The Discrimination Against the LGBTQ+ Community - Have We Done Enough?

 The Discrimination Against the LGBTQ+ Community - Have We Done Enough?

It is impossible to ignore the massive amounts of criticism and discrimination that the LGBTQ+ community has faced over the past few decades, from political issues such as the right to marry one another to religious issues involving the Bible and its “law”. Over the last few years, however, policies have changed, and now it seems anyone can be a member of the LGBTQ+ community without facing discrimination, with many much more accepting than they were a few decades ago, so is there still massive amounts of discrimination?

On June 26th, 2015, the Supreme Court officially struck down all of the bans against gay marriage across the country. It was now legal for the same-gender couple to be married in any state in the United States, something that the LGBTQ+ community had been fighting for. Since early as the 70s, people had been advocating for their right to marry same-sex partners, and it’s clear to see the country has come a long way with its views on the matter.

In the year 2000, President Bill Clinton declared the month of June “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” giving the LGBTQ+ a whole month of recognition throughout the country. In later years, President Barack Obama would reclassify June as “LGBT Pride Month”, with President Joe Biden redeclaring it again a third time, calling it “LGBTQ+ Pride Month” to represent Queers and other individuals who want to associate with the group. During this month, many companies will rebrand their products, and their company logo with the pride flag for the month to show their support for the matter. Companies like Apple, Adidas, and even Disney have recently joined the bandwagon in support of Pride month. It shows how accepting many companies and politicians have become over the past few years of people who consider themselves gay, transgender, lesbian, or queer, and how appreciative they should be that they get a whole month of celebration.

Recently, members of the LGBTQ+ community have been given the right to serve in the military. In the year 2011, a law was passed that allowed openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women to serve in the different branches of the United States military. This is a huge step up from how the LGBTQ+ community was treated back during World War Two and later in the twentieth century. During World War Two, in the early forties, same-sex relations were seen as a criminal act in the ranks of the military and were often seen as a cause for discharge. Back then, being gay was seen as a mental illness, which disqualified gay men and lesbians from serving. It wasn’t until 1982 however that members of the LGBT community were explicitly banned from serving altogether. Compared to today, the fact that anyone, being gay, straight, trans, or queer can serve in the military openly is a great privilege, and it shows how our country has come a long way with its rules on who can and can’t serve. It is considered a great honor to serve and put your life on the line defending this country, and members of the LGBTQ+ community should be grateful that they get to serve in a position that would once have had their court marshaled. 

Recently, there has been a rapid surge of many religious officials, such as priests and ministers opening up to members of the LGBTQ+ community, and accepting them as one of their own. Many have opened the doors of their churches to these people, and have advocated for their rights as people, and children of God. Compare this to churches back in the twentieth century, there was little to no acceptance for people who were gay, lesbian, or transgender. By today’s standards, they should be grateful that they are allowed in church, compared to a few decades ago, when they would have found themselves publicly ashamed and probably even removed from the premises. 

Some might say that even though members of the LGBTQ+ community have seen many benefits and respect over the past few years, there is still much discrimination against them, with constant cyberbullying, attacks from religious people, and laws still being put in place to limit them, but there are so many factors that could easily stop the discrimination they say they still have to face. If you face discrimination online against cyberbullies, just turn off the computer, or go to a different web browser. If you face discrimination against religious people, simply ignore them, or attend a different church if you are so adamant about attending church services. 

Members of the LGBTQ+ community have so many more privileges now than they did a few decades ago. With all of these new changes and advancements for queer people, there no longer is a need for the excess in the celebration that comes with pride month. It can be possible to be proud of who you are without needing a specific month to celebrate. What more is needed to appease this ever-growing trend of yearned oppression of queer people.