Families with one parent or Child who identifies as LGBTQ face many challenges that other families do not have. Some laws exclude same-sex couples; Other Reach out to transgender children. Discrimination makes it much more difficult to live and be successful as a queer or transgender person. Raising a child is hard enough, but LGBTQ families face a number of issues that families with only heterosexual and cisgender members shouldn’t worry about.
Some LGBTQ issues get quite a bit of attention. You probably know that same-sex couples have a harder time adopting and that conservative lawmakers are attacking the rights of trans children. But there is so much more.
Fran Hutchins, the Executive Director of the Equality Federation, the national head of government organizations working for LGBT + equality, has the solutions to these problems. It is crucial that not every place has the same need for solutions. “We have good politics in some states. But it’s a patchwork, ”she says. “And so often do we need federal politics.”
Here, Hutchins walks us through the top five problems LGBT + families face today.
1. Parental recognition
The matter: When a married couple has a baby, they are both automatically their child’s guardians, right? This applies to heterosexual couples in all 50 states, but not to same-sex couples. Whether she’s having a baby through surrogacy or with the help of one Sperm donor and artificial insemination, married same-sex parents must not appear on their child’s birth certificate. “The problem is, there just isn’t a single set of laws across the country,” says Hutchins.
Most of the states did not address this issue directly. It’s not that they are currently trying to shut out gay couples in the modern age. It’s just that the laws are out of date based on the assumption that marriage is between a man and a woman. You may be using gender-sensitive language that implicitly excludes queer couples.
One state that has taken on the task of addressing this issue is Connecticut. In this state in the past, the queer parents who were not biologically related to their child had to adopt them, adding additional hurdles and costs to parenting. But Connecticut this year the descent law passed, which gives same-sex parents the same automatic descent rights as heterosexual parents.
The way forward: Hutchins hopes other states will follow Connecticut’s lead to grant queer parents equal parental approval. However, it is not enough for states to do the job alone.
“We have seen when it comes to other LGBTQ rights that there are certain states where it will be really difficult. So I think we have to think federally at a certain level, ”she says. “We must continue to advocate better laws and better policies at the state level. But the federal government should look into this and make sure it covers people across the country. “
2. Access to health care
The matter: Sexual minorities are over twice as often as heterosexual people are uninsured. This is a problem for access to all types of medical care, including gender-specific medical care for transsexuals.
When queer people are insured they may not have the same coverage of Fertility options what people are doing right now. Fertility treatment insurance policies are often written to only apply to heterosexual couples. Whether same-sex couples are insured can vary from case to case.
This year two states passed laws that forbid trans children from accessing transitional medical care. “These laws are being challenged,” says Hutchins. “It’s not necessarily that these will last forever. But I think we can safely say that trans youth’s access to care is being attacked. ”These attacks are anti-science. The American Academy of Pediatrics and many other medical organizations recommend that trans and gender based children have access to gender based care. “This is the best medical care these children are denied,” says Hutchins.
The way forward: Ideally, federal policy would ensure that insurance companies provide equal fertility treatment coverage to LGBTQ people. In the meantime, if you want to raise a family, working directly with your insurance company is the best option. “Make sure you understand all of your insurance rules early on so you can stand up for yourself,” says Hutchins.
“When it comes to trans youth’s access to care, the most important thing people can do is be aware of when these laws are being filed in their state,” says Hutchins. “We expect these to come back next year.” If an anti-trans bill is filed in your state, give your legislature a call, she adds. “Say this is unacceptable.”
3. Paid parental leave
The matter: “We live in one of the few countries of our economic status that does not have paid parental leave. I think all families suffer from it, ”says Hutchins. When companies have policies that guarantee paid family vacations, they may not include many LGBTQ family structures. For example, some same-sex couples choose not to get married, but companies are only allowed to give married parents paid family leave.
Additionally, the Family Medical Leave Act, which requires companies to provide unpaid family leave, does not apply to parents who are not guardians. Due to the hurdles in parental recognition, LGBTQ parents can once again be left out.
“Despite the fact that the US generally has a terrible vacation policy for all people, I think the impact on LGBTQ people is disproportionate,” says Hutchins.
The way forward: Hutchins advocates federal paid family and sick leave and widening inclusion to ensure LGBTQ parents are not excluded. You can support this initiative by calling your representatives. In the meantime, you can also work to ensure that your employer includes queer parents with non-traditional family structures in their family leave arrangements.
4. Schools and Education
The matter: “Bullying and discrimination are really a problem for young people who identify as LGBTQ,” says Hutchins. “And we have no federal standards for that.” Twenty-one states have enrolled LGBTQ students in anti-bullying and harassment laws, but that’s not enough. “It’s still a patchwork. It’s inconsistent. And it’s unequal, ”she says.
Four states have so-called No Promo Homo Laws, which prohibit K-12 schools from accepting positive representation of LGBTQ identities GLSEN, an educational organization that supports LGBTQ students. Only 18 states have comprehensive guidelines for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming students.
This year, the ability of trans youth to participate in school sports has come under attack. “When it comes down to it, trans kids want to exercise for the same reason that everyone wants to exercise, which is just hanging out … being active and being outside and building team-mates,” says Hutchins. “There were 75 laws in place to ban Transportation sports introduced, sometimes several in one state. Six bills were passed this year.
“It is estimated that there are more than two million teenagers in the United States who identify as LGBTQ + and about 200,000 transgender people. So these are pretty big problems, ”says Hutchins. “We have to make sure that our schools meet the needs of the students.”
The way forward: As with so many issues, ideally there would be federal policy to ensure that all states include the protection of LGBTQ children in their anti-bullying and harassment policies, says Hutchins. States can also issue guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender-based students.
Schools should have an LGBTQ inclusive curriculum, gender-neutral toilets, and support for transgender and non-binary students. “It’s less of a question of federal or state politics,” she says. “It’s really about thinking about how we can create schools that are more inclusive for LGBTQ children?”
As for the sports bans for trans young people, proponents expect lawmakers to propose more bills next year. Calling your representatives is one of the best ways to speak out against these bills.
5. Income inequality
The matter: 22 percent of LGBTQ people live in poverty, compared to 16 percent of heterosexual cis people Williams Institute. Transsexual and bisexual cisgender women perform worst with a poverty rate of 29 percent. LGBTQ people with color are even more likely to live below the poverty line. “Many families need this relief when it comes to poverty, but LGBTQ families are absolutely mixed and sometimes disproportionately affected,” says Hutchins.
The way forward: The minimum wage reform is the first step. “That won’t even solve the problem of poverty,” says Hutchins. “But right now our minimum wage across the country is so low that no family can survive with one parent who only has this one job 40 hours a week. So we see that parents have to take on multiple jobs. And we see that people have to live in poverty. “
First, the federal government has to achieve a minimum wage of $ 15, which Hutchins says will bring some relief, but will not lift enough people out of poverty. She is hoping for an even higher minimum wage, which she describes as a “flourishing wage”.
Another way to fight poverty in the LGBTQ community is to invest in children, she says. “Research shows that investing in education, especially in pre-primary and post-secondary education such as college and community college education, can help people overcome poverty. We have to prioritize that for all families. “
These are just a few of the many challenges LGBTQ families face. If you want to continue advocating for queer and transgender people, call your representatives, no matter what the topic is. “It’s more important than you might think,” says Hutchins. “Legislators need to hear from people because it is their job to represent us, and our problems should become their problems. We can turn our problems into their problems by constantly calling them and letting them know what we are going through. “
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