THE LGBT COMMUNITY AND THE PROBLEMS WE FACEBy Alex Allan

Contents• LGBT Defined• Homophobia• Harassment• Civil Issues• We Are Everyone

LGBT• Lesbian- a homosexual woman• Gay- a homosexual (usually male reference)• Bi-sexual- individuals attracted to both men and women• Transgender- individual identifying gender other than their

biological one

Homophobia• A fear of being in the presence of gays, lesbians and/or

bisexuals.• Fear of the perceived threat towards family, society,

culture and/or religion• Engaging in violent acts against gays, lesbians and/or

bisexuals.• Advocating reduced civil rights for gays, lesbians and/or

bisexuals.

Harassment Statistics

• Gay and lesbian youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide because of their sexual orientation

• 84% of LGBT students report being threatened and called names like “faggot” or “dyke”

• Students that experience frequent verbal harassment are less likely to attend college

• For more statistics go to: http://www.youthprideri.org/Resources/Statistics/tabid/227/Default.aspx

Human Rights

Everyone deserves the right to have their spousal status recognized by their government

Everyone deserves the right to be protected from employment termination over sexual preferences

Everyone deserves the right to have protection from someone who wishes to inflict harm on another person

What Gay Rights?

• Same-sex marriage• Hate crime laws• Employment Non-Discrimination Act protecting from termination over

sexual orientation

We Are Everyone• We are parents, children, brothers, sisters, athletes,

celebrities, students, teachers, doctors and patients. To end the hatred, we need to end the stereotypes and increase awareness; separate church and state and simply respect individuals regardless of their sexual orientation.