Dear Future President,

As you’re going to be our next president I’ve decided you must know about a topic that affects this nation greatly. It’s about the LGBTQ community and our rights. I have noticed, as well as many other people, that we still are not treated fairly and deserve the same rights as other people. We are being discriminated against, and when nothing is done, it only reminds us that you don’t care enough to help us get the human rights we deserve, nor do you care if we are being hated for trying to defend ourselves. Though you may not agree with me, I’m here to help fix these problems, not argue with or be ignored by you. If you want to show us that you truly care about this country you’re going to want to listen.

You may want to know some of the effects of this issue. Well let me tell you. Recently same-sex couples have been allowed to adopt in all fifty states. Though this is truly something that we are grateful for, it may not be permanent. People are working to overturn this law. Second, I wanted to talk to you about same-sex marriage. As well as the adoption issue, this is not a sure law. And one of the other major issues is that LGBTQ youth are getting picked on and ridiculed almost everyday in a place where they should feel safe. Some are even picked on by teachers which is a major flaw in our schooling system. After all, how do you expect a kid to work and reach their full potential if all they’re doing is getting discriminated against by other students as well as the teachers?

To solve these problems, I was thinking of what we should do. Though freedom of speech is something that I use quite often myself and that is very important, there should be limits to what people can say and do. Hate crimes, and threats are not okay. We don’t do it to other people inside nor outside of the LGBTQ community, others have no right to either. If you let the people you’re supposed to have influence on, then what does that say about you? It says that you don’t care about our rights and our lives. Second, no one should be able to take away our rights to marry whom we love, and to adopt children that need homes. Think about it, how large is our population? And 23% of our population is gay or lesbian. Not counting other parts of the LGBTQ umbrella. And around 402,378 kids are in foster care. About 101,840 are up for and need adopted. Think about the same-sex couples that cannot have kids. A lot of them would love to have children. You have absolutely no right to take that away from them. No one does. As for the schooling issue, we should not be able to hire people that will bring their personal beliefs and opinions into their work environment. And there should be punishments for kids making fun of others sexuality. As a gay youth myself, I’ve heard it all. These kids need to be taught that what they are saying is not okay.

As a member of the LGBTQ community myself, I have heard the cruel comments, I have been excluded because of my preferences, and almost always at school. Due to this I’ve now become more than antisocial, and I don’t try as hard when I have to be paired with someone because I know what they think of me. I honestly don’t feel safe and accepted where I go to school. My friend doesn’t either. They hear the talks in the locker rooms and they’re too scared to come out because of the things these kids are saying. When I’m stuck in a place like this, like I am right now, I don’t feel as though I can reach the best of my capabilities and potential. Usually what I think about when I’m here is when I’ll be leaving. Not because I’m some “rebellious” teenager that just doesn’t want to be here. It’s because I don’t want to get up at an ungodly hour to go to a place where all I feel is judged and hated. Who wants to do that?

I get that you might not agree with me or what I say and do, but things should be done about this, and only you can do that. We’re are living in a country and in a world that we don’t feel safe because of whom we love. If you’re going to be our next president and you won’t do anything about this, it is only showing us that you don’t care about how we’re treated. It shows us that you don’t care if this country is divided and we hate each other because of things that YOU can fix. Do you want to be a nation that every other one looks at as hateful and closed minded? Or do you want to be a nation that is accepting and united unlike many other nations people see as unfit? This is your job. Do it right.

Sincerely,

Jaime K