Dear Next President:

The LGBTQ+ community has been under fire for quite some time. There are more people coming out as gay, bisexual, transgender, et cetera. now than ever before.In many countries across the globe the LGBTQ+ community is persecuted for being themselves. A famous transgender Youtuber named Gigi Gorgeous wasn't allowed in the city of Dubai for being Transgender. LGBTQ+ discrimination still happens in America. Many teenagers in the community are scared of coming out to their parents. This often occurs because of people's morals. In many different religions (Muslim, Catholic, and Christian) being gay is considered a sin. Religion is the main for persecution against the community. However, there are still many people within the religious groups that support the LGBTQ+ community and gay rights. In the African country of Zimbabwe, gay people are considered filth. The president (Robert Mugabe) has said that "Homosexuality destroys nations." Gay people are often beheaded and the most scary part about this is that the public approves of the way the president is treating the community. Despite the ongoing victories of the LGBTQ+ community in the West, actions must be taken in the East.

The LGBTQ+ community is struggling with acceptance within their own families. Christian, Catholic, and Mormon families sometimes throw their own children out because they are gay, transgender, or gender fluid.Bisexuals are constantly told that they have to "choose a side" or "choose a gender" because people believe that they can't love both genders. Pansexuals are discriminated against because people believe there are only two genders, when pansexuals are attracted to everyone, women, men, or transgender peoples. Straight people are requesting that they get a "hetrosexual parade", just because they feel that the people who fly with the pride flag are getting too much attention, or they are just greedy for attention.The community always seems to be battling some form of hate. The internet seems to be both a blessing and a curse. Internet ¨trolls¨ hate on the LGBTQ+ community constantly, telling them to ¨kill themselves¨. The saddest part is that many people will commit suicide because of all of the hate they receive. However, much of the community finds acceptance online. Tumblr is often used as a way of coping, with many bloggers finding friends online.

If LGBTQ+ people had their rights, we wouldn't be stuck in court wars about gay marriage or transgender bathroom and locker room rights. Let's say people accepted people for who they are, instead of shutting them out for opening themselves up to society. We wouldn't be in court as much, we wouldn't constantly have people committing suicide because they are afraid to open up, or because they opened up and were put down. People wouldn't be dead if we had just accepted them for who they really are, not who they appear to be or were raised to be.We know so many people who have felt like they were nothing because of the way other people treated them. Most of those people are members of the LGBTQ+ community. Accepting people for who they are would mean less death rates. It would mean more time for focusing on things like war, space travel, and fixing the school system. If we took all of the time we used hating on the LGBT community and used it for education, our education system would blow Finland out of the water. This generation simply wants acceptance. We're not asking for much!

Our idea of fixing this issue is making sure the LGBTQ+ community gets the rights they deserve and also making sure that they feel safe in this community. So many people in this community do not feel safe because of discrimination against their sexuality or gender just because religious groups believe that gayness is sin. Even regular people who don't think it's sinning think it's disgusting that girls can like girls or boys can like boys. All the LGBTQ+ people in this country want is to feel safe and be able to do what straight people and non-trans people get to do.

Life will improve when the LGBTQ+ community gets their rights because then the country would have so much less violence. Our friends won´t feel scared anymore. We will be able to see their faces light up and we won´t have to worry about their next panic attack. There won´t be anymore internet trolls telling people to kill themselves because of their gender identity or sexuality. It´ll be so much better!

The president should start by asking LGBTQ+ people would like to be part of their rights. He or she will go around the country and ask what the LGBTQ+ peoples would like to have as part of their new rights. Transgenders would like bathroom rights. Gays and bisexuals will probably ask for acceptance, even though the general public (non-LGBTQ+) may not want to do that. Then, he or she can promote acceptance of the community and maybe even promoting people who are afraid to accept that they are LGBTQ+ to just accept who they are! This will help so many people across the country come out comfortably, because some people feel pressured to come out and some to not come out. People will be more accepting! Thank you for reading this letter.

Sincerely,

Megan L and Molly C

Works Cited

"LGBT Acceptance: Secular Society vs Religious Society." N.p., n.d. Web.

Wilson, By Priscilla. "The 10 Places LGBT Travelers Should Never Visit." Gay Travel. N.p., 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.