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Who Are These Laws Really Protecting?

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 Within just one day, the American justice system has managed to fail considerably on the grounds of “liberty and justice for all”. On April 27, 2016 Bill Haslam, the Governor of Tennessee, signed a bill that allows medical professionals to use their discretion to refuse to provide LGBT+ patients with mental health services they are in need of. Sarah Ellis, CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said that “denying anyone vital mental health services simply because they’re LGBT isn’t just outrageous, it’s outright dangerous.” Considering that LGBTQ individuals are nearly 3 times more likely than others to experience a mental illness, this bill is not only an obvious act of discrimination, but also a major contribution to the struggles of LGBT+ people. Many members of the LGBTQ+ community already have to deal with troubles such as dysphoria, low self esteem, outward discrimination from others based on their sexual or gender identities, and a hard time accepting themselves for who they are. Add in the increased likelihood (not to mention the fact that many of those troubles mentioned can also cause mental health problems on their own) of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses and you get enough reasoning to want to provide mental health support, not take it away.

     On that same day, there was also a court hearing in Oklahoma that ruled forced oral sex isn’t rape if the victim is unconscious. The deciding case had to deal with a 17 year old boy being charged with forced oral sodomy because he had oral sex with a 16 year old girl who was entirely unconscious from drinking a considerable amount of alcohol. This act was even confirmed with DNA evidence, yet the victim claims she has no recollection of the oral sex ever occurring. This case fell through the cracks in the justice system due to a fault in Oklahoma sexual assault legislation. Oklahoma law lists several different circumstances where forced sexual acts are illegal, but apparently it was lacking rules for when the victim is completely unconscious due to intoxication. This is a huge problem considering that approximately one-half of all sexual assault victims report that they were drinking alcohol at the time of their assault. Does this mean that half of all sexual assault cases can slip through loopholes because of a kink in the law? Possibly.

     These two incidents not only infuriate me (and many others), but also lead to confusion. I just want to know the thought process behind the Tennessee bill because it seems to me that it is a blatant form of oppression. Do you really think that the Tennessee bill was aiming to help mentally ill people or members of the LGBTQ+ community? Justice was not involved in the decision making of that bill, instead oppression was the key player. And exactly how do people sit back and allow the legal system to miserably fail a victimized young girl when she most desperately needs justice to be served? These things are allowed to happen because justice isn’t always what matters to the people in power. Discrimination, stigma, and hatred harm victims of sexual assault, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and mentally ill people. This is why it is important to keep fighting for LGBTQ+ rights even though gay marriage was legalized. This is why it is important to keep fighting for reform in the legal system, since it so often fails LGBTQ+, the mentally ill, women, and victims of sexual assault. This is why it is important to keep fighting for reformation of sexual education so that it includes conversations on consent. This is why it is important to initiate conversations daily about consent and mental health. These things matter, even if a white male law official claims they don’t.  

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