Civic Engagement/Educational Wikis:
The audience I choose to address is the employers and employees;
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Civil right is one of the most fundamental aspects of society. This is because it ensures fair treatment of every individual regardless of their class, gender, sexual orientation, social status and race. America as a society has come a long way and it is time we fully accept the LGBTs and let them feel like any other citizen.
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How would you feel if someone did not want to be associated with you because of your sexual orientation? What if your sexuality was the main reason as to why you cannot become the lawyer or a doctor as you have always wanted? Simply because someone somewhere thinks that your sexuality disqualifies you from being a professional. This is a true and real fear that exists in the lives of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transsexual. There is need to protect them rather than discriminate them as an employer and there is need to know your rights as an employee regardless of your sexuality.
Laws on sexual orientation
The bill of rights out rightly states that all citizens are protected against discrimination on a general base, however there is no one specific federal law that protects the lesbians, gay, bisexual and transsexual. When it comes to employment simple technical qualification and experience is enough to determine whether one can get a job or not but ones gender and sexuality should not be used. This goes well against the right to privacy that is given to all citizens.
The employment non discrimination act is supposed to offer enough protection to all workers but it cannot extend special rights to LGBT. This is because there is need to create a fair and equal platform for all workers without favour to any side. This is based on the title 7 of the civil rights act of 1964 that does not allow for preferential treatment for any group of people. When the state creates laws specifically prohibiting discrimination at the work place, this becomes an umbrella that protects the LGBT. This is because according to the 2002, general accounting office report, where these laws exist there are fewer cases reported as opposed to where there are no laws.
Human rights campaign is widely known to be the ones fighting for the rights of the LGBT. They base their argument on the 2003, Lawrence. V. Texas Supreme Court ruling that stated that people are free to have their sexual orientation as private and should not be judged by it when it comes to professionalism and technical qualification. They also focus on the 2009, Mathew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, that states any discrimination based on sexual orientation is a hate crime.
There has been an improvement to help ease the situation for instance the 2005, labour law. It states that discrimination at work based on sexual orientation is illegal. However there are variations on the level of implementation in different states, it has very minimal effects on the states that have not completely accepted the role of LGBT, for instance in some states are against same sex marriage and will not implement the labour law to the letter.
References
2005, labour laws against discrimination of workers based on their sexual orientation,
1964, title seven of the civil rights act that does not allow for preferential treatment based on disability and sexual orientation/ gender
2009, Mathew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, that states any discrimination based on sexual orientation is a hate crime.
1983, The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, it is against any type of discrimination at the workplace.
2003, Lawrence. V. Texas Supreme Court ruling, it ruled against the invasion of privacy at the work place and against discrimination based on sexual orientation
2002, General Accounting Office Report, (GAO), a study done on twenty seven states, 16 have embraced the laws that protect the laws to protect LGBT but the other 11 have not.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtrARG5xHQg
