Why LGBTQIA+ People Should Be Treated Equally

Commentary by La’Niyah Streater. Illustration courtesy of DeviantArt.

For years, the LGBTQIA+ community has been publicly bullied by non-supporters, who ridicule them for loving the same gender or not being their given sex. This bullying and harassment leads to lack of confidence and self worth, and in extreme cases, suicide. People should be allowed to love whoever they want without being judged or pushed to the point that they want to change who they are. 

More than one-third of LGBTQIA+ people in the US say they have been cyberbullied. In the United States, 1.8 million members of the LGBTQIA+ community seriously consider suicide every year. On February 8th, 16 year old Nex Benedict, who was transgender, committed suicide. Benedict was bullied because of his gender identity, and had ended up in the hospital after being jumped and attacked by bullies. The bullying ended up taking such a toll on him that he took his own life.

In conclusion, LGBTQIA+ people deserve to be treated the same as their straight counterparts. They also are owed an apology for being publicly bullied for being gay, which is upsetting.  

La’Niyah Streater is a freshman at Friendship Collegiate Academy.