The LGBTQ+ equality movement in the United States has made extraordinary progress in the past few decades. While LGBTQ+ people have always existed, the freedom to live openly and equally, to have visible representation, is powerful and relatively new in our society.
But that life-affirming progress is at risk because of increasing threats from discriminatory anti-LGBTQ+ state laws and policies. LGBTQ+ equality was hard-won and is still fragile. And for LGBTQ+ people of color, the injustices of racism compound the harm, especially amid political efforts to control bodily autonomy, including reproductive rights and gender identity.
LGBTQ+ people are family members, friends and colleagues who want the same rights to marry who we love, live freely without discrimination for who we are, raise our children in safety, and be a part of our communities and our nation. Our lives and rights to equality and dignity cannot be reduced to a culture war or political wedge issue to be exploited.
Hard-Won Gains in the Journey to Equality
“As a Black, queer man raised in the South for the majority of my life, queer visibility has been a life-sustaining force.” – David Hodge
An illustrative example of the road to change is “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the former federal policy that allowed LGBTQ+ individuals in the military only if they concealed their sexuality. The policy went into effect in 1994 and was touted by supporters as progress, replacing an outright ban on LGBTQ+ service members. As a compromise, DADT allowed LGBTQ+ people to serve in the military – as long as they remained silent and invisible.
By the time the law was officially repealed in 2011 (and after the injustice of thousands of LGBTQ+ service members discharged over the 17 years of DADT), requiring LGBTQ+ service members to hide in order to serve their country was considered a violation of equal rights and an affront to integrity. But the change in mindset didn’t evolve on its own; years of legal, advocacy and education efforts finally resulted in LGBTQ+ people serving openly in our military.
The trajectory of DADT has been repeated across multiple fronts. Marriage equality has gone from a distant dream a generation ago to the law of the land. Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been outlawed. DADT’s repeal marked the beginning of a decade of enormous legal gains for LGBTQ+ people. The most significant recent milestone in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and affirmed that the right to marry is a fundamental liberty that cannot be denied based on sexual orientation. The victory was the culmination of decades of advocacy and legal battles, as well as a cultural movement for acceptance and recognition of LGBTQ+ relationships.
Another pivotal moment was the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County in 2020, which ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Bostock extended crucial workplace protections to LGBTQ+ individuals, ensuring that they could not be fired or otherwise discriminated against in the workplace because of their identity.
“As a Black, queer man raised in the South for the majority of my life, queer visibility has been a life-sustaining force,” says David Hodge, JEDI training specialist at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “It takes courage to ‘be’ when one is at odds with the world around them. In the decades since I reached adulthood, society has expanded representation more broadly than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams.”
Pushbacks and Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation
Even as a new generation shares in the glimmers of hope from the hard won gains in equality, those recent rights have come under attack. The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, rolling back decades of women’s rights to safe abortion, reminds us that LGBTQ+ people’s rights are not secure.
In recent years, the pushback against LGBTQ+ equality and visibility has intensified. One of the most notable examples is Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, often referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Enacted in 2022, the law restricts discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in school classrooms. Civil rights activists point out that the law stigmatizes LGBTQ+ youth and families and deprives them of support and protection while erasing LGBTQ+ representation from the educational environment. The Florida legislation has prompted similar bills in other states, part of a broader discriminatory push against LGBTQ+ inclusion in society.
Transgender rights activist Nikole Parker explained the motivation for her work in Florida in a 2023 interview with Learning for Justice: “Growing up, I always thought I would have to hide my identity forever. I knew this journey to living authentically would be difficult, but I didn’t know the loneliness, trauma and overt discrimination I would experience. I choose to advocate and use my voice for those who have been silenced, those who feel they have no power, because I’ve been there. In a world where we are constantly told we are everything but human, I want to be someone who will always unapologetically remind people that transgender individuals are human beings who deserve dignity and respect like everyone else.”
Despite research and pleas from advocates that anti-LGBTQ+ legislation endangers the mental health and lives of young people, politically motivated anti-inclusion agendas continue to spread, especially targeting transgender youth. Several states have passed laws restricting gender-affirming care and requiring students to use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. Efforts to ban transgender students from participating in sports teams aligned with their gender identity have proliferated – and are widely criticized for discriminating against and harming trans youth. The impact of these measures can be profound, creating an environment of fear and exclusion and erasing crucial LGBTQ+ visibility in communities and schools.
But inclusivity has incredible potential to benefit all young people, creating affirming spaces that celebrate our diversity. Hodge urges us to embrace that inclusivity, stating, “Queer youth, especially queer youth of color, deserve to live in a world that loves them back enough to show them possibility models and gives them a sense that they can contribute to society in powerful ways as well.”
Protecting Equality Is Essential to Democracy
Community efforts that build the capacity for dialogue and increase civic knowledge, skills and disposition, especially in the Deep South, can positively impact the movement for equality and justice. Spaces that encourage learning and understanding are essential for combating hate and strengthening democracy.
A vital part of strengthening democracy is ensuring all people share in fundamental rights and equality so they can thrive. To marry, have families, serve our country, and experience dignity and equal treatment at work, school and in our communities are basic human rights that we should all advocate to ensure for ourselves, our neighbors and all people.
Participation in democracy is a responsibility, whether we are advocates for change, candidates for office or voters in elections. In “Civics for Democracy,” Jalaya Liles Dunn, Learning for Justice’s director, emphasized our civic responsibility to our nation and to one another: “Each plea for democracy illustrates how, across generations, we have strived for representation. We push for it, challenge it and shape it. Civics is a collective action, practiced in community and centering the well being of the collective.”
And as we learn together in community and work to build a stronger democracy, recognizing that the rights of LGBTQ+ people are interconnected with human rights of all people is essential.
