Important LGBT Issues

Many mainstream LGBT organizations think that we need to shift our focus from marriage to other issues. Some of the issues that they feel are important to look at are starting to gain attention.

1. Violence against queer and trans people is being heightened by recent legislation. The bathroom issue has gotten National and world attention in recent weeks. There are many incidents of anti-LGBT hate violence. More protections need to be put in place to help curb these hate crimes.

2. Racial justice is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Many of the issues facing the general LGBT population are even worse for people of color. LGBT people of color are twice as likely to experience physical violence. Roughly two thirds of the homicide victims are people of color. Racial justice or “the systemic fair treatment of all people of all races, resulting in equal opportunities and outcomes for all: is not specific to LGBT people but true justice for LGBT people cant’ be achieved if not all of us are liberated.

3. Queer and trans homeless youth is becoming a real problem. 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT. 68% of those kids were kicked out of their families and homes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 54% reported being survivors of abuse from their families. These experiences leave these young people vulnerable to mental and physical health issues.

4. Immigrant justice has come into public awareness. And estimated 2.7% of our nation’s undocumented immigrants identify as LGBT. Undocumented immigrants have been integral to building the immigration movement. The deportation and detention process for immigrants is particularly awful for LGBT people, who are often harassed and abused.

5. Economic justice is particularly challenging for LGBT people. Many queers and trans people are in the low-income bracket. Employment discrimination, lack of health insurance, homelessness and other factors make LGBT people particularly vulnerable to the impact of economic inequality. Gay and lesbian families are significantly more likely to be living below the poverty line that heterosexual married families, and children in gay and lesbian households are twice as likely to live in poverty. The statistics are even worse for LGBT people of color.

6. Trans justice is becoming a critical issue as more trans people are coming out. Empowerment of trans people needs to be central to the movement for LGBT justice. Many trans people live in extreme poverty. 41% of trans people have attempted suicide as compared to 1.6% of the general population. Trans people are consistently abused, discriminated against, harassed and assaulted. Too often the “T” gets excluded from LGBT initiatives and campaigns. We can’t have LGBT and queer justice without trans justice.

7. Health is another important issue that needs attention. There are significant disparities in health between heterosexual and LGBT people. 82% of heterosexual adults have health insurance compared to 77% of LBG adults and 57% of transgender adults. The expansion of access to health care in the United States should be a priority of the LGBT movement.

These are only a few issues that deserve attention. There are organizations that are focusing on these issues but they tend to be small and under sourced. The most funding goes to big groups like the Human Rights Campaign, who have a history of excluding trans people from their work.

It is time that the organizations and leaders who set the agenda for the mainstream LGBT movement start to prioritize the empowerment of the most marginalized groups: queers, trans, people of color, and individuals living in the South, Southeast and the Midwest.