Dear Future President,

Lets get this straight. Love, is love.  There is no right or wrong way to express your love for another person.  Love should be a beautiful thing that no one should be ashamed of. This is speaking for everyone, but I'm mainly concerned for the diverse and loving people of the LGBTQ+ community.  

I have many family members and friends who are apart of the LGBTQ community, and it is always a main concern of whether or not they feel safe. Someones sexuality shouldn't determine the amount of rights they have. In the end, we are all just people, who all want the same thing.  My friend is the same as anyone else's friend, with a great personality and a loving heart. He shouldn't have to be afraid to leave his own home with his nails painted or have to wear clothes that are more "appropriate" to his gender, just because he's afraid.  He has become scared to live his life for who he truly is, and his right as a human to express himself has diminished. Why do some people consider love between a man and a woman as normal, but see love between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, as a mental illness?  Now, I know what you're thinking: 'Why should I care?  Gay marriage is legalized in all 50 states, what more could people want?'  Well, legalizing Gay marriage was only part of the problem.

Dear Future President, everyone wants to feel safe, and be equal.  We all hope for the same things.   In some states, it is completely legal to discriminate against LGBT when it comes to applying for jobs, buying a house, or something as simple as buying something from a store.  Someones sexual preference, shouldn't ruin their basic human rights.  Gay people experience hate everyday, from verbal to physical abuse.  The Orlando Shooting shows how people of the LGBT community weren't allowed to express their love or be themselves in what they thought was a safe place. 

My family and my friends are lucky, we live in Los Angeles were people are usually accepting.  But what about the people who live in the states that aren't so lucky? My brother and I are of the same blood. What makes him so different from me? Why isn't my brother allowed to hold hands with someone of the same gender, without getting ridiculed for it.  My brother is no different from anyone else, and he deserves the same amount of rights. Dear Future President, my friend shouldn't be scared to leave the house without having to change his image to feel safe. Dear Future President, my friend should be allowed to hold hands with her partner, without having to be discriminated against. Dear Future President, all my brother wants is to be able to be himself, and love who he wants to love. Dear Future President, please make my family and friends, live the safe, easy, and normal life that everyone else has the opportunity to have. Please let them have the equal rights they deserve.  

Sincerely, 

Koko