The LGBTQ+ Community Has a Right to Safety

Author: Sania Hammad, She’s the First Youth Ambassador

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” These words written as war raged between America and Britain were supposed to bring equality to the people. With these words, the American dream was born. America: “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” a country where anyone can be anything. Unless, as it turns out, you are a woman. Or Black. Or Muslim. Or gay. Or anyone that looks or acts differently than the men who wrote those words. 

“America: “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” a country where anyone can be anything. Unless, as it turns out, you are a woman. Or Black. Or Muslim. Or gay. Or anyone that looks or acts differently than the men who wrote those words. ”

As a society, Americans have made substantial progress when it comes to the treatment of minorities and women. This has caused many people to incorrectly believe that activism for racial and gender equality and freedom of sexual expression is no longer needed. Yet, the hard truth is that, at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, in the heart of the world's melting pot, the torch bearer of human rights—the United States of America—hatred thrives, and hostility abounds. 

The haters, their hearts as dark and unaccepting as ever, have been quick to adopt new tools. Instead of tedious lynchings, there are now quick shootings. Instead of killing one innocent person at a time, they now kill several in a single burst from an automatic assault weapon. There was a time the haters had to congregate in secret societies to enable each other to eliminate those against whom they bore a grudge. No longer so. Thanks to military-grade automatic weapons available to all, one person is as effective at killing as a whole group. 

One thing that has not changed in the violent history of civil rights in the United States is that the haters choose soft targets. In the past, they would burn down churches full of unarmed people who were further disarmed by their attention to prayer. Now, in addition to places of worship, the haters choose nightclubs and places of recreation to wreak havoc on unsuspecting attendees.  Americans are free to legally purchase firearms, take to the streets, and steal the lives of anyone who reminds them of anything that they hate. 

America is in the midst of a weapons epidemic. (I deliberately used the word “epidemic” rather than “pandemic” because the gun problem is unique to America.) No other country has its school children knowing exactly what to do if a shooter were to enter the building. With the exception of Yemen, the United States is the only country where the acquisition of semi-automatic long guns is permitted in most states to all but ones specifically prohibited (source 1). The estimated firearms holding rate for the United States is a stunning 120.5 per 100 people, by far the highest in the world (source 2). Yemen is far second, with a rate of 52.8 per 100 residents. The United States is one of only three countries where citizens have a constitutional right to own guns (source 3). The other two are Mexico and Guatemala.

The gun culture of the United States appears to have been instrumental in perpetuating hate crimes. This article focuses on the lives of LGBTQ+ in America. An important fact to note at the outset is that LGBTQ+ identities have been so suppressed that little historical data on violence against this community is available. 

The June 2016 massacre at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was perpetrated by a man who, despite at one time having been on the FBI’s “terrorist watch list,” was able to purchase a Sig Sauer MCX semiautomatic assault rifle and a Glock 17 9mm semiautomatic pistol just days before this attack. The perpetrator killed  49 people and wounded 50 more.

Six years later, in November 2022, a shooter took 5 lives in a hate-driven attack of innocents at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The shooter had a previous record of threatening his mother with weapons and yet was in legal possession of a semi-automatic weapon (source 5). 

According to the FBI, nearly 20 percent of hate crimes are to be ascribed to sexual-orientation bias or gender-identity bias (source6). The National Crime Victimization Survey of 2017 indicated sexual and gender minorities are 2.7 times more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the general population (source 7). These data highlight the risks that the LGBTQ+ community faces in modern American society.

“At She’s the First, we believe in gender equality, one’s right to decision-making about one’s body and sexuality, and safety from all forms of violence.”

At She’s the First, we believe in gender equality, one’s right to decision-making about one’s body and sexuality, and safety from all forms of violence. In 2019, girls from the STF community presented The Global Girl’s Bill of Rights to the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. This bill presents ten fundamental rights that we believe all girls are born with, yet society denies. I would like to highlight the rights listed as numbers 7, 8, and 9, safety from all forms of violence, decision-making about their bodies and sexuality, and protection under the law without fear or unequal treatment.

“Without addressing and eventually eradicating homophobia, the feminist agenda can never be fully fulfilled.”

Every time a disgruntled employee or angry citizen takes to the street with an automatic weapon, these three fundamental rights are violated. One may question how a bill of rights specifically targeted towards girls can be used when talking about LGBTQ+ lives when not all LGBTQ+ individuals identify as female; however, homophobia is a feminist issue. Homophobia and sexism feed into each other. Both forces maintain traditional gender roles and inequalities in our society. Without addressing and eventually eradicating homophobia, the feminist agenda can never be fully fulfilled. It is time to stand up to injustices and senseless impositions of historically patriarchal societies on those who fall outside of rigid norms.

Sania Hammad

Sania Hammad, 17, is a Pakistani-American senior in high school. Sania has always been passionate about girls’ rights, so joining She’s the First as a Youth Ambassador was a very easy decision for her. Having come from two very distinct cultures, she has witnessed how sexism affects women in different areas of the world. Advocating for girls’ rights has become a fierce passion of hers. She also enjoys writing and reading, to which she hopes she can help create more access for girls everywhere.