Dear Future President,

The LGBTQ community has been subject to harassment for a very long time. While some people just plain don’t care, I do. This harassment needs to stop because LGBTQ teenagers are dying every day. Two to three thirds of LGBTQ teenagers think about suicide or try to commit suicide every year because they are being harassed on a daily basis. Are you willing to sit by and do nothing? Because I’m not.

LGBTQ people are more likely to be bullied at school or at home than other people. 64% of LGBTQ students say that they don’t feel safe at home, and 86% of LGBTQ students are harassed at school. Most people are who bullied don’t report it. 61% of LGBTQ students never reported being attacked, and 31% of LGBTQ students that did report it said the school did nothing to help them. LGBTQ teens are more likely to miss school than others. 32% of LGBTQ students didn’t go to school at least one day because they felt unsafe.

Now, you are probably wondering how this affects me. Well, I have a few friends that are bisexual and I fully support them in everything they do. One day I was walking back from a class with my openly bisexual friend and these girls were walking in front of us. One of them turned around and said, “Guys, I’m a lesbian”. It was jokingly said but we all knew it was directed at my friend. Many other times my friends have been subject to this harassment because of their sexual preference. A few days ago I heard about a transgender girl who was being bullied and she fought back against her bullies. They got into a fight and all of them were suspended but only the girl that was getting bullied was charged with criminal assault.

The LGBTQ has made some historic advances recently. In the past members of the LGBTQ have had to move out the state or even the country to be able to get married. They were not permitted to marry as long as they were living in a certain area. Recently though things have been changing, the LGBTQ are now permitted to marry in all 50 states. Laws have been passed that change the rights of the LGBTQ community. Before this it was considered horrible if you were of a different sexuality. That had changed somewhat previously but now it is once again considered bad or horrible. Hopefully this can change again but it's all up to you Future President.

So, Future President what are you going to about the disgusting harassment directed at the LGBTQ ? Are you going to sit around worrying about petty things or are you going to address our country's problems? Are we going to have a world filled with peace, love, and positivity? Or are we going to have a world where teens are scared of going to school? It's your move now Future President.

Sincerely,

Meadow M.