The legalization of same-sex marriage is now federally recognized thanks to the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling last week, but the fight for equality in the LGBT community is nowhere near over, according to Renee Wells, director of NC State’s GLBT Center.
“It’s an important milestone, but there are so many other issues,” Wells said. “I don’t want to minimize the importance of this, but when we’re thinking about where we go from here I think we should really be trying to broaden the conversation.”
North Carolina is one of 32 states where employees can be fired for identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Currently, there are no federal or state nondiscrimination laws in place. Also in North Carolina, a transgender person cannot legally change his or her name on birth certificates until after genital reassignment surgery.
“You can be legally married but you can also be fired for having a picture of your spouse on your desk,” said Darren Lipman, former president of GLBT Community Alliance. “There shouldn’t be a work and life balance where one side has to be hidden.”
As acceptance for same-sex marriage gains popularity, children are coming out to their families at an earlier age, according to Lipman. However, instead of finding acceptance and support from their relatives, these youth are being kicked out of their homes. As many as 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT, according to a Williams Institute study.
“Due to runaways and being kicked out upon coming out, LGBTQ youth end up making a substantial part of the homeless community,” said Juliette Hallen, a leader of Students Advocating Gender Equality and a senior studying marketing. “We need to fund programs that help these youth and get them off the street into safe, affirming care.”
These issues are not ones that can be put into legislation, Wells said.
“[Marriage] is actually an easier fight to win because it is institutional form of discrimination that is based in law, whereas there are so many other cultural things that aren’t legislated,” she said. “It’s hard to talk about the right strategy for a social rights movement.”
The Department of Justice affirmed Tuesday that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects the right of transgender students to use the restroom that matches their gender identity. In the new Carmichael Gymnasium, gender-neutral bathrooms will be included in the construction to cater to students who identify with neither male nor female.
“The support for the trans community is there, but there is a lot of misinformation that has to be overcome,” Lipman said. “People need to understand what exactly the trans issues are.”
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, North Carolina lawmakers are pushing forward the provision that would allow magistrates who find gay marriage against their religious beliefs to opt out. However, someone in the office must be able to marry the couple.
Gov. Pat McCrory vetoed the bill, yet the General Assembly overrode it in June. North Carolina Attorney General and McCrory’s challenger for governor in 2016, Roy Cooper, believes the General Assembly’s override will negatively impact the state.
“I think we need to encourage having all kinds of people here, and I think some businesses look with scorn at states who pass these kinds of laws,” Cooper said in a press release. “I think it’s bad for jobs. I think it’s bad for our families. I think it’s bad for the economy.”
In a polling drawn from registered North Carolina voters by the Civitas Institute, 63 percent of respondents agreed that states officials who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds should not be compelled to perform same-sex marriages.
Wells hopes the same time, energy and momentum from the marriage equality fight will carry over to battles for other issues in the LGBT community.
“Part of the frustration of the problem is that people aren’t talking about the other challenges,” Wells said. “We have to keep our marching boots on and keep fighting to make changes.”
Hallen agrees with Wells and hopes marriage equality will lead to transformations in total LGBT equality. About 41 percent of transgender people have attempted suicide, according to Hallen.
“We need to overcome the hurdles of apathy, ignorance and discrimination,” Hallen said. “Apathy, because far too often people just don’t care about issues that don’t affect them directly. Ignorance, because people don’t know about the issues that the LGBT community faces. Discrimination, because people choose to hate instead of love.”
