. 68% of Mormon voters favored the GOP in 2008, but that number had grown to 80% by 2011. White mainline Protestants grew in support of the Republican party from 45% to 51% by 2011 and white Catholics went from 45% to 49%.
As such, much of the work in 2016 will focus on educating religious organizations on topics related to sexuality and gender. The Gay Christian Network, founded in 2001, has grown exponentially over the last year. Families and pastors who are unhappy with the way the traditional church has historically treated LGBT people are looking for answers. It has become increasingly clear to many of them, in light of science and personal experiences, that homosexuality and gender expression are not as clear-cut as they once believed.
Pastor Danny Cortez was kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2014 when his research led him to a completely different conclusion on the topic of homosexuality. “I believed for years that marriage should only be between one man and one woman,” Cortez said. “But as I began relationships with LGBT persons, I saw that my beliefs had been destructive and not in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
Matthew Vines, author of God and the Gay Christian, founded The Reformation Project, which seeks to educate the evangelical Church on LGBT issues, based on Scriptural interpretation. TRP holds conferences throughout the year in the United States, addressing the fears, concerns and Biblical understanding of evangelicals and LGBT issues.
Several survivors and former leaders of conversion therapy have united to share their experiences with the practice.
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Several survivors and former leaders of conversion therapy have united to share their experiences with the practice. 2016 promises more engagement and speaking out against the destructive force of conversion and reparative therapy from FELA, the Former Ex-gay Leaders Alliance.
Catherine Chapman, the former women’s ministry director at ex-gay group’s Portland Fellowship and a member of FELA, currently co-hosts a weekly broadcast called The Progressive Soul, which addresses sexuality and faith. Catherine is dedicated to ending the practice of conversion therapy and offering help and hope to those who have been affected by it.
Samantha Ames, an attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights continues to lead the charge against conversion therapy with the #BornPerfect Campaign. Ames has seen a number of changes since the campaign began in 2014. Ames works with aseveral conversion and reparative therapy survivors, along with FELA, to help introduce legislation to end the practice of conversion therapy on minors. Conversion/reparative therapy has been deemed harmful and ineffective by nearly all major medical and psychological organizations.
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For my part, I plan to continue speaking at colleges and other organizations, telling the story, sharing the history and explaining the journey of what it’s like to grow up as a gay person in an evangelical Christian environment. Others who have shared my experiences, or young people who find themselves in the throes of the struggle with their parents or their own faith, contact me on a regular basis. There is much work to do to bring about healing in these families, which have been misled by their churches. Many are in need of answers, not currently found in their network of religion and faith.
Marriage equality was a step in the right direction, but it is only a small step toward freedom and equal human dignity for all of us.
Photo – Flickr/ Tony Webster
Kill faggots.
Thank you for your perspective Tim, keep fighting the good fight! The juxtaposition with interracial marriage in 1967 and progress from there brings hope but also acknowledges there is more work to be done.
What is obviously ironic here is that as long as the LGBT community continues to see itself, its self-professed members, as a unique and special group of people within society at large, they will never find the integration into society and equal treatment for which they are clamoring. A comparison to black civil rights would be to say that as long as blacks see race as the issue, then race IS the issue. It ceases to be an issue when blacks no longer see themselves as separate but rather as common members of American society in which rights are extended… Read more »
Bang on Tim.
We are currently hearing a lot about the rights of Trans gender people (or ‘folk’ as I often hear them called … is that an American thing?). I wonder if 2016 will be the year when we start hearing more about trans abled, trans racial, trans species, and trans aged people? Surely all ‘trans’ identities should be treated equally and according to how they define themselves?
As a self identified 85 year old female one legged black cat I wonder what benefits and protections I’d be entitled to from the government?