It's okay for LGBT people to be discriminated against, at least that’s what our country’s laws say. According to Brandon Gaille in“37 Shocking LGBT Discrimination Statistics,” “Up to 43% of LGBT employees say that they’ve experienced discrimination in the workplace because of their sexual preferences, even though ¼ of them haven’t made their sexual preferences known” (Gaille). It’s inhumane that people can be treated so poorly with no consequence, but states are continuing to support and defend discrimination instead of prevent it. As Texas Freedom Network explains, “Lawmakers in the current Texas legislative session have filed at least 23 bills that would allow and in some cases mandate discrimination – even criminal prosecution – against LGBT Texans” (TFN). Even though there are anti-discrimination laws that are being passed federally, states like Texas are promoting discrimination by fighting against federal laws in the name of religion, but this effort goes against our constitutional rights and should be balanced. Great introduction!
This discrimination effort is happening for a variety of reasons, but the main one is based on religious beliefs. Dennis Rainey stated in “Why We Oppose Same Sex Marriage,” “Many claim that their sexual attraction is something with which they were born. Some have been suggested that God made them as homosexuals. While the impact of nature vs. nature can be debated, God makes it clear in Scripture that acting on homosexual attractions are a sin.” An example of scripture that leads this argument is in 1 Corinthians 6:9, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,” (NASB Bible). The problem with following this directive is that people who are gay are being emotionally and physically mistreated by fellow citizens in public, in schools, in the workplace, even at home. This mistreatment though also goes against the bible's teachings. Introduce quote“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32) We say be kind to one another for that is what god wants. Yet we still discriminate against people for who they love. How can we find the balance of religious freedom and basic human rights? Good pathos and logos in this paragraph!
The LGBT Community has been fighting against discrimination for ages. It wasn’t until June of 2015 that the LGBT community became protected under the 14th Amendment, which legally recognizes same sex couples and same sex unions. Marriage inequality is not the only problem though, discrimination is the underlying issue. We could take the anti-discrimination law down in one fell swoop. According to John Oliver, talk show host of Last Week Tonight, right now in Congress there is an Equal rights act sitting on their desks that would add LGBT protection to the civil rights act. There is also a fair house act and others that prevent discrimination in areas other than just marriage. Although it has over 200 Co-Sponsors in the House and Senate, Republicans are in direct opposition and in the majority so it has stalled. Oliver also stated, “The main argument against extending these protections is that it might interfere on religious freedom forcing people to act against their religious beliefs. Hence the rise of Religious Freedom Restoration Act around the Country. Religious freedom is not an inherently bad thing. We allow for religious freedom for limited sensible ways all the time. That's why Muslims can wear a Hijab in their driver license photo and why Christians can't be forced to work on the Sabbath, but there are reasonable limits” (Oliver). Those limits should include not treating people inhumanely. Everyone is allowed their basic human rights such as life, liberty, security, freedom, and recognition as equals. Try to shorten or break up your paragraphs: Remember for op-eds they should be quite concise (3-6 sentences)
Introduce the quote and include a topic sentence that transitions to the moral philosophy….”The sense of justice is continuous with the love of mankind.” (Rawls) Over the summer of 2015 the pride flag was flying high in the sky for the first time. John Rawls, a professor at Harvard, has stated that he supports gay rights through his idea of ‘veil of ignorance’. This idea is about understanding that when someone is born into a community they do so without knowing the type of environment, values, and culture they are entering. For instance, you might be born into poverty, but you don’t know that until you're born. Just like you don’t know that you are going to be gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer until your brain is able to recognizes and understands that. After the Supreme Court said that all LGBT member are now protected under the 14th Amendment people reacted in varying ways. Some people were happy and others not. John Rawls says that our justice system, which includes Supreme court and other county courts, has a right to make a law as long as it doesn’t interfere with the other state's laws. As we grow as a country our laws increase for more protection. This is how we can show our love for mankind, the more we create laws for protection the more we could become a better country.
We have discriminated against gay people for the way they are, for how they were born. With this Equal rights act we could improve the treatment of all people. I wish that one day I will be able to tell people I am in love without the fear that I will be discriminated against. We can grow as a country, but we need to take a couple steps in the right direction to start that growth. Even though there are anti-discrimination laws that are being passed federally, states like Texas are promoting discrimination by fighting against federal laws in the name of religion. We need to continue fighting against old perceptions that gay people shouldn’t have the same rights as everyone else, including life, liberty, safety, and so much more. We need to abandon those hateful thoughts and say yes we are a country of equality. Yes, we do accept you. Good