Supporters of gay rights and marriage equality celebrated many victories in the past few weeks. During the month of October, seven new states legalized same-sex marriage, bringing the national total to 32 states and the District of Columbia. These hard-fought victories must be celebrated and the struggle for marriage equality must continue. Yet, such victories necessitate a reflection on the narrow parameter that typically defines success in the LGBTQIA movement. Equality and justice cannot be achieved without a renewed sense of focus on the broader social and economic issues that LGBTQIA people face.
The purpose of such a reflection is not to criticize those organizations working for LGBTQIA justice, but to counteract the tendency to reduce social justice movements down to singular issues. The marriage equality movement is sometimes described as the civil rights issue of our time. However, many of the economic and social goals of the civil rights movement are as of yet unrealized, and the same could prove true of the LGBTQIA movement if issues aside from gay marriage are not addressed.
While marriage equality continues to spread, LGBTQIA people continue to face discrimination in employment, housing and healthcare.
A person can be fired or refused employment based on sexual orientation in 29 states, and based on gender identity in 33 states. Legislation has been introduced to address this issue at both the federal level and in New York state. Unfortunately, these bills have not received a strong enough political push to make them legislative priorities.
Similarly, most states do not protect LGBTQIA people from eviction or housing discrimination. LGBTQIA youth homelessness is an especially pressing concern. Approximately 40 percent of documented homeless youth identify as LGBTQIA. LGBTQIA youth homelessness results from societal exclusion, parental and peer rejection, or even sexual or physical abuse in schools, workplaces or the home.
These injustices create extreme economic and social instability for LGBTQIA people. Perhaps most insidiously, these individuals often end up within the criminal justice system, rather than receiving the help they need. Gay and transgender youth are vastly overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, accounting for 13 to 15 percent of those incarcerated or detained. LGBTQIA inmates face greater risks of sexual or physical assault from fellow inmates or guards.
This reality further underscores the parallels between the LGBTQIA and civil rights movements. Sixty percent of incarcerated LGBTQIA youth are Black or Latino. The experiences of oppression for LGBTQIA and racial and ethnic minorities are different, but the results are often the same. We must pursue an economic alternative that provides full employment and economic stability to all people to combat the harsh effects of familial exclusion or societal oppression.
It is encouraging that Binghamton University has worked to address the needs of LGBTQIA students and staff in recent years. The creation of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and of gender-inclusive housing options are welcome developments. In order to continue to improve campus diversity, demographic statistics on LGBTQIA students should be confidentially recorded to ensure that public universities adequately serve LGBTQIA New Yorkers. Furthermore, we must work to attain tuition-free SUNY and CUNY schools in order to guarantee that people of all socio-economic backgrounds have access to higher education and a safe environment.