Should Anti-Discrimination Laws Protect Sexual Orientation? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Discrimination of sexual orientation is the different treatments or harassment that people who have specific sexual orientations face in their day to day activities. Some people believe that sexual orientations should undergo protections from laws of anti-discrimination while at the same time, many other people also feel that these laws of anti-discrimination should not protect sexual orientations.

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People who support protection of these anti-discrimination laws have a belief that people that live alternative lifestyles are the most likely to face a lot of discrimination which is realized in workplaces, and different other social sites like in the society. Because of this, there has been a need for the creation of laws and policies which protect such people with specific sexual orientations from discriminations (Hebl et al. 450). The supporters argue that the types of harassments and different treatments include being yelled at when they perform even the least of mistakes, and not being given a chance for promotions. Other different treatments include being regularly told to improve even when they do not deserve to be related to do so, and terminations of work because their employers are not comfortable with their sexual orientations. Other harassments that they may face include receiving negative comments and being called names based on their sexual orientations and some instances of other workers requesting them for dates to tease them and make them feel bad.

Those who oppose the anti-discrimination laws feel that people who live alternative lifestyles do not face the threat of severe discrimination hence do not require any protection by these laws. According to the people who oppose the anti-discrimination laws, the people that live alternative lifestyles are treated equally in both the society and workplaces being given chances for personal development and promotions (Nanney 2). Hence the people who oppose these laws feel that coming up with anti-discrimination laws is a waste of resources in both workplaces and the government. The government should focus on more critical issues in a country like development and fulfilling their agendas rather than things like discrimination of people with same-sex orientations. The constitution allows for freedom of lifestyle choosing hence they are free to practice their activities without any prejudices.

Advocates have a belief that the government should sanction relationships that are in gay or lesbian states. They believe that gays and lesbians should be permitted to practice their sexual activities freely in society without fear of discrimination (Bamforth 242). The government should create laws which protect the people with specific sexual orientations like gays, lesbians, and bisexuals and make such relationships legal in the constitutions. These couples should be allowed to walk freely in the society and even get married to each other without fear of being looked down upon by the community or losing their jobs because of the same sex or bisexual relationships.

The detractors, on the other hand, disagree with advocators arguing that if there is a sanction of such relationships, Americans could make group marriage and polygamy legal in the country. According to the detractors, legalizing these types of unions will make other people come out and claim for their right to marry as many wives as possible or marry in groups which are morally unaccepted in the country (Duggan 152). Polygamous marriages may lead to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in a fast way all over America. Polygamy also makes the women of America to be seen as inferiors and objects for use which is why the detractors strongly disagree with the government creating laws that allow people with those types of sexual orientations.

People who support the laws feel that society must accept homosexuality. The government should come up with rules that entitle the community to receive people with such types of sexual orientations and have strict measures against the people in the society that seem to discriminate these individuals (Espin 97). The community should be given the ultimatum to either accept homosexuality or face the law in a court which could lead to them being imprisoned or receiving severe punishments by law. They argue that all people in a society are equal and deserve to get equal treatment as all other people in the community without any discriminations at all.

Those who critic the laws feel that the society should not accept homosexuality and there is no legal right in making it embrace homosexuality by force because of several various reasons. The people who critic this move to force the society to accept the people with specific sexual orientations argue the government should not create anti-discrimination laws that support these individuals' acceptance in the community (Hayward 3). The society has its own beliefs about marriage, and one dominant belief is that marriage and relationships should be for only the individuals that are of opposite sexes as has been practiced from the times of their great-grandparents. Society includes religion also, and it has its own beliefs about same-sex marriages and relationships. Forcing the denomination to accept same-sex partners by force is violating their feelings and is not a good thing to do because it will force them to change their teachings too in their places of worship.

Conclusion

Some people believe that anti-discrimination laws should protect sexual orientation. On the other hand, many people feel that anti-discrimination laws should not extend to protect sexual orientation. This paper has been a success in explaining various pros and cons of the government implementing laws to protect the people with specific sexual orientations and how multiple people support the idea while others oppose it.

Bamforth, Nicholas. "Notes the Constitutional Status of Sexual Orientation: Homosexuality as a Suspect Classification." Sexual Orientation and Rights. Routledge, 2017. 239-263.

Duggan, Marian. "Heteronormativity and the Inverted Relationship between Sociopolitical and Legislative Approaches to Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Hate Crime." Critical Perspectives on Hate Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2017. 147-167.

Espin, Oliva M. "Issues of identity in the psychology of Latina lesbians." Latina Realities. Routledge, 2018. 97-109.

Hayward, John O. "Plural Marriage: When One Spouse Is Not Enough." JCL Online 19.1 (2017): 3.

Hebl, Michelle, et al. "The efficacy of sexual orientation anti-discrimination legislation." Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal 35.7/8 (2016): 449-466.

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Kollman, Kelly. "Same-sex unions: the globalization of an idea." The same-sex union's revolution in western democracies. Manchester University Press, 2016.

Lau, Holning. Anti-discrimination grounds: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. BRILL, 2018.

Nanney, Megan. "Critical (of) Anti-Bias Research, Practice and Policy in Education, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Schooling: the Nexus of Research, Practice, and Policy." (2018): 1-3.

Stephens, Rhys Peri. "The Intrinsic Moral Worth of Anti-Discrimination Law." NEL Rev. 6 (2018): 62.