LGBTQ community.
People vary significantly in their acceptance of the LGBTQ community. While more people are learning to accept the sexual orientation and differences of this category of people, a significant population is still reluctant to the idea owing to their religions and cultural practices. The concept of LGBTQ is not entirely new, although it has gained preeminence in the 21st century due to the different communities and groups that fight for their rights as normal people and their acceptance in the society. The use of social media, as well as other media platforms, has also contributed to the creation of awareness about the issue, and people have been able to give their diverse viewpoints concerning the issue. In the US, awareness of this category of people has been created, which has contributed to the increase of the LGBTQ community because while most people fell in the category, very few wanted to identify with it due to the fear of discrimination. Even though more people are accepting LGBTQ people, especially transgender persons, lawmakers in the US are still against these sexual orientations and strive to ban the practices.
The article written by Levin (2020) suggests that lawmakers in the US have introduced several measures to criminalize hormone therapy practitioners who prescribe it to transgender persons. Further, the policies being made are such that they are banning transgender athletes from participating in sports. Levin (2020) gives insight into the story of one transgender, Peyton, and his life as a transgender person in the US. Peyton mentions that the transformation journey was not particularly easy for him, even though he was certain that it was what he wanted. One of the things he struggled with was acceptance, and he had to hide his body even to people closest to him for fear of being judged and being discriminated against. Eventually, when he came out, he lost a number of friends and had to attend counseling owing to his emotional state. Peyton further mentions that one thing that made him feel different about himself was hormone therapy, as it aligned his body with his identity.
Even though individuals like Peyton feel that hormone therapy is a solution to their challenges as people who are transitioning, lawmakers such as those in Idaho and different states think that the practice is unacceptable and needs to be banned. Idaho, as a state like many others, has therefore introduced many measures in 2020, which would cut away most of the rights of transgender people, and one of the stringiest methods applied is the criminalization of medical professionals who prescribe hormone treatments to minors. Recently, anti-transgender bills were established and were to be voted for, and the agenda of the bills was to deter people from altering their birth certificates to match with their gender identities after the transition. The second agenda of the laws was to ban transgender athletes from participating in sports if their genders do not correspond to those assigned to them at birth. The third bill that was to be passed would make it illegal to prescribe hormone therapies or conduct surgeries related to gender transitioning.
Peyton and other people in the category, as well as those who support transgender initiatives, feel that the approach taken by the lawmakers is degrading. They feel that such measures prevent people from assuming their true identities. Republican lawmakers, on the other hand, felt that the measures were protective of children and teenagers as at that age they were never certain about their identities and what they wanted. Further, for the lawmakers, the initiative is crucial because it ensures that the accurate demographics are maintained. Individuals like Mr. Strangion, who work for the equality rights of transgender individuals, mentioned that the introduction of such bills was a way of the government to codify their constitutional wins over the issue and make it harder for the LGBTQ persons to protect themselves. Opponents of the measures put across also feel that parental rights, as well as personal freedom of people, are denied. Advocates also feel that such an action would contribute to stigmatization and isolation of youths, and the probable impact is that the number of suicide cases is likely to rise for these categories of individuals. Idaho legislators, as well as lawmakers in other states, have supported the initiative against transitioning as they perceive that most of the young individuals will outgrow gender dysphoria, and the bill would have protected them.
Even though people are becoming more acceptable of the LGBTQ community, especially the transgender persons, lawmakers in the US find the practice unacceptable and are continually striving to ban such sexual orientations. The government is currently involved in making stringy measures to ensure that people maintain their birth sexual identities, for instance, by banning hormone therapies and criminalizing medical professionals who offer such services. Other individuals, however, feel that the approach will cause more harm than good as it will widen the rift between the LGBTQ and other people and also propagate isolation of this community.