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Landan Ariail
Debock
English 4 H
10 November 2016

Discrimination Against the LGBT+ Community

Although discrimination against the LGBT+ community has become less prevalent in
parts of the United States, it is still a raging problem all across the world. The term used to
describe this specific type of discrimination is homophobia. Homophobia is an issue that is
targeted at people of all ages; From adolescents to adults. The young people of the LGBT+
community face judgment and brutality from their peers daily. While the adults of the
community experience these same forms of discrimination, they also deal with an unfairness
from the law. Many laws exist that allow discrimination against adoption and the services of
employers, businesses, landlords and even healthcare providers . While both adults and
adolescents of the LGBT+ community deal with the harshness of societys hatred and judgment,
LGBT+ adults also deal with legal restrictions against forming a family and creating a life of
their own.
Blau describes in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE that employment discrimination
concerning sexual orientation is state jurisdiction (22). State jurisdiction gives each state the
authority to decide whether certain cases of discrimination are legal or illegal. While many states
have declared sexual orientation discrimination illegal, a number of states have no law against it.
The reality that sexual orientation discrimination is not prohibited has been evidently declared by
several cases within the judicial system (Chavan 43). In other words, a scenario that involves a
member of the LGBT+ community applying for a job and getting denied solely based on their

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sexual orientation, is legal. Other situations where the LGBT+ community is discriminated
against by the law are in custody battles. More specifically, custody battles involving a same sex
couple that conceived a child through assisted reproductive technology (procedure where eggs
are surgically retrieved from a womans ovaries, combined with sperm in the laboratory, and then
placed back in the womans body or donated to another woman). When a same-sex couple is
fighting for custody over a child that the two people created with assisted reproductive
technology, the law only views the connection between the genetic parent and the child, resulting
in the non-genetic parent losing custody or even visitation (Feinberg 331). It is safe to assume
that the discrimination within the custody battles could be one of the reasons a child grows up
with mental and emotional instability.
Not only is the LGBT+ community discriminated against by the law, but they are also
discriminated against by society as well. Hate crimes are an example of discrimination from both
the law and society. Generally speaking, a person who is found guilty of a hate crime faces a
heightened sentence (Gerstenfeld). Although being guilty of a hate crime results in an increased
punishment, it is not always the case that defendants are found guilty of them. Human Rights
Campaign explains that federal laws protect victims of hate crimes based on race, color, religion
or national origin. Of the 45 states holding hate crime laws, only 25 and the District of Columbia
list sexual orientation as a protected category (Human Rights Campaign). This lack of protection
by federal law can easily be categorized as a form of discrimination against the LGBT+
community. Hate crimes are characterized as the most extreme manifestation of societal
prejudice against lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in Hate Crimes on Trial: Judgments
about Violent Crime against Gay Men (Cramer et al. 202). When the government turns a blind
eye to something so radical, it could send a message of approval to society. A conclusion can be

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made that the government's contribution to the discrimination against the LGBT+ community
encourages heightened judgment and hatred from society.
Bullying is an issue that adolescents encounter daily. In LGBT Youth Suffer Long-Term
Effects from Bullying, Muraco and Russell state, A growing body of research has shown that
much of the bullying that takes place at school is motivated by prejudice. Bullying based on
prejudice has stronger links with negative health outcomes than bullying for other reasons.
When a child is bullied because (s)he is a part of the LGBT+ community, the possibility of the
child having health problems increases. Along with being bullied at school, the LGBT+ youth
also faces hatred at home. Ray believes that a childs sexual orientation or gender identity is a
significant factor that results in (s)he being vagrant. Once homeless, these children sometimes
have the option of staying in a shelter, but even these shelters are unsafe. LGBT and gender
nonconforming teens represent a particular group that is frequently targeted (Muraco and
Russell). LGBT+ youth often think they have escaped discrimination at home by migrating to a
shelter, only to find that many shelters are filled with hatred too. Ray tells of a shelter in which
LGBT+ youth were heavily mistreated by employees and other adolescents because of their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
All members of the LGBT+ community, despite their age, experience a plethora of
discrimination from both the law and society.

Works Cited
Blau, Max. "Pride and Prejudice." Atlanta 55.6 (2015): 21. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Nov.
2016. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=f5h&AN=109491457&site=eds-live&authtype=uid>.

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Campaign, Human Rights. "Antigay Hate Crimes Are a Serious Problem." Hate Groups. Ed.
Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
<http://link.galegroup.com.scsl.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010224236/OVIC?
u=scschools&xid=2de5b645>.
Chavan, Anjali P. "The Changing Landscape of LGBT Rights in Employment Law." Employee
Relations Law Journal 41.3 (2015): 41. AP Source. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=aqh&AN=110423780&site=eds-live&authtype=uid>.
Cramer, Robert J., Emily E. Wakeman, Joseph F. Chandler, Jonathan J. Mohr, and Michael P.
Griffin. "Hate Crimes on Trial: Judgments about Violent Crime against Gay Men."
Psychiatry, Psychology & Law 20.2 (2013): 202-15. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17
Nov. 2016. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=86745853&site=eds-live&authtype=uid>.
Gerstenfeld, Phyllis B. "Hate Crime." Salem Press Encyclopedia. N.p.: Salem, 2015. N. pag. Ers.
Web. 17 Nov. 2016. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=ers&AN=87322475&site=eds-live&authtype=uid>.
Muraco, J.A., and S.T. Russell. "LGBT Youth Suffer Long-Term Effects from Bullying."
Bullying. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2015. Current
Controversies. Rpt. of "How School Bullying Impacts Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender (LGBT) Young Adults." 2011: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web.
17 Nov. 2016.

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<http://link.galegroup.com.scsl.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010956219/OVIC?
u=scschools&xid=879313bd>.
Ray, Nicholas. "Gay and Transgender Teens Are at Increased Risk of Becoming Street Teens."
Street Teens. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints.
Rpt. of "Executive Summary." Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: An
Epidemic of Homelessness. New York, NY: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy
Institute and the National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006. 1-7. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
<http://link.galegroup.com.scsl.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010773209/OVIC?
u=scschools&xid=c0f8ea7b>.