{"id":5352,"date":"2016-07-02T15:44:37","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T09:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=5352"},"modified":"2016-07-02T15:44:37","modified_gmt":"2016-07-02T09:59:37","slug":"the-challenges-that-remain-for-l-g-b-t-people-after-marriage-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/the-challenges-that-remain-for-l-g-b-t-people-after-marriage-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"The Challenges That Remain for L.G.B.T. People After Marriage Ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

LIAM STACK\/U.S (Pahichan) July 2 –\u00a0As L.G.B.T. Pride Month<\/a> comes to an end, the massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., cast a pall over this year\u2019s celebrations to commemorate milestones for the community.<\/p>\n

For many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, the killings were a painful reminder that despite successes like the<\/a> Pentagon\u2019s lifting the ban<\/a>on military service by transgender people and the Supreme Court\u2019s legalization of same-sex marriage<\/a>, obstacles to acceptance and equality remain.<\/p>\n

We asked L.G.B.T. leaders to reflect on the challenges the community still faces. Here is what they said:<\/p>\n

Discrimination<\/h4>\n

\u201cOne of the main things we are doing is fighting against the post-marriage backlash,\u201d said Mara Keisling, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.<\/p>\n

That has happened mainly at the state level, where more than 200 anti-L.G.B.T. bills have been introduced so far this year, said Russell Roybal, the deputy executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force.<\/p>\n

Many state officials have used a religious freedom argument to support denying services to L.G.B.T. people.<\/p>\n

The legalization of same-sex marriage heightened the daily risk of discrimination faced by many people, Mr. Roybal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a lot of places, you can go to your county clerk and get a marriage license and get married and then get fired the next week because now you are openly gay,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Twenty nine states<\/a> lack anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation or gender identity, and there is no federal law protecting access to employment, housing and public accommodation, like hotels or restaurants, for L.G.B.T. people, he said.<\/p>\n

In fact, some of the new state bills explicitly restrict public accommodation, particularly those who are transgender.<\/p>\n

A North Carolina law passed in March made it illegal for transgender people to use public restrooms that match their gender identity. T<\/a>he law drew condemnation<\/a> from many artists, who boycotted the state, and from some companies, which canceled plans to do business there.<\/p>\n

Mississippi also drew swift criticism<\/a> for a law allowing business owners to refuse service to gay men, lesbians and others based on the owners\u2019 religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

Violence<\/h4>\n

\u201cViolence in our community is a big problem,\u201d said Beverly Tillery, the executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, which studies anti-L.G.B.T. violence and aids survivors.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately there is still the feeling for some people that L.G.B.T. people are less than and don\u2019t matter, and that it is O.K. to commit acts of violence against them.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were 24 reported bias-motivated killings of L.G.B.T. people in 2015, a 20 percent rise from the year before, she said. Most of the victims were transgender and gender nonconforming minorities.<\/p>\n

That figure is likely to jump this year because of the killings at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The shootings put gun control on the agenda of many L.G.B.T. advocacy groups, Mr. Roybal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery L.G.B.T. person knows that our safety is not guaranteed,\u201d he said. \u201cAlthough we don\u2019t live in fear and continue to be out and proud, it is still something that kicks around at the back of our head when we touch our partner\u2019s hand in public, when we lean in for a kiss, when we are out at a club being ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transgender Rights<\/h4>\n

Visibility has increased in recent years, but so have attacks against transgender people, making for a \u201ctraumatic\u201d time, Ms. Keisling said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe murder rate is way up, and in general, the rate of violence against trans people is way up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Transgender people are more likely to experience poverty, discrimination and violence than gay men, lesbians or bisexuals, who themselves face higher poverty rates than the general population, activists said.<\/p>\n

Transgender people have been explicitly targeted by 54 state bills similar to North Carolina\u2019s bathroom law. Two of the state legislations were signed into law.<\/p>\n

Dozens of religiously affiliated colleges and universities in the past 12 months have obtained waivers<\/a> from federal civil rights laws that protect transgender people.<\/p>\n

Health Care<\/h4>\n

A trip to the doctor can be perilous for transgender people, who often face hostility or a general lack of understanding from health care providers, Ms. Keisling said.<\/p>\n

A study by her group found that 64 people \u2014 or 1 percent of respondents \u2014 had experienced physical violence in a doctor\u2019s office or hospital, she said.<\/p>\n

More generally, L.G.B.T. people are \u201csignificantly more likely\u201d to be uninsured than the population at large, said Kellan Baker, who studies L.G.B.T. health issues at the Center for American Progress.<\/p>\n

Advocacy groups have encouraged enrollment in insurance offered under the Affordable Care Act, which was the first federal law to prohibit anti-L.G.B.T. discrimination in the health care system, said Mr. Baker.<\/p>\n

They have also encouraged people to go on pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a prescription drug that provides high levels of immunity from HIV, Mr. Roybal said .<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 57 percent of all Americans living with HIV at the end of 2011 were gay or bisexual men. They accounted for 65 percent of all new infections in 2013. African-Americans made up 40 percent of those new diagnoses, while whites accounted for 32 percent, and Latinos for 23 percent.<\/p>\n

Mr. Baker said that transgender women also have an \u201cextremely high prevalence\u201d<\/a> of HIV infection. Worldwide, they are 49 times more likely than non-transgender women to be HIV positive, he said.<\/p>\n

Immigration and Criminal Justice Reform<\/h4>\n

Undocumented L.G.B.T. immigrants face an increased risk of violence and harassment in immigration detention centers and have sometimes not been provided with appropriate medical care, such as hormone treatments or HIV medications, especially when they are transgender.<\/p>\n

A 2013 study<\/a> by the University of California at Los Angeles\u2019s School of Law estimated there were 900,000 L.G.B.T. immigrants in the United States, with about 267,000 of them undocumented.<\/p>\n

Ms. Keisling said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement \u201chas never figured out how to safely house transgender people, especially trans women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the longest time what they did was just put everybody in solitary confinement\u201d out of fear that transgender detainees would either be the victims or perpetrators of violence, she said.<\/p>\n

That practice has decreased but not ended. Immigration authorities have started using designated L.G.B.T. units, but they are often far from a detainee\u2019s family or lawyer, Ms. Keisling said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Roybal said L.G.B.T. prison inmates face many of the same challenges as L.G.B.T. people held in immigration detention centers: an elevated risk of violence, harassment and solitary confinement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t really protecting them, it is isolating them,\u201d he said of solitary confinement. \u201cIt\u2019s basically the system not wanting to do anything to change its policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copy :\u00a0http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/<\/p>\n

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