Christopher Cervantes
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Most people think human rights are universal, until that one subgroup pops up that just happens to be the exception to the rule. One example in recent news is transgender rights in prisons.
For the last couple of months, I have followed several cases of transgender inmates forced into dangerous situations. Women such as Ashley Diamond, Zahara Green, and many others who were sent to male correctional facilities faced the ultimate nightmare. Green herself roomed with a sexual predator, and most of these scenarios ended in rape and assault, all because they were in the wrong prison.
Yes, I said wrong prison. It is obvious that transgender people, if they are sentenced, should go to facilities for people of their true gender. To be even clearer, if people are male-to-female transgenders, then they should go to a female prison.
I don’t think a lot of people are aware of this issue for one reason: They think that the fight is over.
When gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states, I believe a good deal of the general public believed that the LGBTQA community had won and that there were no more obstacles to overcome.
Despite leaps and bounds made in the recent year, the LGBTQA community is still fighting for rights. Out of all the people that make up said community, one of the most underrepresented and under-protected groups is the transgender community.
As it stands, transgender individuals have a disturbingly vast number of discriminatory cards stacked against them. They are not allowed to serve in the military, fight workplace discrimination, and are severely limited in gender acknowledgment.
Sometimes I get tired arguing for rights such as these. Not because they are unimportant but because it is common sense in determining the validity of it all.
To explain this, let’s take a look at the most famous issue of restroom use by transgendered individuals that matches their gender identity. The biggest argument I see in favor the issue is “safety.” Some people may accept this. If we go back to the age of Jim Crow, I am sure some people would say that separate but equal bathrooms would be a matter of safety as well.
The thing about hate and discrimination is that it never changes. The groundwork, the mindset, stays that way forever. All it does to evolve is spread out to find various new targets, perpetuating a never-ending cycle of intolerance and subjugation.
When it comes to LGBTQA rights, there is still a long way to go. One hurdle may have finally been passed, but there is a mile’s worth more just waiting for their time in the sun. Personally, I find determining rights to be simple. If a policy values some people less than others, if it perpetuates the idea that they are less than a person, then it is flawed. We should work to eliminate such policies and work harder than those who fight against progress.
