Many issues currently face the global LGBTQIA+ community, all of which are rooted in systems and histories of discrimination. It remains a criminal offense in 70 countries to openly identify within the LGBTQIA+ community. In 12 of these, it is punishable by death. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage is legal in 34 countries, the first of which to legalize it was the Netherlands in 2001. No matter the country, however, LGBTQIA+ individuals worldwide face discrimination and violence in the labor market, the healthcare system, housing, schooling, organized religion, the criminal justice system, on the streets, and within their own families based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The acronym LGBTQIA+ has developed over the last few decades, evolving from simply "the gay community" to LGBT to the longer acronym it is today. While LGBT, LGBTQ, and LGBTQ+ are still used today, LGBTQIA+ is considered a more inclusive term. But what does it stand for? Let's break it down L: Lesbian G: Gay B: Bisexual T: Transgender Q: Queer, Questioning I: Intersex A: Asexual, Aromantic +: Every other identity on the gender and sexuality spectrum (i.e., non-binary, Two-Spirit, pansexual, etc.) There are many different labels that members of the LGBTQIA+ community use to identify. Some members use multiple labels, and some prefer not to use labels at all. On this page, we use LGBTQIA+ unless citing a study, in which case we use the language used by that study. For a more detailed list of sexual identities and their definitions, see https://www.healthline.com/health/different-types-of-sexuality For a more detailed list of gender identities and their definitions, see https://www.healthline.com/health/different-genders#a-d
Pre-2000, the right to marriage for all was primarily a state concern. In the 1970s, states like Maryland, Virginia, Florida, California, and Wyoming passed measures explicitly defining marriage as between a man and a woman. It was only in the 1990s that cities like San Francisco and Washington D.C. gave homosexual couples the right to register for domestic partnerships, a status that gave some legal recognition but still fell short of marriage.²²
The passing of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) pushed back strides made in the fight for marriage equality by limiting federal recognition of marriage to heterosexual couples.²² In 2003 Massachusetts legalized gay marriage, and for the next ten years, other states like Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, California, Maryland, and Washington would follow. Notably, these marriages were only recognized on the state level - [it was only after the 2013 Supreme Court](https://www.npr.org/2020/06/26/883908854/5-years-after-same-sex-marriage-decision-equality-fight-continues.) case United States v. Windsor that federal marriage benefits were extended to homosexual couples.²¹In 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized across the United States after the Supreme Court decision Obergefell vs. Hodges.
Even in the 1900s, individuals accused of homosexuality were barred from and, if discovered, dishonorably discharged from the military, and in 1949 a formal ban was placed.¹⁸ In 1993, the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy by the Clinton administration replaced the ban which stated that homosexuals could serve in the military if they did not publicly declare their sexual identity.²³The policy was controversial on both sides; anti-gay groups fought against having LGBTQIA+ individuals serve in the military, while pro-gay groups felt that the policy still created a culture where service members couldn’t be open with their identities and forced to remain in the closet.²³
After much political push-back, the policy was repealed in 2010, and in 2013 same-sex couples were finally able to receive military benefits. Transgender individuals have faced unique challenges with enlistment, particularly in recent years.²³In 2015, the Department of Defense stated gender identity could no longer be a reason for discharge.²⁵ In 2017, President Trump repealed this measure and announced a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. After a series of congressional and legal opposition, the ban was implemented in 2019 but was repealed two years later under the Biden administration.²⁰
Unfair stereotypes of LGBTQIA+ people promote false beliefs and harmful legislation. For example, the stereotype that LGBTQIA+ people are “groomers” or “sexual predators'' has been perpetuated since the very start of the LGBTQIA+ movement.²⁷
This has led to laws criminalizing drag shows, limiting access to potentially life saving gender-affirming care, and banning LGBTQIA+ topics from schools. The stereotype and continued ideology that providing youth gender-affirming care is “child mutilation” resulted in multiple states across the US banning it.
Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill resulted in millions of people expressing hate on social media, with a 400% increase of the term “groomer” in tweets. The focus on bathrooms in anti-trans legislation is another way the unfair stereotypes of transgender people as “groomers” has harmed them, with severe pushback against people using the bathroom based on their gender identity, instead of the sex they were assigned at birth.²⁷
In 1976, Matthew Shepard was abducted by two men in an area east of Laramie, Wyoming.²⁶ He was tied to a fence, assaulted, beaten, and left to die. He was targeted because of his sexuality. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard Act to reduce hate crime incidents against members of the LGBTQ+ community based on their sexuality.
Unfortunately, there are still many instances of hate crimes. In 2016, a shooting at Pulse Nightclub, a gay club in Orlando, left 43 people murdered and 53 wounded. LGBTQIA+ people are nine times more likely than non-LGBTQIA+ people to be victims of hate crimes.²⁴
In 2021 alone, the FBI recorded 1,707 anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crimes, a 54 percent increase from the previous year.¹⁹ LGBTQIA+ hate crimes continue to rise sharply.