The FBI Hate Crimes Report shows that anti-gay crimes rose 4 percent between 1996 and 2011, while overall hate crimes for other minorities decreased 30 percent over the same period. President Obama made progress on this issue by passing federal hate crime laws that cover those who identify as LGBT. But states, too, must engage their own resources on this issue by passing their own legislation. Currently, only 13 states have bias-motivated crime laws that cover sexual orientation or gender identity.
Additionally, we must make progress to protect LGBT youth. Over 40 percent of homeless youth in the U.S. identify as LGBT, according to the Williams Institute. Of these youth, 68 percent ran away because of family rejection, and over half were also victims of domestic abuse. In New York City alone, there are nearly 4,000 homeless youth, but only 250 beds provided by shelters. Lack of government funding has left hundreds of thousands of LGBT youth to sleep on the streets. But the problem does not end there for the young. Sixty-four percent of LGBT students reported feeling unsafe at their schools because of their sexual orientation. This can be redressed by establishing anti-bullying laws, which 15 states already have.
Finally, employer discrimination against gender or sexual minorities must end. The federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act has been stalled by Republicans who believe businesses should have the freedom to discriminate. We heard these arguments before during the Civil Rights era, and they are still poor excuses to justify prejudice. Ninety percent of transgender Americans have experienced harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job or took actions to mask their gender identities. At the state level, only 29 states have employment non-discrimination laws that cover sexual orientation or gender identity, meaning that 55 percent of all American workers can be legally fired for identifying as LGBT. This is unacceptable. President Obama can take meaningful action on this by issuing an executive order that bars federal contractors from hiring or firing based on sexual orientation or gender identity, ultimately paving the way for congressional legislation.
We have seen overwhelming support and activism for marriage equality. Indeed, a remarkable 70 percent of Americans under 30 support same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center. But when this battle is won, we must advance on to protect the rights of LGBT Americans in the workplace, the schools and the streets. True equality is within our reach, but the activism and support must continue.
