How do The Religious Exemption Laws Hurt The LGBTQ+ community?
Religious exemptions hurt the LGBTQ+ community in different ways depending on the state. Currently 12 states have some kind of religious exemption law that directly affects the LGBTQ+ community and many more have few or no laws that prohibit discrimination in areas such as healthcare.
One area that LGBTQ+ people face discrimination in is adoption. In some states, adoption agencies are allowed to use the teachings of whatever religion a child grew up with as justification to deny same-sex couples the ability to adopt that child. This unfairly discriminate against people in same-sex relationships, but it also harms the children, who are denied the opportunity to be adopted even if they didn’t verbally oppose to the same-sex parents. These laws are also harmful if the child themselves identifies as LGBTQ+. The adoption agency may deny the child the opportunity to have accepting parents, if the agency feels that they’d rather give the child to a family that will enforce stricter religious standards. This is very dangerous since transgender children are far more likely to commit suicide if their parents do not accept their identity versus if they do. This legislation leaves the child and parents with very little choice and instead leaves the power to the adoption agency, who have less interest in the happiness of the family.
Another issue facing the LGBTQ+ community is services for the elderly or disabled. Many of these services are provided by religious organizations or churches. Passage of laws that would allow religious exemptions for these services have been proposed on both the state and federal level. This would be incredibly hurtful since the services that are being provided are for those who are unable to provide it for themselves.
Denial of Healthcare for LGBTQ+ is surprisingly common in the United States. This denial extends in severity. For example, denial of treatment of sexually transmitted disease due to the identity of the patient can lead life-long negative effects or even death. This especially impacts poorer members of the LGBTQ+ community, who may not have the means to find another hospital or clinic if they are denied crucial services. Denial of procedures and services hurt transgender Americans in a unique way; many hospitals around the country will deny sex change surgery or hormone treatment for transgender patients, using their religious opposition to sterilization as a justification. A unique issue that face same-sex couples is the denial of reproductive services based on their identity. This is similar to the issue with adoption: gay or lesbian couples being denied the ability to raise a child for no reason other than somebody else’s opposition to their sexual orientation.
Finally, as brought to the attention of the public by the Masterpiece cakeshop case, is the issue of denial of service to LGB people based on religious belief in marriage being only between a man and woman. The issue of denying service at a business is incredibly important because of the slippery slope that will follow if businesses are allowed to deny minor services. If a business can deny a cake based on the identity of the customers, then somebody else will use that justification to deny more significant goods like a marriage license or life-saving medication.
Overall, LGBTQ+ people are no less human than straight or cisgender people and they need the same services as anybody else. In many of these instances, LGBTQ+ people are being denied essential goods or services by people who use their religious belief as a legal excuse. The Religious Exemption laws often put the beliefs of the religious over the right to a healthy and happy life for LGBTQ+ people. In this way, the Religious Exemption laws oppose the spirit of the US Constitution and the moral compass of modern society.
One area that LGBTQ+ people face discrimination in is adoption. In some states, adoption agencies are allowed to use the teachings of whatever religion a child grew up with as justification to deny same-sex couples the ability to adopt that child. This unfairly discriminate against people in same-sex relationships, but it also harms the children, who are denied the opportunity to be adopted even if they didn’t verbally oppose to the same-sex parents. These laws are also harmful if the child themselves identifies as LGBTQ+. The adoption agency may deny the child the opportunity to have accepting parents, if the agency feels that they’d rather give the child to a family that will enforce stricter religious standards. This is very dangerous since transgender children are far more likely to commit suicide if their parents do not accept their identity versus if they do. This legislation leaves the child and parents with very little choice and instead leaves the power to the adoption agency, who have less interest in the happiness of the family.
Another issue facing the LGBTQ+ community is services for the elderly or disabled. Many of these services are provided by religious organizations or churches. Passage of laws that would allow religious exemptions for these services have been proposed on both the state and federal level. This would be incredibly hurtful since the services that are being provided are for those who are unable to provide it for themselves.
Denial of Healthcare for LGBTQ+ is surprisingly common in the United States. This denial extends in severity. For example, denial of treatment of sexually transmitted disease due to the identity of the patient can lead life-long negative effects or even death. This especially impacts poorer members of the LGBTQ+ community, who may not have the means to find another hospital or clinic if they are denied crucial services. Denial of procedures and services hurt transgender Americans in a unique way; many hospitals around the country will deny sex change surgery or hormone treatment for transgender patients, using their religious opposition to sterilization as a justification. A unique issue that face same-sex couples is the denial of reproductive services based on their identity. This is similar to the issue with adoption: gay or lesbian couples being denied the ability to raise a child for no reason other than somebody else’s opposition to their sexual orientation.
Finally, as brought to the attention of the public by the Masterpiece cakeshop case, is the issue of denial of service to LGB people based on religious belief in marriage being only between a man and woman. The issue of denying service at a business is incredibly important because of the slippery slope that will follow if businesses are allowed to deny minor services. If a business can deny a cake based on the identity of the customers, then somebody else will use that justification to deny more significant goods like a marriage license or life-saving medication.
Overall, LGBTQ+ people are no less human than straight or cisgender people and they need the same services as anybody else. In many of these instances, LGBTQ+ people are being denied essential goods or services by people who use their religious belief as a legal excuse. The Religious Exemption laws often put the beliefs of the religious over the right to a healthy and happy life for LGBTQ+ people. In this way, the Religious Exemption laws oppose the spirit of the US Constitution and the moral compass of modern society.
Photo used under Creative Commons from missbutterflies