Running head: WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 1

What Freedom Means: LGBTQ+ Rights in America

Jessica A. Rinehart

Legal Studies Academy at First Colonial High School

WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 2

Abstract

The following research paper looks into the harassment and discrimination of the

LGBTQ+ community. This paper examines the effects of harassment and discrimination against

the LGBTQ+ community within America as well as the history of struggle for LGBTQ+ rights

throughout the decades including what still needs to be accomplished. Harassment,

discrimination, homophobia, gender expression, and gender identity are a few terms that will be

found throughout the paper. One of the critical terms of the paper will be LGBTQ+ (or LGBT)

which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other for the inclusiveness of

the community as a whole and all sexualities/identities that fall under the term.

Keywords:​ LGBTQ+, harassment, discrimination, homophobia, LGBT

WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 3

What Freedom Means: LGBTQ+ Rights in America

Who says we as individuals have the right to tell someone else who they can or cannot

love? The United States is a melting pot of different nationalities and different sexual

orientations, yet there is still a good portion of American citizens who feel as though they have a

right to dictate another’s life, mainly another person’s love life. LGBT citizens around the world

have faced harassment and discrimination based solely on their sexual orientation or gender

identity, primarily for being themselves. USLegal defines harassment as any “unwanted,

un-welcomed, and uninvited behavior that demeans, threatens, or offends the victim and results

in a hostile environment for the victim.” Harassment laws vary in content, qualifications, and

consequences by state. An example of harassing behavior is any derogatory comments or slurs

(USLegal Inc, 1997-2016)​. The most prominent place to find harassment has been within the

school systems of America, where the administration has failed to protect the constitutional

rights of LGBT students, opting instead to teach other students that it is okay to bully and harm

students of the LGBT community.

Discrimination is an “act of exclusion prompted by prejudice” ​(Gay and Lesbian

Students: Understanding Their Needs; Understanding Homophobia, page 28)​. According to

Planned Parenthood, homophobia is “the fear, hatred, discomfort with, or mistrust of people who

are lesbian, gay, or bisexual”​ (Planned Parenthood, 2018)​. In many cases, discrimination and

harassment are closely tied to homophobic views of a community. The section titled ​History of

Struggle​ will go into depth on how individuals of the LGBT community have been all because

their love, two men or two women, fell outside of the cultural norm, one man and one woman.
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 4

The Human Rights Campaign defines gender identity as “one’s innermost concept of self

as male, female, a blend of both or neither - how individuals perceive themselves and what they

call themselves.” Gender expression is defined as “the external appearance of one’s gender

identity.” Gender expression, different from self-proclaimed gender identity, is mostly expressed

through one’s behavior, clothing, haircut, or voice​ (The Human Rights Campaign, 2018)​.

History of Struggle

The struggle for equality among the LGBTQ+ community can be traced back to the

classical Greek civilization, mainly between the 12th and 14th centuries, when homosexuals

were persecuted alongside Jews, Muslims, and heretics. Around this time, in the late

13th-century, Thomas Aquinas’ writings influenced the Catholic Church’s view of

homosexuality and remains to influence the Church’s view today. In the eyes of the Catholic

Church, homosexuals have been seen as a so-called “sin against nature” because homosexuality

went against the values of procreation ​(Besner, Spungin, 1995)​. Starting at the beginning of the

14th century (1300 A.D.), any sexual act between two males or two females warranted the death

penalty throughout the majority of European countries (Besner, Spungin, 1995). 13th-century

criminal codes were still used throughout eastern European countries, namely England and

Germany, up until the 20th century ​(Bullough, 1979; Besner, Spungin, 1995)​. After the end of

World War One, people began to believe of homosexuality as “a ‘contagion’ (or an evil) of

sorts”​ (Tamagne; Lambrecht, 2018)​.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Germany continued to display homophobic

actions around the time of Jewish persecution in World War II, although their persecution of gay

men was barely a fragment of the Jewish genocide. (Boswell, 1980; Besner, Spungin, 1995). One
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 5

of Hitler’s subordinates, Himmler, viewed “gay men as one of the many immoralities

supposedly propagated by Jews.” Himmler encouraged “medical” experiments, such as hormonal

treatments and castration, which he believed would “cure” homosexuals ​(Hayes, 2015)​.

Himmler’s idea behind the experiments was to reintegrate the newly “cured” homosexuals back

into the community, mainly the army (Tamagne; Lambrecht, 2018). The Nazis viewed

homosexuality as a more reputable offense than the Jewish religion; however, the sexual acts of

gays were considered to be a problem in the face of producing Hitler’s ideal Aryan society

(Hayes, 2015). Moreover, the Nazi regime rounded up and persecuted, to a lesser extreme than

the Jews, German homosexuals for the sole purpose of purging Germany of homosexual acts

(Hayes, 2015).

In 1871, under the Wilhelm Republic, followed by the Weimar Republic (governments

leading before the Nazi regime took power), the Criminal Code of the German Empire added

§175 which stated “sexual acts against nature that are perpetrated, whether between persons of

male gender or between men and animals, are punishable by imprisonment. There may also be a

pronouncement of loss of civil rights” (Tamagne; Lambrecht, 2018). The Criminal Code of the

German Empire §175 remained in place until June 1994. Towards the end of the Wilhelm

Republic, from 1902 to 1918, police had an average of 380 arrests of gay men per year. At the

beginning of the Weimar Republic, 1919 to 1934, police had an average of 704 arrests of gay

men per year. During the time of both republics, Berlin police showed tolerance, allowing a

homosexual subculture to form. Yet homosexuals in Berlin were not fully accepted, Berlin police

kept detailed records of homosexuals in the area, and these lists aided the Nazis in their

discriminatory projects aimed towards the gay men of Germany. The Nazi’s added to the Berlin
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 6

list with a total of 100,000 homosexuals documented in the Reich Central Office; 50,000 of those

document were imprisoned (Tamagne; Lambrecht, 2018).

During February and March 1933, the Nazi party’s first weeks in power, Hitler took

measures to eliminate homosexual demonstrations and sent a number of lesbians to concentration

camps under various names of crimes such as “political” or “asocials” (Tamagne; Lambrecht,

2018). The main two concentration camps for homosexuals were Auschwitz and Sachsenausen

where they were required to report to the brothel and wear a pink triangle on their arm. Within

the concentration camps, homosexuals were barely treated better than Jews; however,

homosexuals were given the hardest labor and forced to live in inhuman conditions. It is

estimated that between 5,000 and 15,000 homosexuals died in concentration camps (Tamagne;

Lambrecht, 2018).

As of 1945 to 2003, the Criminal Code of the German Empire §175 has seen changes

which decriminalized homosexual acts at the set age of consent, which, as of the 1980s, is the

age of 16. In August of 2001, Germany officially recognized homosexual couples “through the

contracting of a ‘declared partnership’” which grants the same rights as marriage (Tamagne;

Lambrecht, 2018).

Civil Rights and Violence

The Stonewall Riots of 1969 in the Greenwich Village of New York City was a crucial

point in the fight for equality in the LGBT movement ​(Armstrong, Crage, 2006)​. The Stonewall

Inn, an establishment frequented by the excluded LGBT community, was also the site of many

police raids in which patrons would be beaten, arrested, and jailed for being part of the LGBT

community ​(Robinson, 2011)​. On the night of June 28, 1969, nine officers raided the inn,
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 7

arresting employees and a few patrons of the Stonewall Inn ​(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018)​.

Patrons and residents of Greenwich Village became irritated with the harassment and “social

discrimination” shown by the police ​(History.com, 2018)​. Bystanders and patrons hung around

the outside of the inn, voicing their anger towards the officers, even at points throwing

miscellaneous objects at the officers (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). Those outside of

Stonewall Inn protested the social discrimination and intolerance shown towards the community

over five days following the incident on June 28, 1969 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018;

History.com, 2018). The protests led to the beginning of many gay rights organizations and

impacted legislative changes years down the line. (Robinson, 2011).

In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student at the University of Wyoming

was brutally beaten and tortured by Aaron Mckinney and Russell Henderson ​(Simon, 2018;

Parrot-Sheffer, 2018)​. The two men left Matthew tied to a fence to die in the cold; the

motivation, Matthew was openly gay. Matthew Shepard died four days later in Fort Collins

hospital from his injuries. After his death, Matthew’s parents formed the Matthew Shepard

Foundation to issue support and resources to LGBT youth, moreover to advocate for local,

regional, and national outreach programs (Simon, 2018).

At the time of the attack, federal hate crime laws did not include protections based on

sexuality or sexual orientation (Parrot-Sheffer, 2018). This changed in 2009 when former

President Barack Obama passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes

Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. The Matthew Shepard Act “added new

federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 8

orientation” to be included with race, gender, religion, and national origin of the previous 1968

federal hate crimes law ​(U.S. Department of Justice, 2018)​.

Youth and Young Adults in Schools

About 3.2 million American youth between the ages of eight and eighteen identify as

LGBTQ, and a little over half (1.6 million) of LGBTQ youth in America are in secondary

schooling, grades nine to twelve ​(Dowd, 2018)​. Most cases of harassment and/or discrimination

towards LGBTQ youth prominently takes place throughout grades nine to twelve, usually shown

through demeaning language or bullying from students and/or faculty. Students that faced

harassment and discrimination within their school from administrators, students, or faculty have

sued their former school districts. Bullying of students for their sexual orientation, perceived or

not, remains a significant problem in America’s schools. Often, bullying and harassment lead to

fear of going to school, high dropout rates for LGBTQ students, or sadly sometimes suicide.

The 1993 lawsuit ​Nabozny v. Podlesny​ is fundamental case law arming students of

bullying with a legal precedent against school administrators who fail to protect them under the

14th Amendment. Jamie Nabozny was harassed throughout the grades seven to eleven. In the

seventh-grade, Jamie realized that he was gay, and soon his classmates came to the same

conclusion. Throughout middle school, Jamie Nabozny was harassed both physically and

verbally. Jamie notified the school guidance counselor and principal, Mary Podlesny, of the

harassment and received a promise from Podlesny that she would take action against the

students; however, action was never made. After being mock raped in a seventh-grade

classroom, the Nabozny family decided to meet with the principal to find out what action would

be made against Jamie’s aggressors. At the meeting principal Podlesny stated, “boys will be
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 9

boys, and if Nabozny was going to be so openly gay he should expect such behavior from fellow

students” ​(7th Cir., 1996)​. In eighth-grade, a district attorney advised Jamie to remove himself

from school for a little while, but when Jamie returned, the harassment worsened and led him to

attempt suicide. High school was no different; the same group of boys still harassed Jamie. In

ninth grade, Jamie was assaulted in the restroom and peed on. The continued harassment along

with the school administration’s failure to discipline Jamie’s aggressors led Jamie to attempt

suicide for a second time. In tenth grade, Jamie was verbally assaulted on the school bus and

pelted with steel nuts and bolts. The same year, he was beaten for five to ten minutes, the beating

would hospitalize him for internal bleeding weeks later.

Again administration failed to discipline the aggressors; the assistant principal, Blauert,

told Jamie “he deserved such treatment for being gay” (7th Cir., 1996). The following year,

before eleventh grade began, Jamie Nabozny withdrew from the Ashland Public School System

and was diagnosed with PTSD from the years of trauma. The Seventh Circuit Court looked at the

school district’s policies, finding the district and school administration violated Jamie Nabozny’s

14th Amendment right to equal protection by discrimination based on his gender or sexual

orientation. The Court found the school district had a policy that protects students from

student-on-student sexual harassment and battery. The policy was in compliance to Wisconsin

statute section 118.13(1) which states “no person may … be discriminated against in any

curricular, extracurricular, pupil services, recreational, or other program or activity because of

the person’s sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental

status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability” (7th Cir., 1996).
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The administration’s failure to discipline Jamie’s aggressors contributed to an environment

where the harassment increased because of Jamie’s sexual orientation (Frank, 2014).

Constitutional Laws Protecting Students Rights in Schools

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Act of 2009 was signed into effect by President

Barack Obama and is the first piece of federal legislation explicitly protecting individuals of the

LGTBQ community. This Act expanded the 1969 Federal Hate Crimes Law’s definition of a

hate crime to include crimes motivated by a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or

disability. The Matthew Shepard Act allows the Department of Justice to prosecute a hate crime,

even if the victim was not engaging in a federally protected activity (Frank 2014).

Equal Access Act of 1984 prevents discrimination against a student’s speech under the

First Amendment. The Act applies to all public high schools in the United States that receive

federal funds, requiring schools that all non-curriculum clubs are not discriminated based on the

“religious, political, philosophical, or other sort of speech at the group’s meetings” (Frank 2014).

Doe v. Yunits​, the first reported case on behalf of a transgender student in 2000. Pat Doe began to

experiment with makeup and dress in feminine clothing for school at the age of 15. Pat wore

clothes similar to other middle school girls but was singled out and harassed by school officials

for being male and wearing female clothing. At the beginning of her eighth-grade year, Pat Doe

was told to report to the principal each morning where she was subjected to a morning inspection

of her clothing. If the principal deemed Pat’s clothes as “too feminine,” Pat would be told to go

home and change, subsequently missing school lessons. Pat Doe would often fail to return to

school after being told to change and would eventually stop attending school for the remainder of

her eighth-grade year. Towards the beginning of the fall semester for 2000, Pat Doe was denied
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 11

from enrolling unless she ceased to wear women’s clothing and makeup to school. On October

12, 2000, Massachusetts Supreme Court Judge, Linda E. Giles, found the school violated Pat’s

First Amendment right to freedom of speech, protected by ​Tinker v. Des Moine,​ because Pat’s

clothing was not distracting from student’s learning since her attire was similar to clothing worn

by her fellow female classmates. Judge Giles found the school had discriminated against Pat

because of her gender, a biological male who wore makeup and feminine clothing (Ciantto,

Cahill, 2012). Massachusetts is currently one of 16 states to protect students from discrimination

based on their sexual orientation and gender identity as well as one of 20 states to protect

students from harassment and/or bullying based on their sexual orientation and gender identity

(Human Rights Campaign, 2018).

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires all schools receiving federal

money to protect students from sexual harassment. School districts can be held liable under the

law if an administrator knew about the sexual harassment and failed to provide the student with

sufficient support to end the harassment, such as disciplining the harasser (Hunter, Joslin,

McGowan, 2004). However, Title IX does not protect LGBT from discrimination based on their

sexual orientation or from sexual harassment, although school districts might have policies that

comply with a state statute such as the Ashland School Board’s policy on the discrimination of

LGBT students stated in ​Nabozny v. Podlesny.​

Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment protects LGBT students, especially in

public schools, from harassment. Schools must protect all students, LGBTQ or non-LGBTQ,

from harassment equally and without bias. According to ​The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men,

Bisexuals, and Transgender People​, under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, the
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 12

duty of a public school is to protect LGBT students from harassment just as they would defend a

non-LGBT student from harassment (Hunter, Joslin, McGowan, 2004).

Employment

The gay rights movement states three main goals regarding the workplace: create an

accepting work atmosphere, same-sex couples should have the same benefits and recognition

through domestic partnerships as opposite-sex couples, and fight against discrimination (Frank,

2014). If the House of Representatives passes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

(ENDA), it would add sexual orientation to the list of outlaws workplace discrimination and

employers would be banned from “firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against workers or

job applicants based on their sexual orientation” (O’Keefe, 2013). There are no laws, as of now,

protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation or expression of gender identity.

Due to the lack of legal resources, there are still 29 where it is legal to fire someone based on

their sexual orientation, and in 34 states, it is legal to fire an employee based on their gender

identity or expression (National LGBTQ Task Force, 2018). However, as of 2014, the District of

Columbia and 21 out of the 50 states as well as over 200 city/county laws currently prohibit

employment discrimination based on an employee’s sexual orientation (Frank, 2014).

Employment protections: The Difference Between Public and Private Sector

Public sector employment is funded by taxpayers and provides services to the taxpayers.

Private sector employment is revenue based and relies on large surpluses of money to pay

employees and grow the company. Both the public and private sector can be required by the state

to provide the same benefits given to a heterosexual partner to an employee in a domestic

partnership. Some benefits include health insurance and an employee’s leave time “in the event
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 13

of a partner’s illness” (Frank 2014). Private sector employers can decide to grant domestic

partner-type benefits to their LGBT employees, except in cities and counties with equal benefits

ordinances. Equal benefits ordinances require employers who would like to work with the city to

offer partners of same-sex employees the same benefits provided to the spouse of a

hetero-employee (Frank, 2014).

LGBT public sector employees can rely on a level of anti-discrimination protection based

on their sexuality under the 14th Amendment; this is not always the case for private sector

employees. Many states have civil service protections which require a justification for

termination of an employee (Frank, 2014). ​Romer v. Evans​ set a precedent for upholding civil

service protections. The Supreme Court ruled that there must be a rational reason for the

government to treat an employee differently because of their sexual orientation and the reason

must be backed by a legitimate purpose (Hunter, Joslin, McGowan, 2004). A 1969 case law for

employment protections against discrimination is ​Norton v. Macy.​ Norton was fired from NASA

after receiving a traffic violation by the police for meeting a man in Lafayette Square. The

Federal Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Norton stating an “employee cannot be fired solely

because of allegations of ‘immoral conduct,’” The court stated the government needed to show a

connection between Norton’s work ethic and his “potentially embarrassing conduct” (Hunter,

Joslin, McGowan, 2004).

The same cannot be said for private sector employees. A private sector employee can be

fired with or without reason as long as their dismissal does not violate any applicable

non-discrimination law or individual contract with the employer (Frank, 2014). However, around

92% of Fortune 500 countries have inclusive policies to protect their LGBT employees from
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 14

workplace discrimination based on their sexual orientation. Starbucks is one of the Fortune 500

companies with inclusive policies for LGBT employees. Starbucks’ mission and values are to

provide an inclusive environment where employees treat one another with dignity and respect

(Helm, 2016). The company embraces diversity with policies established around the world to

protect LGBT employees from harassment or discrimination (Community, 2017). As a private

sector company, Starbucks has made strides in upholding the basic human rights of all

employees and has implemented inclusive programs, setting the bar high for other companies.

For the past 20 years, Starbucks has offered health insurance to partners of an LGBT employee,

and for close to a decade the company has supported transgender employees and those

considering transition through the company’s Workplace Gender Transition Guidelines

(Community, 2017).

The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination by sex. ​Price Waterhouse

v. Hopkins​ had a significant impact after the Supreme Court held Waterhouse discriminated

against Hopkins for a partnership status because Hopkins was a woman. The ruling from Price

Waterhouse v. Hopkins​ resulted in five Circuit Courts recognizing the overlap of sexual

orientation and gender discrimination.

In 1973, the Federal Civil Service Commission issued a “revised regulation barring

discrimination based on characteristics unrelated to job performance” (Hunter, Joslin, McGowan,

2004). The revised regulation stated:

You may not find a person unsuitable for Federal employment merely because

that person is a homosexual or has engaged in homosexual acts, not may such

exclusion be based on a conclusion that a homosexual person might bring the

WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 15

public service into public contempt. You are, however, permitted to dismiss a

person or find him or her unsuitable for Federal employment where the evident

establishes that such person’s homosexual conduct affects job fitness —

excluding from such consideration, however, unsubstantiated conclusions

concerning possible embarrassment to the Federal Service. (Hunter, Joslin,

McGowan, 2004)

The revised regulation is saying that an LGBT employee cannot be laid off unless the

company is looking at job performance solely and not the employee’s homosexual conduct.

Right now, there is legislation known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

(EDNA) sitting in the House of Representatives. This legislation was introduced five times in the

1990s, never making it past the Senate. In 2013, the U.S. Senate passed the legislation which has

not been voted on within the House. The current version does not outlaw workplace

discrimination by sexual orientation. However, if the version in the House is passed, the EDNA

would “ban employers from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against workers or

applicants based on their sexual orientation” (O’Keefe, 2013).

Public Accommodations

In the past five years, the United States has talked about two controversial issues dealing

with the LGBTQ community: marriage equality and military service.

Military

In 1943, the U.S. military discharged 100,000 men and women who were suspected of

being homosexual with a ban on gays and lesbians in the military (Besner, Spungin, 1995;

Bérubé, 1990). An official document from the Pentagon in 1982 reminded military personnel
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 16

that homosexuality did not belong in the military because they believed homosexuality affected

the “discipline...morale...operational efficiency...the military’s public image, and security” (Tin,

2003). The Pentagon was primarily concerned with security, believing homosexual service

members would be blackmailed and reveal top government secrets. About ten years later, in

November 1992, a federal judge would rule on the military ban on gays and lesbians in the case

Meinhold v. U.S. Department of the Navy. Meinhold was a 14-year-old U.S. Navy veteran and

anti-submarine warfare instructor who was discharged after he revealed his sexual orientation

(Reinhold, 1993; Long 1994; Besner, Spungin, 1995). The ban was ruled unconstitutional.

Two years later, in February 1994, the Clinton administration instituted the “Don’t Ask,

Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” Policy. This policy allowed lesbians and gays to remain in the military

on the condition that they kept their sexual orientation a secret (Bawer, 1993; Besner, Spungin,

1995). The policy was supposed to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military, but instead

prevented the possibility of a fight against the “still-prevalent homophobic military atmosphere”

(Tin, 2003). The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy ended in September 2011; sadly by that time,

roughly 13,000 service members were dismissed during the policy’s 18 years. By 2011, the

branches of the military began to actively search for lesbian and gay recruits resulting in a boost

of morale due to the open service of gays in the military (Frank, 2014).

Marriage equality

Historically, same-sex marriage has been a matter for states to decide, however, in 1996

the U.S. Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA states marriage is ​only

a relationship between opposite genders, man and woman, regardless of a state’s law and grants

states the right to refuse to recognize a civil, same-sex marriage even if the marriage is legitimate
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 17

in another state. DOMA violates the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution which

requires “each state recognize the laws and judgments that are valid under another state’s laws”

(Hunter, Joslin, McGowan, 2004). A critical precedent to the No Recognition provision of

DOMA is the Supreme Court case United States v. Windsor. The Supreme Court ruled the

federal government ​must​ recognize same-sex marriages due to the No Recognition provision’s

intrusion on the rights of states to define their marriage laws (Frank 2014; Romero, 2017).

In June 2015, the Supreme Court gave its ruling for ​Obergefell v. Hodges​, finding state

bans on gay marriage to violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection and Due Process

Clauses (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015). This landmark case gave gays and lesbians the

fundamental right to marriage in all 50 states. As of June 2017, over 547,000 same-sex couples

are married across the nation with as few as 157,000 marrying after the verdict of​ Obergefell v.

Hodges​ (Romero, 2017).

Although the United States has made great strides in the past five to six years regarding

same-sex relationships, Northern Europe beat the U.S. by about 14 years. In 1989, Denmark

became the first country to legally recognizes same-sex couples in domestic partnerships. The

Danish Civil Union supports gay marriage and affords gay marriage the same legal rights as

heterosexual marriage except in regards to adoption and medically assisted procreation. In April

2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to allow same-sex couples to enter a

civil marriage with the right to adoption and medically assisted procreation (Celse, Tin, 2003;

Walzer, 2002).
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 18

Laws and their Implications

In 2001, the FBI Uniform Crime Report compounded the various types of hate crimes

throughout the country and found 1,393 incidents of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation

bias (Hunter, Joslin, McGowan, 2004). Currently, there is a lack of federal law requiring states to

report on the number of hate crimes based on gender expression, resulting in a false number of

the total hate crimes against LGBTQ citizens throughout the country.

Hate Crimes Prevention

Throughout the country, 29 states and Washington D.C. include sexual orientation within

their hate crimes legislation (Hunter, Joslin, McGowan, 2004). The Hate Crimes Statistics Act

encourages, but does not require, states and localities to report all hate crimes to the FBI. The

FBI takes all lists of reported hate crimes and compiles statistics for each category and then

issues a report (Hunter, Joslin, McGowan, 2004). This act allows the country to see the extent of

all hate crimes and enables organizations, such as the Human Rights Campaign or GLSEN, to

gain a better understanding of how often the LGBTQ community is targeted and in what ways.

The minimal information obtained from this act does not give the full picture of hate crimes

violence. The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act of 1994 would have become the second

federal law hate crimes act to include sexual orientation if it had passed. The Hate Crimes

Sentencing Enhancement Act would have created harsher punishments for crimes proven to be

motivated by hate or bias (Hunter, Joslin, McGowan, 2004).

Conclusion

Since around the 12th and 14th centuries up to 2018, gays and lesbians have been

fighting a battle for equality, and as of the 21st century, bisexual and transgender individuals
WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 19

have become a fighting force as well. There have been a few significant victories such as all 50

states accepting same-sex marriage or the Matthew Shepard Act which became the first federal

law to protect the LGBT community from harassment, but there are still obstacles to overcome.

As of now, the United States lacks federal laws to protect LGBT students from harassment and

discrimination. One hope for the future is to see an increase in legislation to protect the rights of

LGBT community members. Another hope is for more companies and countries to accept LGBT

individuals as humans with fundamental human rights.

WHAT FREEDOM MEANS 20

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