Allie Mandel Mandel 1

Humanities
May 10 2014

Briefing: Equality for All
We, as Americans, have the right to be free, to be equal. Are we though? Are we free to
express our love for one another? Is it accepted everywhere in America to be attracted to the
same sex? LGBTQ individuals do not have the freedom or the equal rights as the others do
who happen to be straight. California has an overall more accepting environment compared to
other states, especially in states such as Idaho, Missouri, and Mississippi, who are trying to
pass anti-gay rights. One could argue that we should not be worried about this issue here
considering the fact that California is one of the most populated LGBTQl areas (Top 101 cities).
Even though California seems to be much more accepting than other areas in America, LGBTQ
rights will continue to be a major dilemma until everyone in the U.S accepts people for who they
are. The problem will continue until one hundred percent of Americans are treated equally.
In San Diego, the main LGBTQ center is a huge provider to those who are struggling
because they are either lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. Our San Diego
congressman, Scott Peters, supports a bill that expresses the importance of equal rights in the
workplace. There is more work to be done, both for LGBT equality and for LGBT survivors of
violence. We will continue the urgent and life-saving work we do and will now have the new and
better resource of an inclusive federal law(Gay and Lesbian). Scott Peters supporters are very
supportive of LGBTQ rights. They are aware that even though the bill that supports equal rights
in the workplace has passed, the discrimination is not over.


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A huge part of the LGBTQ community supports teenagers and the difficulty of finding
yourself and facing the fear of coming out. 4 in 10 LGBT youth (42%) say the community in
which they live is not accepting of LGBT people(Growing Up LGBT). This means that 40% of
teenagers in America are faced with the decision whether or not to come out and face the fear
of being tormented by their neighbors, or stay in the closet. The deck is stacked against young
people growing up lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in America. Official government
discrimination or indifference along with social ostracism leaves many teens disaffected and
disconnected in their own homes and neighborhoods (Growing up LGBT). Teenagers are faced
with decisions everyday. What to wear, who to date, what they want for lunch. Teenagers today
have to deal with the hardships of telling their parents but also the government. The people that
rule our country sometimes do not understand.
It is hard to fathom the fact that people actually care what others do, but sadly in america
this is a common theme. It should not matter if your son or daughter chooses to be a doctor
over a lawyer, or like the color yellow instead of purple, so why does it matter if he/she is
attracted to someone that is the same sex? The answer: it does not. Marriage is one of the
biggest controversies in America. Seventeen states - CA, CT, DE, HI, IA, IL, ME, MD, MA, MN,
NH, NJ, NM, NY, RI, VT, and WA - plus Washington, D.C. have the freedom to marry for same-
sex couples(Freedom To Marry). The definition for marriage is The formal union of a man and a
woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife.
Understandingly, this definition is from a decades ago, before there was any awareness of


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LGBT. Although, knowing that in modern times this is a huge dispute, it should be changed. It is
time where America takes a stand, and fight for equality.
In reality, not everyone in the USA will always have the same beliefs as each other. We
will always be arguing, not understanding each other, having different opinions which we believe
are factual. America, it is time to become a truly equal place to live. The literal meaning of
gay means happy. So that is what we should all be focused on, just being happy.









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Works Cited
"Growing Up LGBT in America." Human Rights Campaign. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://www.hrc.org/youth>.
"Growing Up LGBT in America: View Statistics." Human Rights Campaign. Web. 12 May 2014.
<http://www.hrc.org/youth/view-statistics#.U3BOZhaRxSU>.
"SD Gay & Lesbian News: House Reauthorizes Violence Against Women Act, Which Is LGBT
Inclusive." Scott Peters for Congress. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.scottpeters.com/in-
the-news/sd-gay-lesbian-news-house-reauthorizes-violence-against-women-act-which-is-
lgbt-inclusive>.
"States | Freedom to Marry." States | Freedom to Marry. Web. 14 May 2014.
<http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/>.
"Top 101 Cities with the Largest Percentage of Likely Homosexual Households (counted as
Self-reported Same-sex Unmarried-partner Households) (population 5,000 )." Top 101
Cities with the Largest Percentage of Likely Homosexual Households (counted as Self-
reported Same-sex Unmarried-partner Households) (population 5,000 ). Web. 15 May
2014. <http://www.city-data.com/top2/c11.html>.