(no subject)
I was wanting to send this to the HRC or some such group, and wanted to get some feedback first.
Comments on the ideas expressed as well as punctuation, syntax, word choice, etc. are welcome.
We, the LBGTQAIAP (Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning, Asexual, Intersexed, Allies, and Pansexual) community, hereafter abbreviated to LBGT, seek the following legal rights.
1. The right to marry.
a. We seek the right to marry our significant other under the law. Religious institutions may decide for themselves whether or not to perform such marriages. We seek only the legal right.
b. We seek the same rights and privileges under marriage granted to any other married couple. Includes, but is not limited to, the following:
i. The right to file joint tax returns.
ii. The right to visit a significant other in the hospital.
iii. The right to ride in an ambulance with a significant other.
iv. The right to full custody of children in the marriage by both partners. (See also article 2)
c. Marriage by any other name, including but not limited to 'civil unions' and 'domestic partnerships,' is seen as 'separate but equal' and shall be considered a stepping stone to full marriage rights, and not as an end result. Furthermore, we assert that marriage under another name should not be acceptable under the tenets of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954); Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954); and Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967).
d. The right to have a marriage recognized in the entire country, no matter where it was performed.
e. The right to have marriages performed in other countries legally recognized as valid in the entirety of this country.
2. The right to adopt: we seek the right to be able to adopt if we so choose, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
3. The right to donate bodily fluids, organs, bone marrow, sperm, etc.
a. We seek the right to be able to donate anything from our own bodies that any other person would legally be able to.
b. The LBGT community recognizes that when the ban on blood coming from anyone who had had a homosexual sexual experience was put in place, little was known about HIV/AIDS other than gay men contracted it, and this was, therefore, a logical response. However, now that more is known about this disease, this ban constitutes discrimination.
4. The right to enjoy protection from hate crime: we seek that sexual orientation and gender identity be protected under hate crime laws nationally.
5. The right to enjoy protection from discrimination: we seek that sexual orientation and gender identity be covered by anti-discrimination laws nationally.'
6. The right to serve one's country.
a. We seek the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policies.
b. We seek that any LBGT person who otherwise meets the armed forces' requirements other than his/her/ze's sexual orientation and/or gender identity be granted the same rights and privileges as his/her/ze's heterosexual and cisgendered counterparts.
7. The right of inclusion.
a. We seek that if a group works to further LBGT rights, that the group works to further the rights of all members of the community. No letters of the acronym are silent.
b. We seek that transmen be allowed at all-male events and that transwomen be allowed at all-female events, regardless of transition status.
8. The right to justice: we seek that if a crime is commited against an LBGT person, that the perpetrator(s) be brought swiftly to justice, and that the case will not be swept under the rug or justice delayed because of the person(s) involved.
9. The right to transition: we seek that insurance companies cover the medical costs of transition.
10. The right to emotional support: We seek the right to emotional support in all of the following situations, no matter who the abuser(s) and/or victim(s) are:
a. Sexual abuse
b. Physical abuse
i. Including same-sex domestic abuse.
c. Emotional abuse
Comments on the ideas expressed as well as punctuation, syntax, word choice, etc. are welcome.
We, the LBGTQAIAP (Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning, Asexual, Intersexed, Allies, and Pansexual) community, hereafter abbreviated to LBGT, seek the following legal rights.
1. The right to marry.
a. We seek the right to marry our significant other under the law. Religious institutions may decide for themselves whether or not to perform such marriages. We seek only the legal right.
b. We seek the same rights and privileges under marriage granted to any other married couple. Includes, but is not limited to, the following:
i. The right to file joint tax returns.
ii. The right to visit a significant other in the hospital.
iii. The right to ride in an ambulance with a significant other.
iv. The right to full custody of children in the marriage by both partners. (See also article 2)
c. Marriage by any other name, including but not limited to 'civil unions' and 'domestic partnerships,' is seen as 'separate but equal' and shall be considered a stepping stone to full marriage rights, and not as an end result. Furthermore, we assert that marriage under another name should not be acceptable under the tenets of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954); Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954); and Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967).
d. The right to have a marriage recognized in the entire country, no matter where it was performed.
e. The right to have marriages performed in other countries legally recognized as valid in the entirety of this country.
2. The right to adopt: we seek the right to be able to adopt if we so choose, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
3. The right to donate bodily fluids, organs, bone marrow, sperm, etc.
a. We seek the right to be able to donate anything from our own bodies that any other person would legally be able to.
b. The LBGT community recognizes that when the ban on blood coming from anyone who had had a homosexual sexual experience was put in place, little was known about HIV/AIDS other than gay men contracted it, and this was, therefore, a logical response. However, now that more is known about this disease, this ban constitutes discrimination.
4. The right to enjoy protection from hate crime: we seek that sexual orientation and gender identity be protected under hate crime laws nationally.
5. The right to enjoy protection from discrimination: we seek that sexual orientation and gender identity be covered by anti-discrimination laws nationally.'
6. The right to serve one's country.
a. We seek the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policies.
b. We seek that any LBGT person who otherwise meets the armed forces' requirements other than his/her/ze's sexual orientation and/or gender identity be granted the same rights and privileges as his/her/ze's heterosexual and cisgendered counterparts.
7. The right of inclusion.
a. We seek that if a group works to further LBGT rights, that the group works to further the rights of all members of the community. No letters of the acronym are silent.
b. We seek that transmen be allowed at all-male events and that transwomen be allowed at all-female events, regardless of transition status.
8. The right to justice: we seek that if a crime is commited against an LBGT person, that the perpetrator(s) be brought swiftly to justice, and that the case will not be swept under the rug or justice delayed because of the person(s) involved.
9. The right to transition: we seek that insurance companies cover the medical costs of transition.
10. The right to emotional support: We seek the right to emotional support in all of the following situations, no matter who the abuser(s) and/or victim(s) are:
a. Sexual abuse
b. Physical abuse
i. Including same-sex domestic abuse.
c. Emotional abuse