Discrimination Against the LGBTQ Community is Being Legalized by Many States

“Did they sleep in the same bed?”, asked a group of my friends about John and Patrick, who were overnight house guests of mine.

“Uh, well, yeah”, I answered, incredulous that they would not only ask such a personal question but that they would care about something that was clearly none of their business.

And that, to me, is the crux of the problem. Everyone thinks everyone else’s personal life is their business.

Why do you care?

Why do you think what someone does in the privacy of their own bedroom is your business?

Do you think your personal bedroom habits are the business of someone else?

Would you want strangers dictating what you do with whom in the privacy of your own bedroom?

If this problem stopped at common nosiness, it would be annoying. But it does not stop there, and that makes it dangerous to the future of discrimination laws everywhere.

Two frightening scenarios are at work here. The first is the teaching of outright discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community.

The second is the passage of laws that allow discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

Both are an anathema to everything most of us were taught about fairness, tolerance of anyone different from ourselves, and common decency.

First is the teaching of hatred and discrimination, because, make no mistake about it, discrimination is taught. Children are not bothered by the fact that a friend may have two Moms or two Dads when they and most of their friends have one Mom and one Dad. They may be curious and ask why Jessie has two Moms or two Dads instead of a Mom and Dad, but they will accept the simple answer, “Because some people love a person who is the same as they are.” They will accept it and move on. Unless someone teaches them otherwise.

Unless they are taught that being “gay”, i.e., loving someone of the same sex is wrong, sinful, and “bad”. Unless they are taught to shun and restrict the rights of someone different from themselves.

Second is the passage of laws that allow discrimination. I came of age during the time when anti-discrimination laws were passionately fought for and passed:

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 “that banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as race, in hiring, promoting, and firing”.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 “that outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War.”

In a complete turnaround from laws that prohibit discrimination, state legislatures are now enacting laws that allow and encourage discrimination. The following are a small sample of the countless anti- LGBTQ discriminatory laws passed across the country:

Nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ bills filed in 2022 So Far, Most of Them Targeting Trans-People

Legislative Tracker -All Anti-LGBTQ Bills

South Carolina- Medical Ethics and Diversity Act

Where Your State Stands on LGBTQ Rights

In general, most of the laws passed include “measures that would restrict LGBTQ issues in school curriculums, permit religious exemptions to discriminate against LGBTQ people and limit trans people’s ability to play sports, use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity and receive gender-affirming health care”.

Since the most recent Gallop Poll, and a recent survey conducted in March 2022 by the Public Religion Research Institute report that 79% of Americans support laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public accommodations, and nearly 70% of Americans support same-sex marriage, up from 54 percent in 2014, how are these laws being passed? How are a small, selective group of ultra-conservative politicians being allowed to legislate discrimination?

This article is a plea for answers. I want you to explain to me why you think discrimination is acceptable and why you think anyone has the right to legislate discrimination against ANYONE?

If anyone has ideas on how to combat this blatant discrimination, I would like to hear them. I’m listening.

Conversely, all civil and respectful opposing comments are encouraged.

This article was originally published in Illumination-Curated, a Medium.com publication.

©Copyright 2022 Joan Gershman