In two weeks from Sunday, June 12, we will be marking a year of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court of the United States case that allowed same-sex marriage to be legal in the United States.
On Saturday, June 11, my sister married her longtime girlfriend, something we thought we would have to wait much longer for.
It has almost been a year since the landmark decision was made with a 5-4 decision, with Justice Anthony Kennedy delivering the opinion of the court, saying, “No union is more profound than marriage.”
And Justice Kennedy is correct.
In the last year, I have seen same-sex couples of all ages become married.
My sister and her fiancée are no different. I have seen them grow in this process of setting things up, pulling extra shifts at their jobs just to make sure their big day and the honeymoon following it are perfect.
Though same-sex marriage has been a remarkable milestone in LGBT rights, there is so much more work to be done in the fight for their equality.
Now that marriage is legalized, it has become less of an issue in public debate. Which means, it is important now more than ever to make sure the LGBT is safe from other forms of discrimination, both legally and socially.
To start, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act in North Carolina was signed into law in March and has been called “the most anti-LGBT bill in the country.” Commonly nicknamed the “Bathroom Bill,” the Act declares that state law overrides cities from creating their own laws and rules that prevent the discrimination of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women are at a greater risk for poverty and are at a greater risk of being victims at sexual assault.
While the bisexual community has been inherently written off as invisible, the Williams Institute indicates that there are roughly as many bisexual individuals as there are gay and lesbian individuals. Bisexual women experience high rates of domestic violence.
Transgender individuals are also at a high risk for being victims of hate crimes, which was highlighted in 2015 when at least 81 transgender individuals were reported to be murdered, but the number of murders that go unreported could be significantly higher.
There are also still laws in place in certain states that allow for discrimination in some states, while others have no laws protecting LGBT employees at all.
I am not trying to downplay the importance the impact Obergefell v. Hodges has had on the United States this past year.
But just like slavery was not the end of racial discrimination, legalizing same-sex marriage is not the end of LGBT discrimination in anyway way, shape or form. Just like having racial segregation until the 50s, there are still plenty of ways—again, both legally and socially—that the LGBT community is still being discriminated against.
I encourage you to stand up with and for the LGBT community as they go through the everyday hassles outside of marriage rights. Stand up with and for them as they fight for equal economic, medical and in employee rights.
This post has been edited for timeliness.
This post was originally published in the independent student publication, The BG News, which can be found here.