You Have the Right to be Anti-Anti-Discriminated Against
“Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?”
— Ernest Gaines
Everyone belongs to some sort of community, whether its your local community, your religious community, or even your racial community. The human race thrives off of its many communities, due to the fact that people feel stronger and more confident when they have a sense of inclusion within something bigger than themselves. A community is about belonging. A community is about recognizing the similarities between he and she, you and I, us and them. It exists even within common beliefs and desires, something that connects people on a deeper level than simply territory or citizenship. Some of these communities represent a majority, although more often they represent minorities. Ties within a community are stronger in the case of a minority, since its members have an uncommon ideology that at times must be voiced louder than that of the majorities in order to receive the same amount of respect and understanding. But just exactly how loud does one have to shout for it to be heard?
“In order for a cultural community to retain its integrity and flourish in the face of a majority, there must be some public recognition by the state of the community’s claims.”
— Gerard Delanty, Community: Second Edition
One minority in particular facing issues with recognition is the LGBT community. Recently in North Carolina, a bill has been signed into law that prohibits enacting new laws that are specifically for anti-discrimination of the LGBT community. In addition, the state’s transgender citizens are now required to use public bathrooms which coincide with their birth-sex, rather than the sex they identify with. Members of the community are outraged and have filed a federal law suit, claiming that the new law violates the constitution. This law forces members of the trans community specifically to “out” themselves, which could potentially cause issues with harassment and even violence.
The LGBT community within North Carolina has now been singled out, silenced, and its members lack a sense of belonging and dignity. The community is now left without legally-binding protection or tolerance, something that the community has been working towards for years. The LGBT community may have felt that it took a step in the right direction after a federal law was passed in 2015 allowing same-sex marriage, but now its future doesn’t look so bright. It may seem unbelievable that North Carolina is, in a nutshell, passing an anti-anti-discrimination law, even though this is the 21st century, but it’s the sad truth.
“It must be strange to live in a state and see progress actually move backwards”
— John Oliver, Last Week Tonight: LGBT Discrimination
To have a law that does not explicitly protect a specific community is one matter, but another is to have a law stating how that community in particular cannot be protected by future laws to come. This terrifying idea is becoming a true reality, which does not hold hope for the LGBT community’s future. As far as the community has come concerning recognition, there is surely a long way to go with many obstacles standing in the way. As of right now, the community’s dilemma seems to be as follows; As a citizen you have a right to equal protection, privacy, education, and to refuse medical treatment…Unless you’re LGBT which in that case, you don’t. Considering this, will there ever be a day where LGBT people are not looked down upon by the majority? Will the community’s progress continue to move backwards in regards to reaching anti-discrimination? And frankly, should we abandon the hope of one day being able to walk hand-in-hand with the one we love, despite gender norms?
