Chasity Soto

English 102

Writing Project #3

The Persuasive Essay

Imagine finally understanding who you identify as or finally realizing what your sexual

orientation actually is and society not accepting you for it. Imagine having to go through life

being judged and treated differently all because you chose who you want to love and it isn’t up to

society “norms”. Imagine having to be able to be beaten, threatened, and mistreated even in your

own home or workplace. Unfortunately there are so many of us who are apart of the LGBTQ+

community who have to deal with situations similar to this in their everyday lives. How is it that

there were legislated laws to protect this community from being discriminated against and still

people of the community get discriminated against? Here in this essay I will show many

examples of how people of this community are discriminated against. It’s time for a change. It is

time for society to accept that all people are equal no matter who or what they are. The change

starts with you and your word.

For years and years even before the non-

discrimination laws were created our community

were prosecuted simply because straight and

religious people believed it was not an act of god

or not meant to happen. They believe that woman

are meant to be with just men and vice versa. Religious people also believed that it was sinning.

A sin is an offensive act against a religious belief or moral law. In the bible being homosexual or

transgendered is a sin for the bible says, “a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them
have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”

(Leviticus 20:13). So what exactly is your point? Well, people should be recognized as just

people no matter what race, age, gender or sexual orientation. People should be recognized as

such, just people. There are family members along the family tree or friends whom you are close

with who may be in the closet because they are scared of being in harms way. (Being in the

closet means hiding your sexual orientation from others including family). No one person should

be treated as an outsider no matter what kind of characteristics you own or how you decide to

live your life. There are people who hate so much they would prefer going into gay nightclubs

and killing multiple innocent people.

Fantz, Ashley, et al. “49 Killed in Florida Nightclub Terror Attack.” CNN, Cable News Network,

13 June 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-nightclub-shooting/index.html.

An Orlando shooting kills 49 people and injuries more than 53 people at a gay nightclub

called Pulse. On June 12, 2016 Omar Mateen carried an assault rifle and a pistol into the packed

Pulse club at about 2 a.m. on a Sunday and started shooting. He called during the attack to

pledge allegiance to ISIS and mentioned the Boston Marathon bombers, according to a U.S.

official. After a standoff of about three hours, people were trapped inside the club desperately

calling and messaging friends and relatives, the police crashed into the building with an armored

vehicle and stun grenades and killed Mateen. The Pulse Massacre was the deadliest shooting in

American history. This article is of importance because it is a prime example of a hate crime and

although many were killed in this massacre so many more families were damaged by their

deaths. People are being killed in cold blood because society can’t accept that we are not all the

same. Even young children are being affected by the discrimination against the LGBT

community.
Moreau , Julie. “Oklahoma Advances Adoption Bill That Could Discriminate against Gay

Couples.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 30 Apr. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/

feature/nbc-out/oklahoma-advances-adoption-bill-could-discriminate-against-gay-

couplesn870186.

The state of Oklahoma passed a bill on April 30, 2018 that was discriminating against the

LGBTQ community. Lupe Tovar was a young girl placed in the foster care system and was

given

the opportunity to be placed in a happy and stable home. Her adoptive parents were a gay couple

and raised Lupe as their own. Now as an adult, she’s sad to say that some of the kids placed in

the system will not be given the same opportunity that was given to her at such a young age. The

SB1140 was passed so that agencies can refuse a child to be adopted into a family whose

religious beliefs were different from theirs. These adoption laws are also similar to the ones that

have been placed in other states such as Alabama, South Dakota, and Texas. Around the country,

many people have taken interest into this new bill and have decided to take it into consideration.

However, there are also individuals that disagree with this concept. Leslie Cooper (deputy

director) believes that these adoption bills shouldn’t even be passed. Just like Lupe, Leslie wants

to see children being put into a loving home despise what people might believe. Religion

shouldn’t be the one thing that separates a child from growing up in a healthy environment. This

article simply implies that adoption in the LGBTQ community can sometimes be impossible.

The different bills that are being passed today prevent same sex couples to proceed in adoption.

It is something that is discussed when discrimination is mentioned. Certain families are not given
the opportunity to adopt just because of their sexual preference and young children are being

denied homes to grow up in. If this doesn’t hit home then hopefully numbers are something that

will get through to you.

Radcliffe, Charles, and United Nations Human Rights Office. “The Real Cost of LGBT

Discrimination.” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-real-cost-

oflgbt-discrimination/.

This article starts with explaining that LGBT discrimination is effecting us as a whole. It

is not affecting us just as individuals but are affecting families, companies and entire countries.

Studies were done not only on the US but the UK and Thailand. They found that between half

and two thirds of LGBT students are being bullied at schools as well as within their own homes.

Upon research 40% of the homeless identify as apart of the LGBT community. From the starting

point of youth they discovered that young people who identify as LGBT are more likely to

attempt or contemplate suicide. Young LGBT

children are being kicked out of their homes at a

very young age and left to basically fin for

themselves. They go into detail as to explain that

LGBT people, especially lesbians and

transgender people, tend to fare poorly compared

with the overall community. There studies in multiple countries found rates of poverty, food

insecurity and joblessness to be elevated in the LGBT community. Onto a much broader subject

they explained how discrimination in India could be costing them up to 32 billion a year in lost

economic output. Overall this article is of great importance because it presents the harsh effects

of LGBT discrimination and how overall discrimination is taking a huge toll on society as a
whole. They believe that change can be done and if we get on the right path together, anything is

possible.

Needless to say that things need to change for the better. We have the capability to form

groups of people to help spread the word of nondiscrimination against LGBT community. As

shown above this discrimination not only effects us but children as well. Being able to speak to

our children about who they feel they are without any judgment or resentment is very important.

We need to support anyones decision to be who they are. Signs can even be created and

displayed everywhere showing statistics of facts based off of real numbers of how much bullying

effects death rates of young homosexuals. All it takes is you spreading the word of wisdom and

allowing people to see what should be seen. A picture or video could be uploaded on social

media and go viral in just 5 seconds, you could have millions of people who agree with you help

fight to be equal. These are just the few examples of many that could help people understand and

accept this community. There is so much crime in the world that if just your words can help a

community be accepted then lets do it together!