Ten Ways to Make a Difference for LGBT Rights

Published October 05, 2008 @ 10:15PM PT

Top Ten As Anne Frank wrote, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Enough said. With that, here are ten ways to make a difference for LGBT rights.

Be respectful of language

We all know the three-letter and six-letter words thrown around our schools and workplaces to demean and belittle LGBT people. Words can do serious damage – both to the person they are directed to, as well as the person speaking them. By challenging someone when they say an anti-gay slur or joke, we can stop the spread of prejudice and the mindset that it’s OK to hate, or at least use hateful language. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has a number of online public service announcements geared toward this very subject.

Employment Non-Discrimination

Did you know that in 38 states, a person can be legally fired for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? If you live in a state or community without an employment non-discrimination policy, lobby your state (or your federal) legislators to support an employment non-discrimination act. For an even more direct route, start with your own employer and find out whether they are offering equal rights for LGBT workers. Gay Job Biz is one site among many where you can see lists of LGBT-friendly employers, read the latest news about LGBT issues in the workplace, and get expert advice on LGBT workplace questions and concerns.

On a federal level, watch for progress on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. A version of this bill that protects sexual orientation (but, unfortunately, not gender identity) passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year, and is due for consideration in the U.S. Senate. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has an action center dedicated to this issue, and is a great resource for staying abreast of the Act’s progress.

Support Gay-Straight Alliances within middle schools, high schools and colleges

LGBT and LGBT-friendly students have the right to express themselves, and have the right to push for equal rights and safe spaces within their schools. As U.S. Federal Judge K. Michael Moore, who presided over the Yasmin Gonzalez vs. School Board of Okeechobee County case that sought to ban Gay-Straight Alliances within schools, said, “[School boards are] obligated to take into account the well-being of its non-heterosexual students.” For helpful directions on how to start a Gay-Straight Alliance within your high school, check out the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. For information on the federal Equal Access Act, which protects Gay-Straight Alliances and other student clubs from discrimination, visit Lambda Legal, which offers a lengthy q&a on the Act.

Ballot Measure Campaigns – Stand Up, Be Counted, and Help Get Out the Vote

Despite real progress advancing LGBT rights in the U.S. over the last forty years, each election cycle brings with it its own crop of anti-LGBT ballot measures. Whether its gay adoption, gay marriage or both, anti-gay organizations and legislators have been effective at getting oppressive ballot measures on statewide ballots. This year alone, California voters will decide whether to repeal same-sex marriage rights (granted earlier in 2008 by the California Supreme Court), and Arkansas voters will decide whether to ban LGBT couples (and unmarried heterosexual couples) from adopting and/or providing foster care to children. Stay informed about these issues by visiting Equality California and Arkansas Families First. To find out what’s happening in your own state regarding anti-gay ballot initiative, visit the Human Rights Campaign’s interactive map. Simply select your state, and view the status of pending ballots and/or legislation. Then, help educate others on the negative impacts these types of legislation bring on the LGBT community, and help organize to get out the vote this November…and every November.

Equal rights for marriage

Whether it’s helping defeat a statewide ballot measure banning same-sex marriage, or talking about marriage rights within your faith community, there are many ways to help champion the cause of equal marriage rights for LGBT citizens. Marriage Equality USA has a number of resources for how everyday people can help build a growing movement for same-sex marriage. Step one: Sign their marriage declaration form and send it to their national office. Step two: Tell your friends. Step three: Join up with local LGBT activists working on this issue in your own community, or start your own affinity group if one doesn’t exist. Step four: Vote, vote, vote.

Additional efforts can include contacting your local newspaper and urging them to publish same-sex wedding announcements, or to profile a local LGBT couple who has gotten married. Also, stay informed about what anti-LGBT marriage activists are doing and help offer community responses to these efforts whenever possible.

Lifting the ban on LGBT service members in the U.S. military

More than 12,000 soldiers have been discharged from the U.S. military because of their sexual orientation since the 1994 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy went into effect. But there are strong efforts to overturn this policy, led by groups like the Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN). How can you help end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”? First, tell your Representative to repeal the ban on gay and lesbian soldiers. Second, tell your Senator. Then, third, tell your neighbor. Wash, rinse, repeat.

SLDN also provides a toolkit on its Web site for everyday activists working to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” They also have information on how to start your own letter-writing campaign in your community to call for a repeal, and plenty of fact sheets showing why this policy is outdated, unjust, and ready to be repealed.

Get behind the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA)

Heterosexual U.S. citizens and permanent residents currently have the right to sponsor an opposite sex partner for immigration benefits. LGBT couples do not, denying thousands of citizens the right to be together with their family in this country. That’s where the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) comes in to play. Read up on this bill, and then visit Immigration Equality. Their Web site has tools for how you can lobby your legislators, local governments, and organizations to support the UAFA. You can also support Immigration Equality by offering translation services for numerous documents related to immigration and asylum, or if you’re an academic or expert on the treatment of LGBT or HIV-positive citizens in a particular country, share your knowledge. With the U.S. State Department offering very little in the wake of LGBT rights in their annual country reports, every bit of information related to the treatment of LGBT and HIV-positive citizens abroad is a massive help.

Support local anti-violence programs

LGBT communities continue to face violence and threats of violence solely based on sexual orientation. Nineteen states currently have anti-violence programs that help educate about hate crimes against certain populations, including LGBT citizens. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) is an umbrella organization that supports many of these organizations, and offers a voice nationally for the rights of victims of LGBT hate crimes. Find information about local anti-violence programs in your community, and help volunteer your time to support them.

Also, stay tuned in to the latest legislation involving hate crimes both in your state and on a federal level. Urge your U.S. Representative and Senators to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the federal hate crimes act, and if your state is not one of the 32 states offering hate crimes laws addressing sexual orientation, contact your state representative and senators and urge their support for a statewide hate crimes law that encompasses all forms of discriminatory violence.

Digging deeper – test yourself for hidden bias

Whether we like it or not, all of us come equipped with our own hidden biases. The folks at Tolerance.org, as well as researchers with Harvard University, have put together an interactive – and very insightful – online test to help us unearth the subtle biases that shape and influence our perceptions and actions. Take the sexuality Implicit Association Test (IAT), and then afterwards, check out tolerance.org’s tutorial on prejudice, stereotypes and the social effects of bias. After all, if we’re going to recognize prejudice in others, we ought to know what lurks in our own minds first.

Healthy People 2010

According to the National Coalition for LGBT Health, there are growing health disparities between LGBT citizens and heterosexual citizens. These health disparities encompass a wide range of issues and themes: LGBT elders in same-sex relationship face higher risks of economic insecurity, and the health effects that come along with that, because they are not offered the same benefits as married couples; LGBT youth have higher attempted suicide rates; LGBT patients are often afraid to “come out” to health care providers, leading to poor patient screening and timely check-ups; and much more.

To respond to these and other health disparities, the National Coalition for LGBT Health has issued a multi-year call, “Healthy People 2010,” which will outline a plan for improving the nation’s health, and will address sexual orientation in 29 different categories. Check out this document, and help support broader policy recommendations to improve the health and well-being of LGBT citizens. Also, help commemorate National LGBT Health Week in your community, every April from the 6^th to the 12^th.

Lastly, for a basic primer on ways to work for LGBT equality, check out the Human Rights Campaign’s publication “Speak Out! Activist Tools for LGBT Equality.”

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Comments (12)

This is the best thought-out, most consise advice for us AND our allies that I have ever read!
congrats!
Walter

Posted by Walter Schlosser on 10/11/2008 @ 04:38PM PT
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Thanks, Walter! We're always happy to receive more suggestions, as well! There's never a shortage of things to do for equality.

Posted by Michael Jones on 10/11/2008 @ 07:23PM PT
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The activist tools from the Human Rights Campaign are particularly useful. Thank you.

Posted by Michael Todd on 10/11/2008 @ 11:19PM PT
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wow! I agree with walter; this is very well thought out and organized, and very much needed here in Virginia. Unfortunately, supporters of LGBT rights here are lacking, and it hurts to see others silently abiding, who cannot share their commitment with the world, while I plan for my own wedding. Furthermore, as a straight supporter of gay rights, people just don't understand why i even care. And THAT is what needs to change. We should all care about others, whether they're the same as us or not.

Posted by Erin Ferguson on 10/18/2008 @ 05:09AM PT
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Please vote for my idea (relates to gay rights):

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/incentives_for_blood_donationlooser_fda_regulations_for_blood

Posted by Agatha J. on 12/01/2008 @ 08:05PM PT
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While I like that Arkansas Families First is on the list, in their ads urging people to vote against Act 1, they did not mention sexual orientation or same-sex couples.
CAR (Center for Artistic Revolution) on the other hand did.
CAR is a great organization and if you want to see more equality in Arkansas, they are the one to support.
Their website is: http://www.artisticrevolution.org

There aren't very many LGBT rights organizations in Arkansas. We should support the ones that don't back down from using words like "gay" "lesbina" "sexual orientation" "same-sex couples" "discrimination," etc.

Posted by Courtney C............ on 04/09/2009 @ 12:13PM PT
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Many same-sex coupled partners are employed by the US government, domestically and overseas. Yet, federal benefits to same-sex family members are denied, such as; survivor benefits and medical insurance. If you are a federal employee overseas and have a partner living with you, your housing benefits are halved. Many of the US State Department policies are gay unfriendly and are discriminatory.

Posted by Phil Sorensen on 04/17/2009 @ 11:54PM PT
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May I recommend another organization: Scouting for All. We are trying to get the Boy Scouts of America to repeal their discriminatory membership policies so that the organization can be open for ALL boys as it was intended when it was founded in 1910. Unfortunately, the Religious Right have got their hooks so far in the organization that some will want to concede defeat. As an Eagle Scout, I made a pledge to stand up for what I believe is right even if others laugh at me for taking a stand. While we stand with you on issues such as marriage equality, we ask that you stand with us, LGBT and heterosexuals alike, and help bring healing change to the Boy Scouts of America. Because it's not adults that are being discriminated against, it's children as well.

Posted by matt mirmak on 06/16/2009 @ 06:36PM PT
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May I recommend another organization: Scouting for All. We are trying to get the Boy Scouts of America to repeal their discriminatory membership policies so that the organization can be open for ALL boys as it was intended when it was founded in 1910. Unfortunately, the Religious Right have got their hooks so far in the organization that some will want to concede defeat. As an Eagle Scout, I made a pledge to stand up for what I believe is right even if others laugh at me for taking a stand. While we stand with you on issues such as marriage equality, we ask that you stand with us, LGBT and heterosexuals alike, and help bring healing change to the Boy Scouts of America. Because it's not adults that are being discriminated against, it's children as well.

Posted by matt mirmak on 06/16/2009 @ 06:36PM PT
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www.scoutingforall.org

Posted by matt mirmak on 06/16/2009 @ 06:36PM PT
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Thank you michael...For posting this.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 06/26/2009 @ 06:30PM PT
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11. Ignore trans people! Throw them under the bus. I find it highly insulting to be included in LGBT when trans people, who suffer economic and social discrimination an order of magnitude greater than cis gay/lesbian people, are consistently ignored by cis gay organizations, whether it's in political action or informational resources.

Posted by Mia Chen on 10/26/2009 @ 06:20PM PT
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Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.