By: Jaquira Truesdale 

On Nov. 22, the White House will strip away nondiscrimination requirements for LGBTQ citizens, and Lehman students are outraged.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, the legal change will allow the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant recipients and foster agencies the right to discriminate against LGBTQ citizens. The change comes despite protests from thousands of protesters who surrounded the United States Supreme Court in Washington D.C. to defend the rights of one transgender individual and two gay men who were fired due to their sexual preferences.

Many Lehman students who identify as LGBTQ members have been victims of discrimination and feel outraged by the reversal of legal protection.

Davaughn M. Riley, 23-year-old senior at Lehman and president of the LGBTQ Alliance who defines himself as a homosexual man told the Meridian, “I think what 45th President Donald Trump is doing is disgusting. He is revising all the work that has been done in our community by us and allies. It’s as if we’re seen as second-class citizens because of how we identify.” 

Growing up, Riley dealt with a fair share of discrimination from men who questioned his manhood, seeing him as less than, never considering him “one of the boys” and condemning his sexual orientation.

“Normal things like housing, healthcare, marriage or being able to walk down the street holding our partner’s hands are the rights we deserve,” he said. “The fact that this can be robbed from us is disheartening. The only thing being reinforced is toxicity and malicious behavior.” 

In New York and other states, laws protect people against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. According to nyc.gov, anyone experiencing discrimination at work, in housing issues, in public or anywhere else can file a complaint by phone or online.

About 46 percent of the LGBTQ community live in states where discrimination is protected, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Six percent live with little to no defense in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Dakota, while 28 states do not offer LGBTQ people any legal protections against discrimination. On the federal level, LGBTQ Americans are not protected in every corporation and were not protected under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

In New York, there are still people that get discriminated against based on their sexuality who might be afraid to come forward and file a complaint.

Riley told the Meridian he was judged at his own workplace due to his sexuality. “When it comes to lifting and moving things, my coworker thought that because I was gay, I was made of glass and would break if I moved something heavy,” he said. 

Other Lehmanites who support the LGBTQ community also feel frustrated with the laws and believe their rights should be legalized.

“It makes me concerned for society, really, that people still cannot fully accept each other based on sexual preference,” said K’nicia King, a 25-year-old Mercy College graduate and bisexual woman who said she has never been discriminated against based on her sexual orientation. “It makes no sense that people are still treating their colleagues and coworkers as outsiders when their lives are basically their own business.” 

“I feel like it’s unfair. Why am I a citizen of this state and yet my rights can’t be upheld because I choose to like the same gender? It’s dumb,” said Britny Toussaint, 21, a junior psychology major who identifies herself as pansexual. “I have never experienced sexual orientation discrimination, but it frustrates me to know the LGBTQ community is constantly judged for who they are.”

“It’s horrible that that even happens at the workplace. It’s 2019 and the fact that the world can’t even accept others is very sad,” said Patricia Rodriguez, 19, a Lehman sophomore majoring in biology. “I support the LGBTQ community with open arms. Love is love, right? We should all be able to love who we want to love,” she said.