Premium Essay

Sexual Orientation and the Law

In:

Submitted By staciamayhew
Words 913
Pages 4
Sexual Orientation and the Law
Stacia Mayhew
Columbia Southern University

Just because you are different than other people, you may feel lost or alone. That is hard enough to deal with, but now there are people around you that are uncomfortable with the fact that you are gay, a lesbian, or bi-sexual. How can you tell your family and friends when you honestly have no idea that you don’t know how they will react? I, personally, am not a lesbian, however, this subject strikes a nerve with me because I feel that it doesn’t matter who people choose to spend their life with. Why does society care so much about whom people choose to love? There are some family and friends who will accept you for whom or what you are or become in life. Some may not say it right away, but I think they will eventually come around. I would be torn to pieces if someone I loved rejected me because of who I was and my sexuality. Coming out is hard enough and now you have your entire support network not talking to you because of it. Who do you confide in now? Imagine if you have no gay friends that truly understand what you are going through. Then you have everyone around finding out and picking on you making things worse. People can be seriously cruel and not care about their actions. The case in Oxford, CA with Lawrence King, 15, is a tragedy. He was in middle school and announced to his class that he was gay in front of his classmates. It takes a lot of nerve to be who you are as a person and not care what other people think. That’s what Lawrence did and because of that, classmate, Brandon McInerney, decided to shoot him in school because he was gay. (Cathcart. 2008). “Prosecutors charged Brandon as an adult with murder as a premeditated hate crime and gun possession. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 52 years to life in prison.” (Cathcart. 2008). My guess is

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Obergefell V. Hodges: Supreme Court Case Study

...pushes the issue of including sexual orientation discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In July 2015, the high profile case of Obergefell v. Hodges allowed the Supreme Court to interpret the Fourteenth Amendment in which it requires states to issue marriage licenses between two individuals of the same sex. Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, 37 states had legalized same-sex marriage. With legally issued marriage licenses, it will grant same-sex couples spousal benefits, but does not protect same-sex couples from being discriminated against at work in the private sector. Our country will allow same-sex...

Words: 1283 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Sexual Orientation Discrimination

...Sexual Orientation Discrimination Introduction to Human Resources Management HR 353 2/25/2011 Matthew D. Hall Instructor: Joyce Willhite   Sexual Orientation Discrimination “I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation (King).” This quote by Coretta Scott King is how the workplace should feel about discrimination against those who have a different sexual orientation. Sexual orientation discrimination is a rapidly growing issue in today’s workplaces. Just like sex, age, and race discrimination it is becoming one of the major issues that is present in the workforce. With the growing news media issues like gay marriage and “Don’t ask don’t tell”, this is becoming another one of the areas employers are and have been discriminating against workers. There are many state laws to discourage this type of discrimination, but as of right now there is not a federal law that protects against sexual orientation discrimination. I am sure in time there will be some form of federal protection, but only time will tell. As part of the Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender (LGBT) family, I have seen firsthand how this discrimination has and continues to negatively affected people’s lives. When people are singled out for any reason and discriminated against, it makes me think “are we really in the land of the free?” Just as Ms. King’s quote stated, if we believe in freedom...

Words: 1880 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Cracker Barrel: Sexual Orientation Discrimination

...Discrimination in the workplace against sexual preferences is common. Cracker Barrel in 1991 put in place a policy ban to veto employment to both lesbians and gays. A decade later they were faced many charges on racism for both employees and customers. LGBT individuals should be protected of their civil rights just as much as any race, gender, pregnancy, nationality, and disability. Cracker Barrel operates under traditional values and supports the notion that federal legislation is warranted to stop employment discrimination on sexual orientation. The Cracker Barrel case is something that has caused much controversy for the LGBT community. But, it has also brought the attention of this problem to federal legislation. After reading the article, we can see that federal legislation is in fact supporting this case. There are no federal laws in place at this time that actually prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, but federal legislation does not agree with the way Cracker Barrel is discriminating against the lesbian and gay community. In this day and age there needs to be some sort of protection for the LGBT community. There are federal laws that prevent discrimination based on a person’s religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, and race. So, now there needs to be laws that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. Cracker Barrel should not be allowed to get away with the way they have treated their gay and lesbian employees...

Words: 1346 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Homosexuality

...Homosexuality From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about homosexuality in humans. For homosexuality in other animals, see Homosexual behavior in animals. Sexual orientation Male and female symbols overlaid Sexual orientations Asexual Bisexual Heterosexual Homosexual Non-binary categories Androphilia and gynephilia Non-heterosexual Pansexuality Polysexuality Queer Research Biological Human female sexuality Human male sexuality Demographics Environment Hetero/homosexual continuum Kinsey scale Klein Grid Neuroscientific Queer studies Sexology Timeline of sexual orientation and medicine Non-human animals Animal sexual behaviour Non-reproductive sexual behavior in animals Homosexual behavior in animals (list) Category Category v t e Part of a series on Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people LGBT flag Sexual orientation Homosexuality Demographics Biology Environment History LGBT history Timeline Social movements Culture LGBT community Coming out Pride Slang Symbols Gay village Rights Laws around the world Marriage Union Adoption LGBT parenting Military service Legal aspects of transgenderism Intersex human rights Social attitudes Heteronormativity LGBT stereotypes Queer Religion and homosexuality Religion and transgender Prejudice / Violence AIDS stigma Anti-intersex Biphobia Genderism Heterosexism Homophobia Lesbophobia Binarism Sexualism Suicide among LGBT youth Transphobia Violence against LGBT people LGBT trafficking ...

Words: 12671 - Pages: 51

Premium Essay

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace

...Vicki Puckett COM 120 Allyson Wells October 8, 2006 Do you think that your employee rights entitle you to workplace privacy? Well, think again. The fact is that most employers monitor their employee in one way or another. In the workplace, many employers are violating the privacy rights of their employees by surveillance, genetic testing, and sexual orientation. According to some workplace privacy studies, there is a good chance that your employer is monitoring your internet activities, including the Web pages you read, and messages you read and post in forums, blogs, and chat rooms. Your employer could also be spying on you in several other ways as well. Some may include recording your phone conversations, videotaping your every move within the company, and tracking your location with the company cell phone. Such monitoring is almost entirely unregulated. Therefore, unless company policy specifically states otherwise, your employer may listen, watch and record most of your workplace communications. The rapid growth of workplace monitoring and surveillance technology has far out paced the development of laws that protect worker privacy interests. Modern technology has provided employers with more advanced and effective means of monitoring their employees. As a result, electronic monitoring of employees in the workplace has become far more prevalent in recent years. This technology now enables an employer to record every keystroke on the computer, every...

Words: 1146 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Discrimnation

...| Discrimination Research | Course Project Paper | | Tamara Robinson | Employment Law Prof. Justin Lawrence DeVry University | Define sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and sexual orientation discrimination as those terms are used legally. Be sure to note the differences between these types of discrimination in your answer. The definition of sexual harassment encompasses the request for sexual favors as well as touching, joking, commenting, or distributing material of a sexual nature that an employee has not consented to and finds offensive. (Moran, 2014, p. 265) Gender discrimination, or sexism, is defined as attitudes, conditions, or behaviors that promote stereotyping of social roles based on gender. Sexual orientation discrimination is unfair treatment or harassment because of a person’s real or perceived sexual orientation. (NOLO Law) When it comes to employment legality, these discriminations should be avoided, and if they do occur within a company, they must be addressed immediately and rectified. Failure to do so opens the company to the possibility of legal action, conceivably costing the company millions of dollars and tarnishes the reputation of the company. Provide the legal definition of "quid pro quo" (also known as "vicarious liability") sexual harassment. Provide one example of a behavior which could be found to be quid pro quo sexual harassment. Vicarious liability renders employers responsible for their supervisors’ tangible...

Words: 2113 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Should Don't Ask, Don't Tell Be Enforced in the Military as Well as the Business Sector?

...“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been a policy enforced in the United States Armed Forces, however the attitudes of this policy in some aspects has transferred to the business sector. Some American citizens believe the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is effective, yet others find it problematic. The policy has affected not only homosexuals wanting to serve our country, but also those attempting to find employment. Homosexuals serving in the military have been a long debated topic throughout U.S. history. As early as Revolutionary War times, the military did not exclude homosexuals from serving our country. However, they did consider sodomy a criminal offense. According to the “Article 125 of Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) prohibits all service members from engaging in sodomy. Service members found violating this article can be court-martialed and imprisoned if found guility.” (Alexander) Sodomy is defined as, “anal or oral copulation with a member of the same or opposite sex” (Sodomy). In 1778 the first solider, Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin, was discharged from the Continental Army for sodomy. The military’s main focus was on homosexual behavior, but eventually shifted to eliminate homosexual personnel all together. During this time, psychiatric evaluations were administered to prevent homosexuals from entering the military due to an alleged “medical” reason. In 1916, the Articles of War clearly forbid homosexuals from serving in the U.S. military. ...

Words: 2918 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Business Law

...inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Yet, it is still legal in 29 states to be fired for just being gay. In 33 of the 50 states of the United States of America, one can be fired for being transgendered. These states do not have legal protections for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community (Solmonese, 2009). So does the “American Dream” only apply to “first class citizens”? This paper explores if the Employee Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) would protect employment decisions, which should be based upon a person's qualifications and job performance, not sexual orientation or gender identity (Solmonese, 2009). For over 50 years when there has been a case of an American being denied employment or promotions for reasons that were unrelated to their skills in the workplace, Congress responded by passing laws which were aimed at designing a system based solely on employee- merit and guaranteeing that subjective considerations do not govern access to employment (Herman, 2009). A specific act that has been brought to legislation, although has not passed, is the Employee Non Discrimination Act. ENDA is modeled after Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids employers from discriminating with regard to hiring, termination,...

Words: 3185 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Discrimination on Sexual Orientation at the Workplace

...Discrimination on sexual orientation at the workplace Name Sexual discrimination at the workplace Introduction Discrimination based on sexual orientation is among the leading forms of discrimination in today`s contemporary world. Sexual orientation refers to one`s psychological processes, instincts and sexual activity, as relates to members of the same sex, opposite sex or both. Homo sexual are people with sexual orientation towards people of the same sex; gays for males and lesbians for females. Bisexuals are those that are attracted to both men and women. In these definitions, it is important to underscore the fact that lesbians and gay people often have bisexual dispositions. Transgender persons are also victims of discrimination. These are people who are born with complete physical characteristics and features of one sex, but often feel emotional and psychological belonging to the opposite sex. As such a male feels and acts like a female, and vice versa. Many people, including those with sufficient understanding in psychological and social issues argue that trans sexuality is the root cause of homosexuality and bisexuality Morrow et al 19). Many studies in homosexuality associate the state of trans gender to complex emotions and instincts that cross over to attraction to members of the same sex. There are other claims that it is an effect of socialization, this one is not naturally born into it. Trans sexual have often come...

Words: 3832 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Diversity in Workplace Sexual Orientation

...Diversity in Workplace Sexual Orientation Professor Antionette Dee Currie Richardson Human Resources Management Andre Marcano Florida State College Jacksonville MAN 4301, SUMMER 2014 Abstract This paper looks at the impact of being Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) in the workplace and if there are any limitations by various organizations. Most organizations often claim to value diversity, many Human Resource Systems are developed to encourage, reinforce and allow only similarities. Understanding the economic rationale for discrimination of LGBT and the implications contributes to improving Human Resource Discrimination policies that take into account workforce diversity. Employers should introduce diversity programs to educate employees and create an environment that is more hospitable to LBGT individuals and their allies. The goals and objective of the organizations training must be clearly defined and communicated. The challenge arises when forces within the organization operate to attract, select and retain an increasingly homogeneous group of people. This will suggest shifts in organizational policies, at the same time employees who are antigay or homophobic may dislike the shift in policy and begin to leave the organization. The net effect is to produce a workplace that is more accepting of change. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) an estimated gay and lesbian population at five percent of the U.S. population over 18 years of age...

Words: 1906 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Employment Discrimination

...Final Project Employment Discrimination Western International University The Federal and state employment discrimination laws prohibit employers from engaging in unfair employment practices, such as hiring, assigning projects to, promoting, compensating, terminating, or harassing employees based on their race, religion, sex, physical disability, national origin, or age. In addition, some states have also enacted employment discrimination laws prohibiting employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. Several federal laws protect employees from illegal discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids prejudicial employment practices with regard to color, religion, sex, race, or national origin. Title VII not only applies to employers, but to employment agencies and labor organizations as well. Title VII also created the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC). Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations contains the regulations relating to the EEOC. The EEOC is responsible for implementing Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, and portions of the Rehabilitation Act. The National Labor Relations Act protects employees from discrimination related to their participation in labor unions. The Act applies to both organized unions and acts by individuals who strive to obtain rights for a group of employees. The National Labor Relations Board oversees...

Words: 2022 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Sexual Orientation According to Apa

...------------------------------------------------- Sexual Orientation Development Sexual orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction that one feels toward men, toward women or toward both. Although sexual orientation ranges along a continuum, it is generally discussed in terms of heterosexual — attraction to the other sex — homosexual —attraction to the same sex — and bisexual —attraction to both sexes. Sexual orientation has not been conclusively found to be determined by any particular factor or factors, and the timing of the emergence, recognition and expression of one’s sexual orientation varies among individuals. Sexual orientation is not synonymous with sexual activity. Many adolescents as well as adults may identify themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual without having had any sexual experience with persons of the same sex. Other young people have had sexual experiences with a person of the same sex but do not consider themselves lesbian, gay or bisexual. This is particularly relevant during adolescence because experimentation and discovery are normal and common during this developmental period. Lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents follow developmental pathways that are both similar to and different from those of heterosexual adolescents. All teenagers face certain developmental challenges, such as developing social skills, thinking about career choices and fitting into a peer group. Like most heterosexual youths, most lesbian, gay and bisexual...

Words: 2711 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Vriend V. Alberta

...officially given the right to be protected by the law, and benefit from the law without discrimination. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (2)“reflect the fondest dreams, the highest hopes and the finest aspirations of Canadian Society” and although “Sexual Orientation” is not recorded under the sections protected from discrimination, it was deemed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Egan v. Canada, 1995 case to be an equivalent ground to make claims of discrimination; Gay men and women are all equal in rights and dignity and should have protection of those rights. The Vriend v. Alberta case was monumental in that it was not only a conflict to Alberta’s Individual’s Rights Protection Act, but the rights of all homosexuals in Canada based on the Charter Section 15 (1). It was an igniter against the Province of Alberta, the Government of Canada, as well as conservative religious groups. It was a conflict of religious rights versus human rights and which aspect of humanity is of greater importance to Canadian society as a whole. The road to equality has been a long and hard road for all homosexuals, working towards this right the Vriend case was a small stepping stone on this long journey. Vriend demonstrated to society, that as stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, all individuals are equal in both human rights and dignity, and therefore should not be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation. (1) Charter of Rights of Freedom (2) Case ...

Words: 3326 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Same Sex Couples

...Same Sex Couples Adopting ENGL135ON Leonetta Dopwell DeVry University Table of Contents Introduction Page 2 Capability / Fitness of Gay and Lesbian Parents Page 3 Shortage of Potential Adoptive and Foster Parents Page 4 The sexual orientation of the Potential Parents Page 5 Conclusion Page 6 Bibliography Page 7 Introduction According to A. Littauer on “Same Sex Parenting”, gay people have parented their children for as long as people have understood themselves as gay. However, homosexual parents often shielded themselves and their children from scrutiny by publicly concealing their sexual orientation in the past. But by the end of the twentieth century, an estimated six to ten million gay and lesbian parents in the United States were raising six to fourteen million children, often in openly recognized gay families. Most of these children were born to heterosexually married parents; one or both of whom later came out as gay or lesbian (Littauer 2008). Allowing LGBT parents to adopt or foster has been the subject of controversy for a long time. Discussions and debates about adoption and foster care by gay or lesbian parents occur frequently among child welfare policy makers, social service agencies and social workers. However, while such an ongoing debate exist, on any given day in the United States about a half million children are living foster care. Additionally, many of our personal resources are spent adopting internationally or through private...

Words: 1891 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Employment Discrimination

...Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation For the purpose of this assignment I selected the state of New York. I selected New York because it is considered one of the trends setting states for celebrities, fashion, partying, and in many people eyes the place to be on the east coast. New York was the 11th state in the United States and its capital is in Albany. It is probably remembered the most today because of the attack that occurred there on September 11, 2001 on the twin towers. Famous attractions like Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and Times Square are also located there. New York protects discrimination against gay/homosexual people with the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA), which took effect in 2003. According to Office of the NYS Attorney General (2015) “SONDA, prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, and the exercise of civil rights”. New York already has legislation that complies with the federal regulations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other federal agencies the prevent discrimination based on race, sex, and religion. They have also added the term sexual orientation to other state law that prevents discrimination based on Civil Rights, Human Rights and Education Laws. SONDA defines sexual orientation as a male or female who is bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual or if a person is perceived to be in...

Words: 551 - Pages: 3