The Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage was a monumental win for the gay rights movement, but the fight for equality in America still rages on.
In many states, businesses can refuse service based on sexual orientation, employers can fire people simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and landlords can refuse housing.
During part of the next episode of HBO’s excellent docu-series Vice, reporter Gianna Toboni meets with families who are navigating this new landscape, and hears from supporters of so-called “religious freedom laws.”
Check out a preview below. The show airs this Friday, March 11th at 11 p.m. ET:
AtticusBennett
comprehensive LGBT-education in the public school system. that’s what. there are incredible contributions to society and culture by LGBT people, centuries worth, and that aspect gets utterly IGNORED.
and it must not be ignored any longer. all students will benefit from understanding not just the course of LGBT progress and history, but the contributions of LGBT people to society over the years. contributions they made, all too often, to a world that at the time was beyond cruel to them.
that’s what needs to happen, culturally. if you want to get into law? blood and organ donations. adoption rights. full and total and equal protections for transgender people. workplace and housing anti-discrimination policies for LGBT people.
but what’s needed most is that we nip bigotry in the bud – and that means educating children TO NOT HATE.
it’ll be an uphill battle – look at trump supporters, proof that good old Klan-level racism is alive and well across the USA. bigotry and ignorance from the trashiest of white trash.
but that’s what needs to happen.
Bryguyf69
With gays in the military and legalized same-sex marriage, the logical next step is to federalize anti-discrimination laws for gays. Only then can we say that gays have acheived full equality.
Kieru
@Bryguyf69: Agreed. Anti-discrimination laws is what is needed next.
It’s ridiculous that I’m protected within my city, but if I get a job outside this city within my same State, I could lose my job because of my sexual orientation.
Bryguyf69
@Kieru: Exactly. It was the same dilemma faced by married homosexuals. The patchwork of laws meant that a legally married couple could suddenly become single on vacation — or even just by driving through a homophobic state. Imagine the complications had the couple gotten into a car accident. Visitation, spousal and even next-of-kin rights would have been nullified. Marriage equality has fixed that.
Now it’s time to protect housing, employment, etc. It’s ridiculous that you can work for the same company, but get fired if you are transferred to an unprotected state. For example, homophobic Chick-fil-A recently opened a store in NYC, where gay employees are protected. But that wouldn’t be the case if a manager is transferred to its headquarters in Georgia (even if its website now says, “The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our Restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.” You can bet that employer’s “Religious Freedom” will override that statement!).
In a sense, discrimination protection is more important than marriage and military equality since not all gays get married or enter the military. But all gays need housing and employment.
GC1985
Well if we want any more favorable legislation, we need to elect democrats. The key one is getting Hillary elected.
Luis H. Lopez
Job security housing security and hate crimes that’s what !!
CWM85
Exactly what is stated anti discrimination laws based on employment, housing etc. Another thing is hate crimes. Not all states have hate crime laws against glbt people. I believe there is federal hate crime laws but very little state wide. The religious freedom laws that Cruz supports is discrimination based on religious views. This nonsense needs to be struck down as well. Asap!
MarionPaige
well,
When you have a civil rights movement with corporate sponsors, it is safe to assume that those corporate sponsors are not going to back anything that creates liability for them. As it stands now,
WOMEN are the only minority group that have any chance of winning discrimination suits is a federal court system packed with conservative judges. Just because there are anti-discrimination laws on the books, that doesn’t force conservative judges to “see” discrimination where it exists.
There is something so White about advocating Out and Gay Marriage when people can still be discriminated against for being Gay.
Doughosier
How do you argue with ” the invisible man who lives in the sky made the law and it’s not negotiable!”? ” show me some proof”. ” some men wrote it 2000 years ago”. Religion is a curse, keeping people stupid.
Wilberforce
The same thing that should have been first before we wasted time and money on marriage, a purely symbolic victory. Enda. Marriage benefits only a few with tax breaks. Job protection is and should always have been first on the list. Unfortunately, trans folk destroyed the last attempt. They will probably high jack it again with their ridiculous bathroom/shower issue. And our bleeding heart leadership, not to mention the dingbat rank and file, will go along. It would be so fun if they ever start thinking strategically.
Daniel-Reader
For those who need a history lesson the wider community already lumps gay and trans people together so leaving out trans people who just want to live their lives is absurd. The scaremongering/hatemongering against trans folk is no different than the hatemongering against us gay folk. Or the scaremongering/hatemongering that was used against Irish immigrants, Mexican immigrants, Jews, black people, women, or any other group asserting their human rights. The haters like to hate on people for being born. Think of the states with protections in place. None of the scaremongering against trans people is true. It’s just used to stir up discord and to fundraise. Perhaps the next step is deciding the punishment for those who violate human rights in regions where such violations still takes place on any number of grounds, including sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, race, and ethnicity.
Michael Paul
The monogamy crowd will want to outlaw open relationships and cheating will be punishable by death – or not being allowed to date a twink, which is gay death.
GG
What’s next? Exploding the myth of so-called “religious liberty.” This has been used as a rallying cry by anti-gay forces to create a completely false narrative which incorrectly pits pro-gay folk against self-proclaimed christians in order to legalize their discrimination with legislation.
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GC1985
@Michael Paul: Wow. You are so incredibly dumb.
1EqualityUSA
Wilberforce, It happened exactly as it should have. With marriage, it brought meaning to our lives that other on-the-fencers may not have been able to wrap the heads around, were it not for this fundamental right being available to all tax paying citizens.
1EqualityUSA
MarianPaige, You were pants shitting last year, before the Supreme Court sided with us and now you’re moaning again. The sky is not falling. Take a walk, enjoy nature, and let us who have spines work this out.