Two years after striking down DOMA, the U.S. Supreme Court is once again set to issue a ruling on same-sex marriage. If everything goes as expected and the Court lifts the remaining state bans on same-sex marriage, it will make history. But it won’t be the end of the fight for equality.
In fact, here are five reasons why achieving marriage equality is only the beginning of the end…
Nondiscrimination laws
More than half (29 total) of the states lack laws banning sexual orientation discrimination, and even more (32) don’t prohibit it when it comes to gender identity. And (thanks, Republican Congress!) there is no federal statute either. What does this mean exactly? In a nutshell: That there some states where gay people can both get married and be fired.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Conversion therapy clinics
States are finally tackling the psychological abuse known as conversion or reparative therapy. California, New Jersey, and Washington D.C. have all outlawed the practice. But we still have light years to get rid of this stain on society. In the majority of states, conversion therapy is not only legal, but regularly practiced.
Hate crime laws
Hate crime laws enhance penalties for crimes motivated by animus. There are currently 14 states with hate crime laws that don’t include sexual orientation or gender identity is such laws, and six states without any such protects at all.
That ban on blood donations
The FDA took a small step towards treating donors equally last year when it announced it would be lifting the lifelong ban, issuing “updated” guidelines. This year, you may done provided you abstain from sex for at least a year. So, basically, the lifelong ban stays in place.
Income inequality
There’s a common misconception that gay people make more money. But studies show otherwise. A 2013 Gallup survey found that LGBT adults actually earn less than the population at large. 35 percent of LGBT adults reported annual incomes below $24,000, compared to 24 percent of the general population. On top of that, 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT; same-sex couples raising children are more likely to be poor than opposite sex couples with children; LGBT seniors are poorer on average than straight seniors; and transgender Americans face double the unemployment rate.
Let’s get to work!
Giancarlo85
This is a good article and one that needed to be published. There is a fixation on marriage equality, yet little attention I being paid to these other pressing issues. And it interesting the facts actually show LGBT people make less than heterosexuals. That is true. Only the rich gay white men make more. These guys tend to ignore others in the community, such as LGBT black and Latinos.
So many more issues and such little attention being paid. And when efforts are being made the rabidly antiequality Republican party will stand in the way. They want the community to disappear while gay Republicans say they vote on more than one issue. Talk about self hating naive fools!
SportGuy
Of course its not the end, nor is this the biggest issue in the community. That would be the race discrimination that exist within our own community.
orwhatuwill
Yes. Yes. Yes!
And, show your pride. Grab an “unapologetically queer.” T today and rock around your hometown.
http://teespring.com/unapologetically-queer
Arcamenel
The pervasive homelessness of our community’s youth is another one.
Cam
The reason that Don’t As Don’t Tell and Marriage became the two biggest recent issues are because they were two laws where the FEDERAL GOVT. was stating quite clearly that gays and lesbians in the United States were legally second class citizens and it was perfectly fine to discriminate against them.
How could anybody sue a company for discriminating when the company could use the Federal Laws as it’s defense that gays and lesbians should be discriminated against?
So the fight was to get rid of those two major Federal Laws.
HRC fought against that, because if those laws went, suddenly there was far less need for a group like them, they instead said that it wasn’t the right time to go after those laws, and instead should let them worry about ENDA.
So what’s happened? Because of the grass roots, DADT is a thing of the past, and Marriage is legal for the majority of people in the country, and probably about to go nationwide.
Meanwhile, HRC, with their 50 million dollar a year budget still hasn’t gotten another vote on ENDA.
Curty
Why did you have to throw race into it? Are you jealous of those rich white men? Point is income inequality is a big issue beyond racial lines. There’s a few rich gay black and latino men and women around too. Always someone throwing color, this is about the glbt community as a whole we can still be fired for being gay. That mens if your white,black, tan, green or purple. Stop with the division.
Curty
I work in the social work field and the many gay young people I come across is staggering… majority of young people I serve, work with are gay.
wagnerwallace
@Giancarlo85: Why don’t you get out and work and make something of yourself, other than blaming “rich old white men” for your lack of income. I know plenty of successful and wealthy blacks – they work their work their asses off.
Stop making being gay your identity, find a trade, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and maybe one day you can be a rich old [whatever you are] man too.
wagnerwallace
*they work their asses off.
Prinny
@Giancarlo85: Get a job and then you can get rich too.@wagnerwallace: Its easier to complain and blame other others for your own life , than to do something to improve it.
mikeincleveland
The biggest problem/concern are where these “religious freedom” laws are going to go.
notevenwrong
@wagnerwallace, @Prinny: The poor (most of whom are minorities) are systemically disadvantaged by lack of opportunities (starting with access to education) compared to upper middle class kids, most of whom are white. That there are a few exceptions don’t disprove this fact. As for Giancarlo, he has a job. I don’t often agree with him but I think he is correct here. The rich donors to major gay rights groups are concerned with property (thus gay marriage) and butching up their image to be more acceptable to the mainstream (thus repeal of DADT). it is obvious they are not that worried about GLBT homelessness, for example.
Cam
@Prinny: said…..” Get a job and then you can get rich too.@wagnerwallace: Its easier to complain and blame other others for your own life , than to do something to improve it.”
______________________________
Guess, you missed that part where you can be legally fired in multiple states for being LGBT.
Cam
@notevenwrong:
No, those two laws were focused on because without them all the other laws start falling.
For example, It is far tougher for a company to be told it can’t fire LGBT’s when the Federal govt. has two laws on the books legalizing discrimination against LGBT’s nationwide.
A company like say, Exxon merely throws right back at the govt. “You cannot come after us for something you yourself do”.
With those two federal laws gone, the others fall because there is no hypocrisy in the DOJ targeting them.
Glücklich
More than a THIRD of us earn less than $24K?! I would have thought we’d have similar income distribution as the population at large. Good god, how do people live on that?
AtticusBennett
and “reparative therapies” need to be all-out banned. because they’re not real, and they fuck people up.
MarionPaige
The handful of lesbians and tired ass White Queens who have legally married probably now are THE GAY COMMUNITY. They can decide what the gay community thinks and wants. Surely, someone has to be thinking about organizing married same sex couples so that they can in fact SPEAK FOR THEIR COMMUNITY (and get the attention of advertisers).
Just imagine what “the gay community” would be if GAY COMMUNITY is recognized as that group of married same sex couples?
Off hand, how many of these “gay bloggers” claiming to represent The Gay Community are in a legal same sex marriage?
MarionPaige
up to this point in time, any idiot could stand up and claim to represent the gay community and any idiot could “characterize” the gay community as being this rich double income family (with no kids and a lot of money to spend on luxury items) – because there was really no public list of known gays. NOW,
The State has (or can obtain) a national public list of married same sex couples and, for better or worst, that list of married same sex couples is The Gay Community.
wagnerwallace
@Prinny: I agree – it’s way easier to complain and blame others.
Not trying to be mean, but I’ve met so many gay guys who are more concerned with trying to be famous than they are with trying to find a legitimate/realistic career to better themselves.
Curty
A nationwide ban against discrimination against openly gay and bisexual people has been long overdue. This current congress would never pass such a thing though. Still a long way to go in this country. At least it is against the law to discriminate against blacks.. and gender, religion… but sexual orientation isn’t included on a national platform. That has to change it is 2015!
Chris
I recognize that there’s lots more that needs to be done. But I, for one, plan to celebrate — and more than just a little bit — when marriage equality becomes the law of the land. To ignore the progress that we’ve made is personally and socially unhealthy; and also, it ignores the very real sacrifices made by those who came before us so that we could have these rights.
Cam
@MarionPaige:
And Marion comes in, with no solution, not a description of what should be done. Just vague attacks against others in the community.
The right wing thanks you for turning on your own rather than blaming them.
Giancarlo85
@wagnerwallace: Thanks for posting, phony! It is so good to see you posting your typical hatred and idiocy in yet another thread! “Go get a job” is the typical mind of the brainless right wing asshat. Maybe if you actually understood not everyone is given opportunity you would get it.
” I know plenty of successful and wealthy blacks – they work their work their asses off. ”
You are so full of shit with this remark. You sound like those people who say “I know some gay people, but I’m going to justify my bigoted and stereotypical viewpoints in spite of that.
And if you want to know about my own personal situation, I worked hard to get where I am at now. I had to live off minimum wage and then moved up. I still see others around me suffering because a lack of opportunity exists in this country and many are prevented from having such opportunity because of their ethnic, racial and/or economic background. Segregation is still alive and well, as is ignorance (like that demonstrated in your stupid remarks).
“Stop making being gay your identity, find a trade, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and maybe one day you can be a rich old [whatever you are] man too.”
Oh please. I am a gay latino. And find a trade? Oh that’s easy for a elitist like yourself to say. And the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is the biggest pile of crap ever to exist. Rich people tell working people that all the time. As if those rich people ever had to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Economic fas*cis*ts like you never had to work hard at all.
@Prinny: Get a job and you can get rich? Sounds like one of those MLM scams or one of those book tours people like Armando Montelongo does. Getting a job doesn’t infer one will get rich.
And doing nothing to improves ones situation? What the heck do you know about other people?
Giancarlo85
@notevenwrong: I work for a public utility. Part time for now, but full time is coming down the road. And trust me, I make almost 40% more than I did in my last job. So I think I’m improving my own situation quite well. It’s funny they tell me I blame others for my situation. Who am I blaming? I’m just stating what’s reality here… ethnic minorities within the LGBT are systematically disadvantaged. It’s very difficult for them to find work or opportunity because little opportunity actually exists.
And it’s even easier for an eltist like Prinny or Wagner to tell people to stop blaming others, when it was rich people who created the wealth disparities to begin with.
@wagnerwallace: A legitimate career to better themselves? Oh yeah? Have you met me before? Do you know what I do? And what do you know about other gay people? You seem to suffer from right wing dementia… the same kind of dementia Ronald Reagan had during his second term.
Often legitimate “careers” don’t exist because the poor can’t afford to go to college to begin with. I was lucky and still had to take out loans to go to college. And I was still in a minimum wage job for quite a few, after submitting my resume extensively. I had to compete with hundreds and sometimes up to a thousand for certain positions. Some positions required testing, interviews and being placed on an “eligibility list”. For one position with the City of Los Angeles, for example, I had to compete against over 300 people. I made the eligiblity list for that (ranking at 2) and I still haven’t heard back. So I found a job working for a public utility instead which wasn’t easy and required three stages of PASS OR FAIL training. If you FAILED even ONE STAGE, you were out.
That is my own story. So before you start posting some stupid moronic bullshit about me not working hard and blaming others, think again!
People like you wagner and prinny live in fucking fantasy land. Not everyone is handed money every day by their rich parents. Time to get back to reality.
Clark35
This is is an excellent article for once on queerty.
Marriage equality is important; but I’ve been all for Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) being passed as a law as there are still states and companies where if you are LGBT they’ll fire you but they’ll make up a different excuse for it.
spiritedrandy
(6) LGBT (especially T) youth bullying, homelessness, school treatment, etc.
jayj150
@Giancarlo85: You said: “Only the rich gay white men make more. These guys tend to ignore others in the community..”. Wait, so, rich gay white men are bad, but rich, white, privileged, republican, heterosexual men like Bruce Jenner are heroes(and this is what you have called him in previous posts) because he has a porn fetish that involves seeing himself as a woman?. Why are you ALWAYS blaming in it on other gay men?, whether it be the transgenders, bi people, ethnic minorities, you ALWAYS, consistently find a way to blame something on gay men. You are a bitter man with a lot of free time in his hands.
Giancarlo85
@jayj150: Gosh you are stupid! I never said Bruce Jenner was anyones hero. And he certainly is not mine. Show me where I ever he was my hero or whatever. In fact, I said I didn’t care much for him. You are an ignorant little man who has no clue and you’re now making shit up about what I said because you don’t like what I say. Seriously, you’re a fucking idiot. I am a GAY MAN but I also am LATINO. Rich gay white men are typically vested in their own interest.
Here is a specific post of mine from the past:
http://www.queerty.com/will-bruce-jenners-transition-tarnish-our-golden-transgender-moment-20150427
@hex0: I am not talking about Jenner. Don’t care for that person. And if I were to hit someone while texting, I’d be sitting on trial right now (as SHE should).
But you’re dead wrong on transsexual. You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about. You are a dumb ass stuck in your own warped views.
—
I actually criticized Jenner for the hit and run incident that resulted in a fatality. I actually said SHE should be facing trial.
You ignorant dumb fuck.
Giancarlo85
And it’s funny you bring up Jenner. I hardly comment in any of HER articles on here. I don’t care for LGBTQQI people who vote republican/conservative. That’s self hating. The same I don’t care for transphobic hypocrites like you.
Giancarlo85
@Giancarlo85: *Correction: I would edit this post, but would change the pronoun usage to describe Caitlyn Jenner to female. Again this isn’t me calling HER a hero. She clearly isn’t one and her actions involving texting while driving should have serious legal repercussions including criminal prosecution.
Giancarlo85
And further information on that story:
http://www.tmz.com/2015/02/08/bruce-jenner-smoking-photo-texting-fatal-crash-search-warrant/
Jenner was actually smoking, but not texting. She would not face charges for that, but I think anyone who didn’t have money and a top attorney would have.
Donald Martin
Exactly.
wagnerwallace
@Giancarlo85: You are coco for Coacoa Puffs lol
Giancarlo85
@wagnerwallace: You have severe mental issues. That explains your right wing beliefs. And to top it off you’re a lazy hypocrite who was born into wealth. You don’t know a thing about working hard. You just repeat the 1980s Reaganomics garbage you were spoonfed when you were young.
Masc Pride
How about fixing that nasty little HIV situation before complaining about the blood banks and their policies? Every high-risk demographic other than gays has shown improvement.
polarisfashion
@Prinny: Its kind of hard to get a job and get rich when employers don’t want to pay a living wage to their workers. Walmart for example is a multi billion corporation and is owned by the richest family in the world. They can afford to pay their employees a decent salary but they don’t because they are afflicted by a disease called greed! For the life of me I can’t understand why conservatives are perfectly fine with the government giving tax breaks and subsidies to billionaires but scream bloody murder about raising the minimum wage by a few freaking dollars.
I know I went way off topic here but the fact that almost 99% of all new wealth goes to the top 1%! LGBTQ people need jobs too right?! And yes I definitely agree with this article that are fight for rights does not end with marriage.
jwtraveler
@Prinny: “Get a job and then you can get rich too”
Are you fucking kidding me? Of course, we all know that only unemployed people are poor. Everyone who has a job is on the road to getting rich.
Are you insane?!!
Giancarlo85
@jwtraveler: My thoughts exactly. So working at walmart is the path to getting rich? LOL. Not unless if you’re related to the CEO!
@polarisfashion: Compare Walmart to Sempra or Costco. Both companies pay high wages to their employees and keep increasing wages. Both Sempra and Costco have revenues that gross in the tens, if not hundreds of billions. If these companies can manage huge profits while paying their employees generously, so can Walmart. But walmart will never do that. And conservatives will keep sucking elitist dick and hope for trickle down economics.
jwtraveler
@Cam: ABSOLUTE BS.
The gay marriage movement was and is a wealthy, white, mostly male campaign. It is powered by white business and professional people living in large, liberal cities with gay rights laws, many of whom are self-employed or working for large companies with gay equality policies. They own their homes and have the money to insulate themselves from most situations where they will suffer anti-gay discrimination. They don’t need ENDA and don’t care about LGBT people in the poor, conservative states because they don’t live there. They also don’t care about poor, young, LGBT people of color because, let’s face it, they aren’t. They focused on the areas of discrimination that they can’t buy themselves out of: inheritance taxes, joint property rights, pensions, spousal benefits; in other words, the areas where they didn’t enjoy the same economic privileges as their wealthy, white, straight male counterparts.
All that stuff about federal laws is nonsense. In politics, as in everything else, it’s always about the money.
daveyboy1968
We will only have equality when we cease to be gay and there is no such thing as labels. We are labelling ourselves. I feel fully equal, because I sleep with men, but do not regard myself as gay, straight, or Bi. I just don’t identify with labels that are designed to help others rationalise how to deal with their hang ups over me. I don’t tell people I’m gay, and I just act naturally, and no one knows I’m gay. I feel no need to include or deny my sexuality as a part of my identity. my identity is just ‘male’ we seem to be increasing creating a culture where people are defined by who they sleep with? bizarre.
daveyboy1968
What does the Masc stand for @masc pride? Mascara?
Giancarlo85
@daveyboy1968: Sorry, but I am gay. This has nothing to do with a label. This has to do sexual orientation. And what is acting naturally? You know what’s bizarre? The people who spend the greatest amount of time complaining about what others are doing and how they should define themselves. You do realize you’re already defining yourself by the way? You’re basically saying “I’m not those gay guys who identify as gay and are out”. You’re also saying “gay men are better off in the closet and should not tell others who they sleep with or date”.
Saint Law
@daveyboy1968: Hey dat waz mine!
Saint Law
@jwtraveler: So…in Europe peops getting gay married comprise every class, but in America it is only wealthy white men?
How would you even know that was true?
Saint Law
@wagnerwallace: People who post ‘thoughts’ like yours almost invariably live a life of grinding wage slavery ending only in premature death.
Which would be sad if it wasn’t so funny.
Saint Law
All those pix of all those peops waiting outside all those town halls to get gay married, are all wealthy white men.
Prior to photo-shop presumably.
DavidIntl
@Chris: You are absolutely right, Chris. Without a doubt more needs to be done, but we still should pause to savour what has been achieved. We should also be prepared to tone down the rhetoric, and avoid turning off allies by becoming perceived as a perpetual whining class who will never be satisfied.
Giancarlo85
@DavidIntl: Oh please. We should be happy with what we have even though this article clearly points out gross inequalities that exist? And tone down what rhetoric? And what exactly has been achieved? Same sex marriage? That really does nothing to help LGBT ethnic minorities or youth homelessness.
Masc Pride
@daveyboy1968: What happened in 1968? Your last erection?
@Saint Law: IKR he totally stole your stale one-liner. Now that’s funny! haha
Cam
@jwtraveler: said… “@Cam: ABSOLUTE BS.
The gay marriage movement was and is a wealthy, white, mostly male campaign………All that stuff about federal laws is nonsense. In politics, as in everything else, it’s always about the money.
______________________
No, what I notice is that I provided information and facts in my post, and you just went off and provided nothing. Look, if you hate wealthy gays, white gays or whatever that doesn’t change the facts.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and DOMA were the only two FEDERAL laws, that mandated anti-gay discrimination. THOSE LAWS are a huge part of the reason that job protections aren’t nationwide. Again, to repeat, how can the state govt. go after a company for not offering job protections when the company lawyer can turn around and point out ACCURATELY that the Federal Govt. mandates discrimination against gays, so the state has no case.
You also act like only one thing can be worked on at a time. At the same time the Grass Roots has been working on DADT and Marriage, many other groups were working on ENDA. Well guess what, ENDA never passed, so if we had put all of our eggs in one basket we would have nothing wouldn’t we?
And lastly, if marriage is legalized, the protections that you claim are only for wealthy whites go to everybody, and lower income people have more to gain. Wealthy people can hire lawyers to draw up contracts, the poor can’t afford that, but if they are married they have protections against their spouse’s relatives, they can get on their spouse’s insurance, They can’t have strangers come and take their kids away or their house if their spouse dies.
Those are major issues, so perhaps if you stopped thinking of marriage as some sort of fashion accessory and knew it for what it is, a public contract that proclaims to the world at large that you are a legal couple, you wouldn’t seem to be so angry at it.
Giancarlo85
@Cam: Marriage isn’t going to help that much asides for the wealthy. It does little for poor LGBTQQI people. What we really should be focused on is employment protections and the repeal of anti-gay laws.
Chris
@DavidIntl: Thanks.
Even though I plan to celebrate, I don’t plan to slow things down or even to tone them down. It’s important to recognize progress; but also, the historical arc of social justice moves slowly and only in response to unrelenting social pressure.
I’d say that one of our biggest challenges will be to create alliances and to make common cause with others who are engaged in similar struggles for justice.
jwtraveler
@Cam: More BS, lies and selfishness!
jwtraveler
@Saint Law: I don’t know where you got that idea, but it wasn’t from me.