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Election 2012: LGBT Equality Is an Economic Issue
Posted: 09/14/2012 3:55 pm
By Waymon Hudson, LGBT Activist
While it may be an easy talking point for some to say, "I'm not a single issue voter... LGBT issues aren't all that matter," the actual truth about the intersection of LGBT rights and economic justice is inescapable.
LGBT people, particularly LGBT people of color, face significant discrimination in the workplace due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression....
For transgender Americans, the situation is even worse, with a staggering 90 percent of transgender workers reporting some form of harassment or mistreatment on the job.
This pervasive discrimination against LGBT people leads to vast socioeconomic inequalities.
Transgender people are twice as likely to be unemployed and are four times as likely to live in poverty.
Nearly 20 percent have been or are currently homeless due to the issues stemming from workplace discrimination.
It is clear that you have one political party seeking to strip rights from LGBT people, to the point of writing those calls for continued discrimination into their party platform and into their candidate's stump speeches.... You also have another party seeking to expand access to equality through both their platform and actions. The choice should be clear for LGBT Americans.
There is simply no denying that equality is an economic issue.
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Please restrict any comments to LGBT economic issues and the opinions expressed in this piece, and not general commentary on either political party or their candidates. - MadelineB