Be Who You Are

Bang.
She reads the note that lies beside his pillow. She
cries and her husband comes in concerned and
knowing. She cant let out more than the gasps she
makes searching for the air in between her now
silent wails. She reads the part of the note out loud
to him, Im sorry to the people that I love but I
cant f***ing take it anymore. So I am gay. Why
does everyone hate me because of that?(Caruso
1). After slow minutes moving by, she reads the last
words of the note while feeling numb, Goodbye I
love you mom and dad but I hate almost everyone
else. Dont be sad. I am happy now (Caruso 3).
This is what can happen to people of the LGBT
community who think theyre not normal and
who encounter daily abuse by narrow minded
individuals and groups. LGBT stands for lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender, and along with
heterosexual they describe people's sexual
orientation or gender identity. (Google 1). The
LGBTs rights for equality have developed
significantly for the betterment of us all.

Discrimination
Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment
of different categories of people or things,
especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex
(Google 1). Theres been discrimination before
anyone could record it. Discrimination is not only
wrong but shows how shallow you are by being
prejudice about someones sexuality.
There is a lot of bullying from discrimination in
schools at all grades. bullying is still incredibly
common and causes
young people to feel isolated
and alienated (Walton 1).
People bully others at
school if they think theyre
anything but straight, and
its not right for anyone to
do. During discussions in
school, we talk about
bullying and the dangers of
social media but we have
never touched base on the
subject as related to the

LGBTs. And theres not just discrimination at a

young age, it travels all way through adulthood for
most people. Friendship relations with persons
with a different sexual orientation, on the other
hand, significantly reduced prejudice, especially
among men, while the results also show that
changes in the level of homophobia are related
strongly to conservative views on gender roles
(Hooghe 1).

All around the World

Here in America, we have a state to state ruling on
gay marriage. But in other countries, gay marriage
is banned. Uganda, Africa; Ugandan Constitutional
Court makes a new anti-gay law (Kleinveld 1).
Homosexuality is not mentioned in Egyptian penal
code, and technically it is not illegal, but members
of the LGBT community are often arrested and
charged with pornography, prostitution, or
debauchery (Living in Fear 1).
Most of the discrimination experienced by LGBTs
has an excuse that lies in religion, but nothing says
you have to torture and hate homosexuals, its just
you shouldnt be one. Both dominant religions in
Egypt; Islam and Christianity, prohibit
homosexuality. Rather than the literal translation,
the word describing homosexuality in Arabic is
shezoz, meaning abnormality (Living in Fear 1).
If you have a right to choose what religion you are,
you should have the right to choose who you love,
regardless of gender.

Opening Up
Homosexuals have always been discriminated
against, but thanks to the brave individuals who
come out, there are greater numbers of straight
people who know and love an LGBT and
want laws to protect them. There are 36 out of 50
states with gay marriage
equality (HRC Highlights
Californias 1). And there are
states pending to have gay
marriage legalized. As
government starts to realize that
sexual orientation is not a choice
or a crime, laws to protect all humans
rights begin to emerge with greater
equality. Homosexuals are victims
of discrimination. They must have

the right to marry, the same as heterosexuals

(Bernheim 1).
As a country, there have been significant advances
against falsehoods towards homosexuals. For
example, granting adoptions to same sex couples
which was unheard of not so long ago. What is
most important is love. A homosexual couple can
give much love to a child, sometimes even more
than a heterosexual couple (Bernheim 1). We cant
judge a humans parenting skills on their sexual
orientation.

The Good
Clark said in Casey Geraldos LGBT video, Once
people, though, have those conversations in a state
like Nebraska, they know their friends and
neighbors are gay or lesbian, peoples minds start to
change and their heart starts to change (Geraldo 1).
And as a witness, its true. You never really put

much thought into liking or hating someone because

of their sexual orientation until youre brought to
think about it. After knowing someone who is gay
or lesbian and after knowing they only mean good
things, it changes your output on them and you can
only want the best for them.
Once we start to realize they dont mean anything
bad we can only continue to go about spreading the
good about them. Eskridge also said, What it tells
us is we need to continue having these
conversations around the community (Geraldo 1).
It will maybe be forever before the LGBT
Community will feel safe everywhere they go. But,
for now, we have to educate one person at a time.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender are a label.
We are all still human.

By: Caroline Harvey

Work Cited
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