Florida GLBTs still face discrimination and violence today
Did you know Florida is ranked 49th in the United States for Equality?!
-Hate Crimes:
I was 19 years old and thought I was the world. I had good looks and thought everyone would accept me for who I am, I was wrong. On a not so spring chilled night my best friend and I drove to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where, the week before, I met this wonderful gentleman I spent a terrific evening with.
We hopped in the car and headed to what we thought would be a night of dancing and a night to spend some time with this wonderful guy.
Hours went by but he never showed up. My friend went out to the car to get something and when he came back in he said two gentlemen were outside and had asked if he would give them a ride.
So, after debating, (and we really did not have the gas to get home which was 4 hours away) I grabbed another friend and asked him to act like my boyfriend and tell these gentleman no.
Then we were approached by a sweet talking gentleman and after a short conversation we agreed to drop these two off at their friend’s house in exchange for gas money so we could make the 4 hour drive back home to Indiana.
To make this long story short we were attacked in an alley, and stabbed viciously. My friend was thrown into the trash as I was left for dead on the ground next to the car.
We just wanted to help these two as they would help us with our problem of no gas to get back home. Was this so wrong, trying to be a friend?
My friend was sent to a downtown Hospital where they took the black people and I was sent to the suburbs where they would send the white people.
So, to be honest, we were not only part of a hate crime, but we were also discriminated against due to our different races.
The police drove all the way from Michigan to Indiana to show me mug shots of the gentlemen who had stabbed us. After picking the two gentlemen out of the mug shots, I never heard anything from either cop.
We were a part of a Hate Crime! Still, even today, after the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed, we are still being discriminated against by law enforcement. All someone needs to say is they were “approached in a sexual way”, or, “He made a move on me”, or “He winked at me”. Let’s get real here! It is time for law enforcement to start doing what they are paid to do, PROTECT EVERY CITIZEN.
We need to report incidents such as this not only to law enforcement but also to our local activist organizations. We need to publicize these stories so we as a community can stand and fight!
If you, or someone you know has been involved in a hate crime, please report the incident to your local law enforcement and to your local activist organizations.
Remember not all people are bad.
We hopped in the car and headed to what we thought would be a night of dancing and a night to spend some time with this wonderful guy.
Hours went by but he never showed up. My friend went out to the car to get something and when he came back in he said two gentlemen were outside and had asked if he would give them a ride.
So, after debating, (and we really did not have the gas to get home which was 4 hours away) I grabbed another friend and asked him to act like my boyfriend and tell these gentleman no.
Then we were approached by a sweet talking gentleman and after a short conversation we agreed to drop these two off at their friend’s house in exchange for gas money so we could make the 4 hour drive back home to Indiana.
To make this long story short we were attacked in an alley, and stabbed viciously. My friend was thrown into the trash as I was left for dead on the ground next to the car.
We just wanted to help these two as they would help us with our problem of no gas to get back home. Was this so wrong, trying to be a friend?
My friend was sent to a downtown Hospital where they took the black people and I was sent to the suburbs where they would send the white people.
So, to be honest, we were not only part of a hate crime, but we were also discriminated against due to our different races.
The police drove all the way from Michigan to Indiana to show me mug shots of the gentlemen who had stabbed us. After picking the two gentlemen out of the mug shots, I never heard anything from either cop.
We were a part of a Hate Crime! Still, even today, after the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed, we are still being discriminated against by law enforcement. All someone needs to say is they were “approached in a sexual way”, or, “He made a move on me”, or “He winked at me”. Let’s get real here! It is time for law enforcement to start doing what they are paid to do, PROTECT EVERY CITIZEN.
We need to report incidents such as this not only to law enforcement but also to our local activist organizations. We need to publicize these stories so we as a community can stand and fight!
If you, or someone you know has been involved in a hate crime, please report the incident to your local law enforcement and to your local activist organizations.
Remember not all people are bad.
-Workplace:
Have you ever been discriminated against in your workplace? Have you ever been refused a job for any reason? I have. Many years ago I was refused job opportunities because I was honest on a job application. When asked what religion I was, I answered truthfully, Catholic. In the late 1950’s establishments in Nevada could refuse to hire you, and they could fire you, based on your religious beliefs. Today the same discrimination still applies in many states if you are gay. The Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has yet to be passed by Congress. This means that it is still OK to fire someone without cause; fired because they are presumed to be gay. It does not matter if you are the hardest and best worker they have. If your boss is homophobic he or she can fire you just because they think you may be gay.
-Housing:
-Military:
-Blood Donation:
In the midst of the early 1980s HIV/AIDs epidemic, the FDA banned blood donations from any man who had sex with another man since 1977. At the time it seemed a reasonable action, as there were no reliable tests to screen for HIV in the blood and gay men were the vast majority of the virus' first victims. However, science has advanced exponentially since then; all blood is currently being screened with sophisticated tests, especially state-of-the-art Nucleic Acid Testing. Additionally, we know that HIV has nothing to do with 'who you are' but with 'what you do': it is an equal opportunity virus.
But discrimination prevails and it is also very bad science. Heterosexuals who practice unsafe sex, who have many multiple partners, access sex workers, or are IV drug users are permitted to donate blood (which may then have to be dumped wastefully) while responsible healthy gay men are prohibited: backwards thinking in a time of constant blood shortages.
Other countries have done away with this useless and discriminatory ban, the Red Cross advocates for doing away with it, but as recently as June 2010, a US government public health committee voted to uphold it.
But discrimination prevails and it is also very bad science. Heterosexuals who practice unsafe sex, who have many multiple partners, access sex workers, or are IV drug users are permitted to donate blood (which may then have to be dumped wastefully) while responsible healthy gay men are prohibited: backwards thinking in a time of constant blood shortages.
Other countries have done away with this useless and discriminatory ban, the Red Cross advocates for doing away with it, but as recently as June 2010, a US government public health committee voted to uphold it.
-Education:
I knew I was gay at a very young age. Ok, let me reword that, I knew I was different.I grew up in a time where gay was unheard of. You had to be heterosexual or you were crazy or you just never brought your true feelings out in the open. I remember I kept thinking why am I different? Am I the only one that feels this way? Come to find out there were more people like me; we were not sick, we felt the same, and we supported each other. It was like I had met a new family. I was called "gay" in school and "faggot" and other names I prefer not to mention. I was fortunate that I had the support of friends who were like me and I made it through unscathed. There is a bill pending in Washington, DC, that I feel is very important. It is called, Safe Schools Improvement Act, a federal anti-bullying Act. Children are being abused in a place where they should feel safe. That place is their school. Take, for instance, the story of “Kevin” who took his own life due to being bullied and harassed in school. There are many “Kevins” throughout this country. The time is now to wake up our society and not let this abuse continue. "WE ARE ALL CREATED EQUAL" We are all entitled to the same rights! Safe Schools Improvement Act, a federal anti-bullying Act: The bill requires schools that receive Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act funding to implement a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that enumerates categories often targeted by bullies, including race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and others. It also requires states to include bullying and harassment data in their state-wide needs assessments reporting. Current federal law provides important federal support to promote school safety but does not comprehensively and expressly focus on issues of bullying or harassment. No child should have to experience the profound emotional pain and hopelessness that comes with bullying at school. The Safe Schools Improvement Act will require schools receiving federal funding to enact policies to prohibit bullying and harassment, and provide them with resources to prevent and respond to incidents when they occur. After relentless anti-gay bullying at school, despite the fact he did not identify as gay, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover took his own life on April 6, 2009, 11 days before his 12th birthday. What is the status of the Bill: SSIA was introduced in the 111th Congress by Representative Linda Sánchez (D-CA) in the House on June 4, 2009. There is no Senate bill at this time. Help stop the Hate! On April 16th, 2011, join us and be Silent! On the National Day of Silence hundreds of thousands of students nationwide will take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools.
-Adoption:
Florida is the ONLY state in this great country of ours that does not allow a gay person or a gay couple to adopt a child? Yes it is true, the ONLY state, and for no compelling reason. An openly gay person can be a Foster Parent. A gay couple can also be Foster Parents. Yes, the State of Florida will pay them to take in children and raise them as their own for years yet, when they become so attached and want to make that loving bond permanent, Florida says, “No”! The State of Florida says you are not good enough to adopt because you are gay! All relevant studies have shown that the loving and caring these children get from their adoptive parents is what really matters. It does not matter if Johnny and Sally have two Mommies, two Daddies, or one of each. What matters is the love and care they get.
-Marriage:
-Words of Wisdom-
Harvey Milk
"It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions."
Martin Luther King
"A right delayed is a right denied."