LGBTQ Rights in the U.S

1. Marriage –

Same-sex marriages or any other limited alternatives have recently been legalized, but only in a few states in the United States. Even today, a majority of the states have chosen to legally define marriage solely as a relationship between a man and a woman and in some cases also go on to recommend and implement bans on same-sex marriages in the state. However, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on June 26th,2015 that all 50 states of the nation have to legalize same-sex marriages.

2. Hospital visitation –

The Federal regulations that were enacted in the year 2011 permit patients in hospitals that are receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding to decide who is allowed visitation rights or who can make decisions on their behalf keeping aside aspects of their sexual orientation or gender identity. These regulations at the state level are now afforded as a result of the state now recognizing the relevance of same-sex partners.

3. Adoption –

This has been another extremely controversial topic for quite some time now as different people seem to have different views on this aspect of same-sex relationships being recognized. Ever since the legalization of the LGBTQ community, laws concerning adoption have been brought to the forefront to introspect. However, these laws differ from one state to another and are most of the times very ambiguous to the common understanding. All of the US’s states permit a single individual the right to sign a petition to adopt a child, but less than half of these states permit same-sex couples to sign and submit a petition for adoption.

4. Employment –

LGBTQ rights in the workspace have been a significant issue especially considering the fact that even women in a developed nation such as the U.S are not entirely secure from discrimination at the workplace. Many Anti-discrimination employment laws are now being framed, but these tend to vary from one state to another depending on how well the state in question has implemented the inclusion of various sexual orientations.

5. Housing –

Federal regulations formed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development need the housing programs receiving federal funding to ensure a discrimination-free environment concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. Although the change is arriving, it is not at the pace expected or wished for, and even today, less than half of the American states are actually willing to implement anti-discrimination laws and measure for sexual orientation of individuals.

6. Hate crimes –

Federal hate crime laws help extend protection for crimes that are related to one’s sexual orientation. As of now almost ten states in the country don’t have inclusion of gender identity when it comes to hate crime laws. However, it must also be recognized that over 30 states include this aspect in their definition of hate crime laws.