8 Things Gay People Can't Do

(Click the image to the left to enlarge)

BAD NEWS:
According to a Federal law, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBTs) are not protected against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the private sector. The proposed bill of Employment Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA, would put an end to this and provide everyone in the country with equal employment rights, regardless of sexual orientation.

This law has been pushed in every single session in Congress since 1994. After 16 long years of fighting, it has been repeatedly denied due to certain hate-groups and evangelical/catholic groups that think making employment equal will lead to a slew of gay marriage in their neighborhood, leading (inevitably) to certain apocalypse.

http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/us_catholic_bishops_embrace_workplace_discrimination

HOW LGBTs ARE AFFECTED:
ENDA would be a start, but it does not apply to small businesses, religious organizations and the military (more on this later), and does not require that domestic partner benefits be provided to the same-sex partners of employees.

GOOD NEWS:
However, there’s still hope in the following states which currently prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in BOTH public and private sectors, but federally it will be an uphill struggle.

They are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The LGBT fight for justice is seeing a dim light at the end of the of the tunnel, as more than half of the U.S. currently battles to see LGBTs as human beings who also have rights.

LGBTs continue to put extra effort into bringing this issue to justice. They’ve found that if LGBTs currently reside in states that do not protect them from workplace discrimination, they can still be protected by city and county ordinances, but the biggest step forward would still be ENDA.

Just follow this link and you will be able to find out what kind of protection your city, county, and/or state provides against sexual orientation discrimination.
http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-discrimination-harassment/employment-employee-gay-lesbian-discrimination.html

Here's another great list entitled 5 Reasons ENDA Must Pass
http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/five_reasons_why_enda_must_pass

In response to the AIDS crisis during the 1980’s, the FDA banned any man who has had sex with another man since 1977 from donating blood. The ability for a gay man to give blood was taken away in 1985.

The idea behind this ban was based on men who are sexually active with other men are more likely to have/contract HIV, discounting the fact that heterosexuals who practice unsafe sex may also have a higher chance of having/contracting HIV.

There is no scientific evidence that supports the ban, which has us wondering why it’s taking so long to lift this ban. This issue could easily be solved if the ban was lifted and replaced with a new ban that reads:

‘People who have unsafe sex, are not allowed to give blood.’

Here's an article written by Medical News Today titled "Gay Blood Donation Ban Is Scientifically Unsound"

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190005.php

There is also a shortage in blood supply, so it's just about time for America to decide when the general well-being of the American public becomes more important than prejudice.

Shows where lesbians and gays (single or couple) are allowed to adopt:
http://gaylife.about.com/od/gayparentingadoption/a/gaycoupleadopt.htm

Click the image to the left for a map of rights generally provided to same-sex couples.

The debate concerning gays and lesbians adopting children is a complicated one (for those ignorant enough to see anything even remotely wrong with it).

Those who are against gays and lesbians adopting say that there is an alleged greater prevalence of depression, drug use, promiscuity and suicide among homosexuals might affect children or that the absence of male and female role models could cause maladjustment.

Here's a study that says that children of Lesbian couples are generally more well-adjusted than kids growing up in a "traditional" parental household.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/07/lesbian.children.adjustment/index.html

So, suggesting that homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed to adopt because they might grow up dysfunctional is a poor and ignorant excuse. As for the cause of maladjustment, where exactly does bad judgment exist in homosexuality? Apparently, parents who are loving, caring, and trust worthy are not "safe" enough to be considered good parents.

Some Catholic churches will not admit children into their school if their parents are gay. According to the Catholic teaching homosexuality is considered a sin.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03/08/catholic-preschool-boots-child-because-parents-are-lesbians/

Father Bill Breslin of Sacred Heart of Jesus argues that Homosexuality is against their religious beliefs, 'Why would good parents want their children to learn something they don't believe in? It doesn't make sense. There are so many schools in Boulder that see the meaning of sexuality in an entirely different way than the Catholic Church does. Why not send their child there?'

Here’s another one from The Archdiocese of Denver: "No person shall be admitted as a student in any Catholic school unless that person and his/her parent(s) subscribe to the school's philosophy and agree to abide by the educational policies and regulations of the school and Archdiocese."

Parents living in open discord with Catholic teaching in areas of faith and morals unfortunately choose by their actions to disqualify their children from enrollment. To allow children in these circumstances to continue in our school would be a cause of confusion for the student in that what they are being taught in school conflicts with what they experience in the home.

Unfortunately there’s little that lesbian and gay parents can do since, as a private religious institution, Catholic Churches have the right to decide who they want or don’t want to admit.

Unfortunately, a lot of these institutions are actually great and well-known institutions of education.

Fair enough, rules are rules, and the right thing to do is to abide by them. So, the children of divorced parents should not be admitted as well.

In fact, they should expel all students whose parents have been re-married, are using birth control, or living a lifestyle that The Church would consider sinful.

But not to worry, most of the time these issues can be resolved in a jiffy with bribery - I mean charity.

Looks like it's getting easier and easier to walk through the eye of that needle.

Proof that gays are being discriminated against when it comes to housing:
http://www.rent-direct.com/blog/time-to-end-discrimination-against-gay-and-transgendered-in-housing/

BAD NEWS:
The Fair Housing Act lends no protection to LBGTs when purchasing, renting, or leasing a home on the basis of sexual orientation.

The following states including the District of Columbia prohibits this from happening: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey , New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Wisconsin.

HOW LGBTs ARE AFFECTED:
Here's an example: some were not allowed to put both partner’s names on the home owner’s insurance policy, which is really important when both partners share ownership of the home.

Also, some insurance companies have attempted to refuse a claim or cancel the policy altogether on the basis that the couple is unrelated. This kind of comes down to the whole marriage thing, doesn't it? Hmmm...(more on that later).

Many LGBTs have reported to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force that they have been discriminated against when trying to purchase, rent, or lease a home.

Trans-genders are more often discriminated than lesbians and gays.

According to a survey conducted by the Task Force, they have found that out of 6,456 trans-genders 11 percent have been evicted because of their gender identity and 19 percent had become homeless.

Through their own experiment, lesbians and gays have found that agents provided higher rental rates to same-sex couples. They also saw behavior bordering on sexual harassment. They’ve noticed that the level of encouragement and application fees favored the male/female test teams.

GOOD NEWS:
Every year for the last 10 years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) conducts a major study of discrimination nationwide.

This year, even, they will be studying housing discrimination against homosexuals and trans-genders.

Their goal is to provide information that will focus on facts this time around.

The experiment includes a ‘listening’ tour in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. In return, HUD will generate ideas on how to write a script for this research.