Eduardo Alvarez/ Contributing Writer
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights are human rights, and anyone can be their champion. It’s normal for members of a given group to lead that group’s plight for progress, but no group can triumph without the support of well intentioned people from all walks of life.
LGBTQ people have essentially the same desires as anyone else: to be free, to build their own dreams, families and lives. For many years, those with different sexual tendencies were mistreated by both toxic laws and a toxic culture. Activists such as Harvey Milk were unfailing in their crusade and paid the ultimate price for their bravery.
And even though the past decades have seen great successes for LGBTQ people in terms of equal work opportunities, the right to get married and social acceptance; there are still many challenges. In the United States, there are political and religious extremist groups who have gained power through the Trump administration and threatened, at the very least, to create a unwelcome atmosphere towards our brothers and sisters.
With this kind of mindset still trying to hold the LGBTQ community’s strides back, there is a real threat that their victories will be reversed and their rights be walked back.
Whatever hardships they face, they should do with the support of everyone committed to human rights, not only members of the LGBTQ community. And this shouldn’t apply solely to the United States’ it should especially be applied in countries who brutally mistreat LGBTQ individuals.
Russia, for example, has one of the worst records on the planet in regard to this matter. Under Putin’s regime, there is a law banning “gay propaganda” all while the government implicitly and explicitly supports the constant intimidation and isolation of LGBTQ people.
There has been more visibility of the LGBTQ community, so more societies have begun to recognize their rights, but LGBTQ people are still a vulnerable minority. If the rights of a minority like them are undermined, then you can be sure the rights of other minorities will will face hardships as well.
Since this is a world cause, it must be fought by all of the world. Although those who are not LGBTQ themselves cannot be considered a part of that community, we can and should be judged as part of the political, social and cultural movement whose mission is to make the lives of LGBTQ people as healthy and equal as any other.
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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash.
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