Jessica Pike

Mr. Rogers
U.S. Government
23 October 2015
Mock Congress Research Paper
Words such as freedom, equality, and progress are often used when describing
the United States of America, but how can a nation boast equality when it openly allows
discrimination against a group of its own citizens? Beginning with the Civil Rights in the
1960s, minority groups in America have had to fight for equal treatment and protection
under the laws. It has taken decades, but today there are dozens of laws ensuring civil
rights of every American. A group of these laws focus on protecting citizens from
discrimination; racial, color, gender, age, disability, religion, national origin, and most
recently, sexual orientation. While there has been huge progression from the past,
America and LGBT members are facing setbacks today in the form of religious
exemption laws. This set of laws is grasping onto the bigotry of Americas antecedent
and the subject of sexual orientation should be completely omitted from the context of
exemption laws. Religious objection of sexual orientations should not be a valid
reasoning for exemption of anti-discriminatory laws because sexual orientation is not a
choice, it more or less legalizes discrimination against LGBT members, and it takes
away from the well being and quality of life of American citizens.
For most of human history, homosexuality was thought to be a mental illness,
and a sin; even today, many believe it is a choice. More recently, it has been
scientifically proven that ones sexual orientation is not a choice, instead individuals are

born LGBT. In 1973, researchers from American Psychiatric Association examined

data from studies on gay, lesbian and bisexuals not in therapy, the idea that
homosexuality was a mental illness was quickly found to be untrue. (csun.edu) Now, for
the last 35 years, there have been many more in-depth studies proving that
homosexuality is genetic. Even more telling, a study posted in the journal Psychological
Medicine, which details how a study of more than 800 gay participants shared notable
patterns in two regions of the human genome - one on the X chromosome and one on
chromosome 8. ( A. R. Sanders) More so, the study was conducted by a team who was
hesitant to acknowledge previous claims due to lack of precise evidence. With that
being said, there are no legal roundabouts that one could use to discriminate against
other things people are born with, such as skin color.
Giving leeway on laws to members of a mass religion is, for lack of a better word,
legalizing discrimination against LGBT members. Think back to the times where
interracial couples were seen as obscene and unnatural; most states did not
acknowledge the marriages, businesses could refuse service, landlords could kick the
couple out, and both the husband and wife could lose their jobs. Though as of June 26,
2015, same sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, the same situations can still occur in
many states legally under religious exemption laws. (Brown) It is unacceptable that in
2015 this is allowed. One of the most important supreme court cases in equal rights
history, Loving v. Virginia deemed prohibiting separate races from marrying
unconstitutional, as well as ending all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the
U.S. (Loving v. Virginia LLI) Starting in 2013, it has been used in U.S. federal court
decisions holding restrictions on same-sex marriage in the U.S. to be unconstitutional.

Finally, religious exemptions to anti-discriminatory laws can result in the loss of

equality and promised quality of life of American citizens. Like mentioned before, when
one is being denied work, accommodation, or education, that is not equality. As
President Obama has said, ...We are all created equal. The project of each generation
is to bridge the meaning of those founding words with the realities of changing times.
He goes on to say that every American, under the constitution, is protected equally
under the law, and that every American deserves to be treated equally, no matter who
they are, or who they love. (President Obama) A nation cannot progress when part of it
is being held back. Under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, no
state shall deny to any person the equal protection of the laws" (Exploring Constitutional
Conflicts). Under this clause, states should not have the right to create laws that
potentially subside ones rights in order to entertain a majoritys prejudices.
The main counter argument in this case is that religious exemptions are here to
protect the first amendment, freedom of religion. Those who are unwilling to accept
diversity fear that the government is forcing values on them that do not correspond with
their religion. Not only is this untrue, it is backwards. By refusing to serve a same sex
couple or LGBT member because of religious objection, one is forcing their religion onto
others. Another argument revolves around homosexuality being choice and condemned
within the bible. This is not valid because many Christians and Catholics accept sexual
orientations and some churches have acknowledged that being gay is not a choice.
Overall the issues LGBT members face every day just to live a life equal to their
non LGBT counterparts are unacceptable and completely avoidable. Equality means
giving extra assistance to the minorities who otherwise would be held back by the

bigotry that is unfortunately still present in America today; the religious majorities rights
are not being neglected and do not need to be reinforced, they already have the 1st
Amendment behind them. Religious objection of the LGBT lifestyle is not a valid excuse
for religious exemption to anti-discriminatory laws.

Works Cited Page

Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality csun.edu
CSUN Positive Space Programs ALLY PROJECT. 25 September 2015.
A. R. Sanders, E. R. Martin, G. W. Beecham, S. Guo, K. Dawood, G. Rieger, J. A.
Badner, E. S. Gershon, R. S. Krishnappa, A. B. Kolundzija, J. Duan, P. V. Gejman and J. M.

Bailey (2015). Genome-wide scan demonstrates significant linkage for male sexual orientation.
Psychological Medicine, 45, pp 1379-1388. doi:10.1017/S0033291714002451.
Primary Documents in American History." 14th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual
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supremecourt.gov. 576 U. S. ____ (2015)
"Civil Rights Act (1964)." Our Documents. Ourdocuments.gov, n.d.
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Millhiser, Ian. "When Religious Liberty Was Used To Justify Racism Instead Of
Homophobia." ThinkProgress When Religious Liberty Was Used To Justify Racism Instead Of
Homophobia. ThinkProgress, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
"Loving v. Virginia." LII / Legal Information Institute. Legal Information Institution, n.d.
Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Speech made by President Obama on June 26, 2015.
"Alienage Classifications and the Equal Protection Clause." Alienage Classifications and
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