LGBTQ+ Discrimination Attorney in Rochester, NY
It would be nigh-impossible to give a clear rundown, in quick fashion, of what levels of discrimination go on in the LGBTQ community without having to deal with some memo, a memo which anti-LGBTQ proponents don’t seem to get — that the LGBTQ community are first humans pretty much like anyone else, before choosing whichever path of the LGBT spectrum they pitch their tents with.
LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (questioning). The LGBTQ community is made of those whose sexual orientation falls into any of those categories.
Now it’s time for the hard talk.
A good definition always goes a long way in setting up informed conversations. Or blog posts like this one. So, let’s define discrimination. Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people.
That’s a pretty good and simple definition. Discrimination happens when a person is treated differently. LGBTQ+ discrimination occurs when a person is treated unfairly because they belong to the LGBTQ community. The definitions of these terms may seem so simple. Yet, the lives of those affected are filled with many complications.
This post seeks to talk about the forms and display of LGBTQ+ discrimination in today’s society.
LGBTQ+ Discrimination In Action
There are many instances, cases, examples of LGBTQ+ discrimination. There are too many cases to compile and report, yet many cases don’t get reported at all. Here are two very important things to know about LGBTQ+ discrimination:
LGBTQ+ discrimination happens everywhere – at work, at the hospital, at events, and every other place.
LGBTQ+ discrimination affects everything – family, school, work, health, promotions, income, the economy, happiness. It just knows where to hit to make it hurt.
All around the world, people are discriminated based on their sexual orientation around the clock. This discrimination can take the form of beating, bullying, and name-calling. Sometimes, it can take more severe subtle forms like stopping someone from getting a promotion or a fair shot at employment.
A classic example of LGBTQ+ discrimination in action:
Some years back, a man shopping in Washington DC was told to leave a store because he was taking too long. He had only been there for ten minutes. Nothing compared to the time some other persons had spent there. He was targeted and discriminated against because he was adjudged to be someone from the LGBT community.
Perhaps, the most severe form of LGBTQ+ discrimination is the violent kind. Amnesty International reports that LGBTQ+ discrimination of a violent kind was responsible for the death of 369 lives within one year. Just as harsh as death is the mental damage that victims suffer because of discrimination. For example, there are a lot of people who can’t be themselves around the people they love – they can’t wear certain dresses or clothes, they can’t speak in the way that they want, they can’t walk with certain people.
LGBTQ+ Discrimination In The Workplace
One of the more likely places for LGBTQ+ discrimination to occur is the workplace. Workplace discrimination can appear in many forms ranging from firing, denial of promotion opportunities, verbal and sexual harassment, unsafe bathrooms, inadequate healthcare storage. You think you know all the forms of discrimination till a new one shows up again, and you have to update the never-ending catalog.
The General Social Survey (GSS) done by the University of Chicago indicates that 16 percent of LGBTQ respondents have reported losing a job based on their sexuality. The same survey reports that 18 percent of LGBTQ respondents have experienced employment discrimination in applying for and keeping a job because of their sexual orientation.
LGBTQ+ Discrimination In Healthcare
In 2015, The Report of the US Transgender Survey indicated that 25 percent of respondents experienced a problem with their insurance because of issues relating to their sexual orientation. These persons were denied coverage for care related to gender transitions, and even coverage for routine care.
The reality is that members of the LGBTQ need great healthcare services. Living in a society that is yet to fully accept them makes members of the LGBTQ community more prone to suffering from psychological distress. Forty percent of transgender (only a part of the LGBTQ community) have attempted suicide in their lifetime, and that’s nearly nine times the rate in the population of the United States.
The Silver Lining
As the old cliché goes: Tough times never last, but only tough people do. In the LGBTQ community, some progress is still being made.
LGBTQ+ discrimination, while still being a very serious issue, is getting better owing to increased awareness of the public. People are not as averse to the idea of living together with people of different sexual orientations. This represents significant milestones that have been achieved by the LGBTQ community.
In November 2012, the People of Wisconsin elected an openly gay politician to the United States Senate.
On February 26, 2018, the Pentagon confirmed that the first transgender person had signed a contract to join the US military.
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that federal laws now protect LGBTQ workers from discrimination.
Conclusion
Making the right decision to treat persons of different sexual orientations, races, gender the right way is the only way to go. In the modern era, you would expect that cases of LGBTQ+ discrimination (if any) are few and far between, but as the world would have it, this is not yet the case.
The ongoing struggle to achieve sanity in human society and achieve social justice for people who have been wrongfully deprived of opportunities, jobs, entitlements due to their gender is an ongoing one and a collective struggle. It is one we have never shied away from; it is one we have always had an overwhelming appetite for.
If you or any of your friends or loved one has been a victim of LGBTQ+ discrimination by an employer, whether, in Rochester, NY or anywhere else in the country, you should reach out to us today. We can protect your now-legally-recognized right against LGBTQ+ discrimination and get you the damages/compensation/entitlement you so deserve.
Contact us today. We are here to help.
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