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Gay Hate: We Still Have A Reason Left To Fight

I attend a Catholic, hyper conservative high school in Kentucky, so as you could guess, it can be frustrating to be a feminist and social justice advocate when surrounded by people with the complete opposite ideals. So in my English class when we were assigned a speech about a deep belief of ours, I excitedly decided to write about social issues. I justifiably prepared myself for a multiplicity of “pro-life” (more like anti-abortion) speeches, but little did I expect to be left dumbfounded by the topic of one girl’s speech: anti-gay.

 

Never in my life would I have expected this girl, who I know to be extremely religious but also bright, to write such a hateful and downright disgusting speech. Not only was the entire transcript hate speech, but she also based her entire argument in her religion, which is flawed logic and thus invalid. 

 

Thankfully though, I had caught wind of the topic prior to the speech. I decided to record the audio and see just how ridiculous it is. Listen to it for yourself: http://youtu.be/hOz0_gAIdn0 (for privacy reasons, her voice has been altered).

 

This literal hate speech brings up a serious issue still facing our community: gay hate. Even after the legalization of gay marriage in all 50 states, homosexuals still feel victimized and bullied by those who invalidate their sexuality. In fact, according to a 2015 study done by nobullying.org, 82% of LGBT+ youth had problems in the past year with bullying due to their sexual orientation. A whopping 62% stated that they feel unsafe at school due to their sexuality. 

 

This is a problem. Just because marriage equality has been made legal doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do for the LGBT+ community. We have to fight to create an environment of acceptance. No one should ever feel unsafe because of who they love. Whether it’s an anti-gay speech or making fun of a gay person, we have to stop these injustices from occurring. Full equality has not been reached. Yes, we are gaining traction in our fight for full gay rights but if we don’t remain persistent in this battle, we will lose our ground. There is still a reason left to fight; and we must fight back.

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