Dear New President of the United States,

Though the issue of gay marriage has thought to be resolved in the passing of the law allowing gay marriage in 2015, many people still discriminate against LGBTQ people because they are “different”. Many company employees don’t talk about their sexuality in fear of being fired, and LGBTQ teenagers are more likely to develop depression or suicidal thoughts than heterosexual teens. Even so, many people believe that LGBTQ people are “unethical” and “can’t provide a stable family”. This, however, shouldn’t cause such hate towards the LGBTQ community. I propose that all states should apply laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination and bullying.

Many companies in the United States have the right to fire LGBTQ employees because of their sexuality, resulting in discrimination against LGBTQ people not only outside their house, but also in their workplace. Only 22 states provide full protection for LGTBQ employees. According to a survey conducted by Christie Smith, renowned company worker, 83% of LGBTQ employees are not open about their sexuality in fear of workplace discrimination. Also, in surveys conducted by Brandon Gaille, marketing expert and blogger, up to 41% of LGBTQ employees say that they’ve either been verbally or physically abused by their co-workers before, and 47% of transgender employees report that they’ve either been fired, denied advancement, and/or not hired due to their gender identity. Without these employees, companies would lack in workers, and lose popularity with LGBTQ customers. Non-discrimination laws could stop these workplace discrimination and up the amount of employees and consumers they bring in.

Many teenagers are often bullied in school for their sexuality. An article on bullying and sexual harassment among LGBTQ youths, written by Natalie Hope McDonald, states that 47.3% of LGBTQ boys and 72.9% of LGBTQ girls have depression or suicidal thoughts, and 29% of LGBTQ boys and 52.4% of LGBTQ girls attempt suicide. This form of bullying is very much like cyberbullying and race-discrimination, and it is just as harmful. Personal friends of mine also state that they experience verbal abuse from other classmates, and some are discriminated against by their own parents. Due to this, one of them has even developed depression.

Many people, mainly religious groups, believe LGBTQ people to be “unethical” and “can’t provide a stable family”. However, I believe that if you were to call a person unethical, that would make you discriminative and insensitive. Also, 34% of children today are living in a single parent environment, which is also considered to be an “unstable” family. Some argue that LGBTQ people are the way they are due to emotional problems, but most emotional instability LGBTQ people face is not from their sexuality, but from discrimination received because of their sexuality. As people, as decent human beings, we must we discriminate against anybody who has the slightest difference from us? Author Ernest J. Gaines once said “Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?” As the quote says, we is it that we are perfectly fine with men holding guns, but discriminate against two men loving each other?

Though our nation may seem peaceful, we all know that it has many flaws, one of them being discrimination. LGBTQ people are openly discriminated in almost every part of the world, in almost every aspect of life. With discrimination, many youths die from suicide, and companies lose both employees and profit. To stop the decrease, we must enforce non-discrimination laws for LGBTQ communities.

Sincerely,

Yu Fang