The Louisiana LGBT community is outraged after U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman ruled the state ban on same-sex marriage constitutional Wednesday.
This is the latest news to contribute to an awful reality: Louisiana needs to be educated.
In his ruling, Feldman concluded that “public attitude might be becoming more diverse, but any right to same-sex marriage is not yet so entrenched as to be fundamental.”
Society’s attitude is morphing, but we still have to educate people on the importance of laws that protect the LGBT community.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council voted to reject a “fairness ordinance” last month, which would have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in areas of housing, employment and public accommodation.
But Baton Rouge’s leaders aren’t aware of the importance of this ordinance to the LGBT community.
In the council’s defense, the vote came after multiple sessions of heated debate where the councilmembers heard the pros and cons of the law from the public. Given the conservative majority in Louisiana, the cons outweighed the pros.
Council member Buddy Amoroso said the ordinance would be a violation of religious liberties, and while the LGBT community does face discrimination, the issue isn’t serious enough to need government intervention.
This kind of conclusion can only be credited to a lack of education.
The agenda isn’t, and will never be, to violate religious belief. Religious freedom is a guaranteed right for every American. Living in a city free from discrimination should be a guaranteed right, as well.
“The same thing happened earlier this year when they tried to protest the anti-sodomy law,” said Julianne Martin, president of Spectrum, the University’s LGBT student organization. “When you relate an issue to something that digresses from religious influence, it is automatically wrong. We have to teach people that different doesn’t equal wrong.”
Martin brings to light the LGBT community’s biggest obstacle: the public’s lack of education.
LSU’s new LGBTQ studies minor is a step in the right direction. Students now have the opportunity to learn about the culture in an academic setting, which is beneficial for both LGBT and non-LGBT students.
“Everyone I’ve talked to is really excited about the minor and the classes,” Martin said. “By encouraging students who aren’t in the LGBTQ community to sign up and educate themselves, we can end hate.”
The chances of a gay LSU student getting evicted from his apartment because he is caught holding hands with another guy may seem far-fetched, but in the current state of the law, it is legal.
Baton Rouge leaders are always searching for ways to revitalize the city’s image. I encourage them to advocate for LGBT rights just as much as I encourage the Baton Rouge LGBT community to speak up.
Educating others on LGBT rights can be as simple as talking to the people around us, calling our representatives and making sure issues are known. Our voice is the most valuable tool, and it is our job to use it.
After all, it is the job of public officials to make the city the best it can be, but it is the citizen’s job to tell the official how to do it.
We may not be surprised when judges continue to reject proposals on LGBT issues, and until we acknowledge this as a serious violation of civil rights, nothing is going
to change.
Jose Bastidas is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Caracas, Venezuela. You can reach him on Twitter @jabastidas.