Losing Momentum: Is Human Rights Advancement for LGBT Dwindling?

By Jeremiah Ho

 This week the Associated Press published a survey of antidiscrimination legislation amongst the states that protect LGBTQ individuals.  What the AP observed was that “there is a sharp split among states, with some enacting such protections and a majority opting not to.”  Then the article listed some highlights (quoting directly from the article): 

-28 states have no explicit statewide protections for sexual orientation and gender identity: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming.

-17 states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.

-Three states prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations: New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin. The laws in these states don’t encompass gender identity. However, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is issuing an executive order that will soon extend protections to transgender people.

-Massachusetts prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in public accommodations. There’s an effort underway to extend the public accommodation protections to transgender people.

-Utah prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing. Its law doesn’t cover public accommodations.

It’s been four months since Obergefell v, Hodges, where the Supreme Court extended the right of marriage to same-sex couples.  The honeymoon period is arguably drawing to a close, and it is time to see what’s next.  Without federal law or guidance for banning discrimination against LGBTQ or a strong, definitive approach from the Supreme Court bench that situates sexual orientation and/or identity as a protected classification, work needs to continue to increase the safeguard against the discriminatory acts and harms toward LGBTQ individuals.  According to a 2014 Harvard Law Review article by the review’s own editorial board,[1] there is often a critical dissipation of gay rights advocacy within a political body once marriage equality is achieved. What the AP article demonstrates is that the conversation for LGBTQ rights needs to continue quickly toward obtaining full and uniform sexual orientation or identity antidiscrimination protections despite the recent achievements in marriage equality.  The link to the article is here.