Many people are surprisingly frightened of these completely ordinary people, ones under the title of transgendered, or homosexual, or many others in the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Plus) community. They bully, disrespect, and make these people’s lives a living hell. This is just another type of prejudice or another phobia, two things that are unreasonable, and irrational. The LGBTQ+ community, along with all others that are treated with disrespect because of the things about themselves that they have no control over, has every right to all the things that are shared with all human beings, as according to our human rights. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” That is the first right that everyone is granted at birth, no matter the color of their skin, their religion, their mental health, or who they like. Homophobia and transphobia are as irrational as prejudice according to race, gender and religion, and we should work as hard against it as we are for the other problems in the world by spreading information and showing our support.

The LGBTQ+ community harbors many different and unknown titles, and also the ones who don't have a title. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, there is so much more to it than that, and the list goes on and on, with one's named and unnamed, for a long time. Of course the main thing that many of these people are fighting for is same-sex marriage, something that they have been denied for a long time, although some states are lifting the ban. “In northern Europe, for example, nine countries have adopted same-sex marriage laws, and eight have legalized same-sex parental rights, making it easier for same-sex couples to not only adopt, but also to have a child by any other means, i.e., a surrogate or a previous heterosexual marriage.” Then there are also many arguments against same sex marriage, including the fact that marriage is sacred, and that kids need a loving mother and father to be raised properly. Although the first argument of marriage being sacred is truly hard to believe because of all the arranged marriages that were set up for the benefit of the two families having the others alliance, or how young some girls are when they get married to people that can be anywhere from twice to quadruple their age. Not only that, but marriage vows get broken all the time, including people cheating, and divorces. If you were to look at the divorce rate you would find that 40 to 50 percent of married couples in America get a divorce, and in the uk 34 to 42 percent get a divorce. In fact the divorce rate in all of Europe is shockingly high, with Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Hungary being worse off with divorce rates higher than 60%. Belgium has the highest rate of divorce in Europe coming in at a staggering 70%.

Then there is the fact that ‘children need both a loving mother and father.’ This goes back to the divorce rates above, showing that roughly half the time children only have one parent, rarely seeing the other. Parents run off and abandon their kids all of the time, and some of the ones who keep them are abusive and mistreat their children. Of course, not all same sex parents won't do this, however that doesn’t change the fact that many different sex marriages are not holy either, yet they get away with it all the time. Also in an ever growing population, kids get brought to adoption centers all the time. Somebody needs to take care of, and parent these children. Many same sex couples are looking for children, and with the inability to reproduce they would adopt the children that so desperately need a way out of the system and into the loving arms of a family.

Two other extreme problems for the LGBTQ+ community are also homelessness, and abuse. “40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT. 68% of those kids were kicked out of their families and homes because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and 54% reported being survivors of abuse from their families. These experiences leave these young people particularly vulnerable to mental and physical health issues, and lead to unfair criminalization of queer and trans youth.” Many young teens are put into dangerous situations, with no money and no shelter because their guardians have kicked them out of their home for being gay or trans. Even worse are the times when they don’t get kicked out of their homes, but instead get abused verbally, and physically by their family members and guardians. “There were 2,000 incidents of anti-LGBT hate violence in 2012. In the past few months, we’ve seen the murder of Islan Nettles (a trans* woman) and the shooting of Mark Carson (a gay man). In May, there were at least 7 anti-LGBT attacks in New York City alone.”

Another large phobia kept for the LGBTQ+ community is transphobia, an irrational fear of transgendered people, or people who were born one gender, but switched to the other binary gender. Transmales being males that were born females and transfemales being females that were born males. “Transphobia. An irrational fear of transgenderism and transgender people. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Specific Phobia is defined as ‘marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable, cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation.’” Transgendered people are simply people who do not feel comfortable in their own body, and to deny them the opportunity to change what makes them uncomfortable about themselves, to deny them the opportunity to be themselves, should be criminal. Some people ask why they would do this to themselves, or they say "be yourself."  But that's exactly what these people are doing, being themselves. They do it because that is how they feel. Compare it to having a haircut, or dying your hair, or getting a tattoo. It's a way of self-expression, and it is surprisingly unwelcomed.

Homelessness and abuse aren't the only risks of unaccepting parents and guardians. Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teenage youth that lived with her unaccepting, transphobic, christian family, committed suicide on December 28, 2014. Not all Christians are like this, of course, and other religions are also against the LGBTQ+ community, but we as a society need to realize that forcing these people to conform to your beliefs and your way of life, you are harming them mentally, and sometimes physically. By forcing that biased way of thinking onto them, you are trapping them in a cage that they cannot get out of. Leelah Alcorn left a suicide note (Here) claiming that her parents denial led her to be depressed, and that her committing suicide was better, because she was transgender. Not only does this suicide note raise awareness for transgender teens in harmful situations, it shows just how harmful they can be even when they aren’t abusive. Many people have gotten extremely angry at this, going so far as to threaten Carla Alcorn for calling Leelah Alcorn her son, and even threatening to riot at her funeral. Although this is a sad fact of reality, many people need to learn to accept others no matter what they say or do.
Even so, not only adults but also children are oppressing the LGBTQ+ community. Others forget the fact that the people of the LGBTQ+ community are people too, with feelings, and dreams, with hope for their and their loved ones well being. "Over twice as many lesbian, gay, and bisexual students (19%) report being threatened or injured with a weapon at their public high school during the year than heterosexual students (8%). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual students (16%) are twice as likely to have skipped school in the last month for safety concerns as other students (8%). Attempted suicide rates are over four times higher for lesbian, gay, and bisexual students; 33% report that they attempted to commit suicide during the past year, compared with only 9% of all other students. 92% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in middle and high school report that they frequently or often hear homophobic remarks, such as "faggot," "dyke," or the expression "that's so gay" from their peers. Almost one in five of these students heard homophobic remarks from faculty or staff at their school. 84% of middle and high school aged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth say they are verbally harassed at school, including name calling or threats, because of their sexual orientation. 65% of these students report having been sexually harassed over the past school year, including sexual remarks or touching, because of their sexual orientation. 39% report having been physical harassed, including being shoved or pushed at school, because of their sexual orientation. 64% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in middle and high schools say they feel unsafe at school. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender high school seniors who have experienced higher frequencies of verbal harassment at school (13%) are more likely to report they do not plan to attend college than lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender seniors who have never or rarely experienced verbal harassment (7%)." It's scary how many people forget that the LGBTQ+ peoples are human, and they are the same as you and me, with the same type of mind. That is, a mind that can feel and express sadness, and they can also contract mental diseases like depression, which can lead to suicide, and even homicide.

Is it really so much to ask that people understand, care for, and give rights to these people, who, frankly, are only human? And it's every humans right to be treated equally, only based on their personality, not by some prejudice or phobia that doesn't make any sense. We need to let people know about what their intolerance is doing to these people, and we need to learn more about what other people identify as/can identify as. One place that has a large list is here. But remember, you can make all the difference in these people's lives. You can show them kindness, and you can fight to give them rights. Remember, you can change these people's lives. And together, we can change the world.

Proctor-Artz, William N. "It really does get better: fighting transphobia and homophobia." Liberty PressAug. 2011: 6. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

Mott, Stephanie. "Trans-phobia." Liberty Press Apr. 2010: 12. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

"Abstinence Programs Isolate LGBTQ Youth." Do Abstinence Programs Work? Ed. Christine Watkins. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. At Issue. Rpt. from "Fact Sheet: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth." SIECUS.org. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 May 2015.

Holly. "Community Post: 7 LGBT Issues That Matter More Than Marriage."BuzzFeed Community. BuzzFeed, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 May 2015.

"Video, Human Rights, Born Free & Equal, Universal Declaration:United for Human Rights." Video, Human Rights, Born Free & Equal, Universal Declaration:United for Human Rights. United for Human Rights, n.d. Web. 22 May 2015.