Dear Next President,

In 2016, people should be able to go about their business without any fear of judgement from society because of who they are and who they love. Lesbians, gay, bisexual, and transgenders should not affect anyone else if it has nothing to do with them personally. They have a heart, a soul, a mind and a body just as each and everyone of us do; they are no different. The fact that in today’s generation LGBT is considered an issue, is an ISSUE. As of June 26, 2015 Supreme Court declared that all 50 states are granted the right to same-sex marriage. That will forever be a very important day to the LGBT community. Not only as an American but as a human being, everyone deserves the right to be happy, open, free and simply themselves. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender should be given the same amount of respect as straight people because as Americans, we are all equal and entitled to be what we want to be and love who we want to love. 

Aside from the fact that there are a handful of people that are against same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage, there are a number of people who support it. Many people feel unsafe and threatened while they are in presence of people who are not as accepting. McHale states, “Community backlash grew so fierce that McHale and her family left shortly after, relocating to Winnipeg, but it also prompted McHale to help organize Steinbach Pride: "We felt it was really important for those in the LGBTTQI community to see the presence of others, to let them know they are not alone, that they do deserve a safe space to be, regardless of what public opinion is," she said in an interview” (McHale 2 ).  McHale goes on to inform the readers about a situation, that happened to her, where she felt victimized and unsafe because of her preferences. “In May, Steinbach mom Michelle McHale attempted to bring changes to the local school board's curriculum after her 12-year-old son was bullied for having two moms” (McHale 2). McHale goes says that because of how she chooses to live her life, it is affecting the people she loves. It takes a special person, like Michelle McHale, to become an advocate and help defy the odds. 

With Election Day shortly approaching, as average Americans we weigh out our pros and cons of the presidential candidate. As the generations have evolved our candidates over the years have seem to become more open to same-sex marriages. A supporter of the LGBT community believes to “endorse the Equality Act.” The supreme court might reverse the ruling of same-sex marriage extending and enforcing the right to all of the 50 states (The Associated Press 2). There are positive outlooks in the Supreme Court for LGBT that could really help the community. It is very comforting knowing there are supporters in the U.S congress that supports the LGBT society. There has also been other people pushing for no discrimination towards LGBT people. A democratic candidate has “vowed to push for full LGBT civil rights if elected” (Park 3). The future for LGBT members is looking brighter because some people are becoming more accustomed to this lifestyle.

Although every person is given the right to express themselves, there has been an increase in the number of hate crimes as more LGBT people come out. According to the author’s Park and Mykhyalyshyn, many of the hate crimes that are surfacing today are related to and target LGBT members, which is affecting many other people in society “Among those killed last year was India Clarke, a black transgender woman who was beaten and shot in July in Tampa, Florida. Keith Gaillard, the man charged in her murder, was also accused of killing a man believed to be gay less than a week later” (Park 8). This quote is just one example of how frequent and violent these hate crimes are becoming as time goes on. One of the more recent hate crimes that affected thousands of people to the point where almost everybody had heard about this “In 2014, Surrey council reaffirmed a policy barring any flag except the civic, provincial and national flags from Surrey City Hall. incident; the Orlando nightclub shooting opened many people’s eyes to this problem the world is facing” (Park 1). In this quotation it shows how after the shooting and deaths of many people has made people realize that this is a more serious problem. However, these incidents have been occurring more regularly than in the previous years, which will most likely pose as a problem for society as time goes on. 

In 2016, being able to go on a job interview or out to dinner with friends as a member of the LGBT community and not feel the burden of being judged or discriminated against is a blessing. To be able to be completely open and accepted for being your true self is a gift that people of the LGBT community years ago were not able to cherish. Although we do not live in a perfect world and we still experience such acts of hate from other human beings for not being considered the “social norm”, we now live in a country where same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states. The Supreme Court is also a great supporter of LGBT. Over the years, the support that has been given to the LGBT community in America significantly progressed and will hopefully continue to do so.

Yours truly,

Kayla Y