If there is one thing that is virtually universal, it is that everyone wants equal rights for themselves. While some groups may not want equal rights for every group, most everyone wants it for themselves. Women want to be paid the same wage as men, African Americans don’t want to be segregated in society, previously convicted felons in the state of Florida would like to vote. Arguably one of the biggest movements for equality in the most recent years is the LGBTQ community. From the right to federally recognized marriage instead of civil unions to equality in the workplace to using the bathroom of the gender of which one identifies with, the Supreme Court cases within the last decade have had a mostly positive impact on the evolution of the LGBTQ community's rights and their societal standing in terms of approval, but there is still a lot of room to solidify their rights.
LGBTQ is an acronym used to define and “represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals and communities” which has changed over time to represent the way we understand sexuality as a social construction rather than something biological (Fitzgerald & Grossman p. 8). Even though the discrimination faced by this community has lessened over time with the rise of acceptance of the LGBTQ community, there is still a struggle for equality. Up until 2011, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was still in effect. This policy was intended as a way to make sexuality a non-issue but it ended up having gay and lesbian recruits trying to pass themselves off as heterosexual. This led to “over 12,500 gay men and lesbians [being] dishonorably discharged from the military” and countless careers being destroyed at a very high cost to the military as they had to swallow the millions of dollars wasted on training these individuals who were discharged and the millions of dollars wasted on investigating the alleged gay personnel; it is being said that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” actually “hindered unit cohesion” despite it being created to protect said unit cohesion (Fitzgerald & Grossman p. 78). Up until 2015, being in a same-sex relationship prevented couples from adopting children in some states because they weren’t legally married.
LGBTQ rights, as with all other civil rights, are granted and defined through legislation. This makes sure that there is a legal precedent that has a definitive stance. Arguably the most recognizable case was the Defense of Marriage Act, commonly abbreviated as DOMA, was passed in 1996 and signed into law by former president Bill Clinton. This law essentially defined the rights of same-sex couples in terms of marriage and civil unions. This allowed individual states and territories the right to “deny recognition of the marriage of same-sex couples that originated in states where they are legally recognized” even though the federal government is required to recognize the legal marriage of same-sex couples (GLAAD par. 4). While this may seem inconsequential, this piece of legislation prevented same-sex couples from experiencing the same marital benefits as heterosexual couples, like social security benefits, tax benefits, health care benefits, and more. It wasn’t until seventeen years later in 2013 that the case United States v. Windsor overturned DOMA. The Windsor case ruled that DOMA was unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The Windsor case allowed for gay marriage to be legalized throughout the country and struck down all state bans on gay marriage. Two years after that landmark Supreme Court case, the next landmark case, Obergefell v. Hodges, had a decision. This case stated that the fundamental right to marry should constitutionally be extended to same-sex couples with the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual couples due to selective corporation with the Fourteenth Amendment. Even with gay marriage being recognized and accepted at such a high level, there are cases like Masterpiece Cakeshop, LTD. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) that create cause for concern in terms of discrimination. This case was the result of this bakery refusing to make a cake for a same-sex couple. In regards to the case, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission stated that "Colorado, like many other states, prohibits all businesses open to the public, including Masterpiece Cakeshop, from refusing service to people based on their religion, race, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, among other characteristics" (American Civil Liberties Union par. 2). The ruling in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop, LTD. is potential grounds for future discrimination as the First Amendment’s freedom of religion was used as this sort of loophole.
The outcome of these cases is that same-sex couples are now allowed to be legally married, versus the civil unions, they were limited to before. The main difference, other than separating the LGBTQ partnerships from the heterosexual ones, is that a civil union is only recognized on a state level. This on some level mirrors the notion from the 1893 Plessy v. Ferguson case that ruled racial segregation was acceptable when both accommodations were equal, a regulation which became known as “separate but equal.” Public opinion is at an all-time high, as is the coming out rate. Gallup, which is a company known for their global public opinion polls, found that in May of 2018 67% of Americans believe being gay is morally acceptable, which is considerably higher than May of 2001 where only 40% of Americans believed it was morally acceptable. When asked if the respondents had anyone in their lives come out to them personally as gay, 75% of Americans said yes in May of 2013 whereas only 24% said yes in December of 1985. With these statistics and most of the legislation passed within the past decade, society is taking the steps toward equality.
While a lot of the conversation surrounding the LGBTQ community seems rather optimistic, there are some instances that shine a light on where we need to strengthen the rights given to the LGBTQ community. In October of 2018, President Donald Trump and his administration intend to define “sex” to intentionally exclude the LGBTQ community. The impact of something like this would be grave and could lead to transgender individuals being denied healthcare coverage. The Human Rights Campaign says that “defining ‘sex’ in this narrow language tailored to the talking points of anti-equality extremists is part of a deliberate strategy to eliminate federal protections for LGBTQ people” (Human Rights Campaign par. 1). One of the biggest issues facing the LGBTQ community is discrimination, especially within the workplace. This is in part due to the fact that sexual orientation isn’t a protected group specified under Title IX. Some states have anti-discrimination laws concerning the LGBTQ community, but in twenty-nine states it is “still perfectly legal to discriminate against LGBTQ employees” and a study in 2008 revealed that 37% of gay and lesbian employees have faced discrimination in the workplace within the last five years and 90% of transgender employees have faced discrimination due to their gender identity (Fitzgerald & Grossman p. 79). Being gay is also seen as an issue partially due to the fact that it still makes others uncomfortable as it can challenge the beliefs of many popular religions. While the First Amendment does protect those offended with freedom of religion and freedom of speech, there isn’t anything currently protecting the LGBTQ community with those same parameters.
The legislation and court cases within the last decade have had a mostly positive impact on the LGBTQ community. Even with the few setbacks, the never-ending quest for equal rights seems to be moving forward. There are also clear ways to strengthen the rights of the LGBTQ community by enforcing workplace protection laws, preventing the current administration from defining “sex” as merely a biological construct, and many other things. This battle for civil rights is important because it mirrors battles of the past and will be the exampled for battles fought in the future.