Stand up for and with LGBT elders by sending a letter to your senators!
With a new administration and a new Congress in Washington, you have a chance to help make real, substantive change for LGBT elders on the federal level! Despite the landmark Bostock vs. Clayton County Supreme Court decision protecting LGBT people from employment discrimination, millions of LGBT elders are still living without comprehensive protections against discrimination.
Half of LGBT people in the U.S. live in the 29 states that lack comprehensive, statewide protections. As a result, discrimination is still commonplace – and legal. LGBT elders face harsh consequences especially in housing, long-term care and even in healthcare settings. For example:
In 2014, an LGBT elder in Tucson, AZ was threatened with physical violence when he tried to assist his husband with his physical water therapy in their adult community pool. They fought back, but ended up moving from their home, in order to escape their neighbors.
Marsha Wetzel, who passed away in 2020, suffered physical abuse and harassment by fellow residents at an assisted living facility in Illinois, and bravely filed a discrimination suit in 2016 with legal representation by Lambda Legal.
In 2018, Mary and Bev Nance were denied admission by Friendship Village, a senior living community in St. Louis, Missouri, because the facility refused to recognize their same-sex relationship. They too, fought back against this discrimination, with legal representation by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
This type of discrimination is also why older LGBT people are more likely to delay or not seek medical care for fear that providers will give inadequate services, leading to unique health challenges and social isolation. Enacting comprehensive, federal non-discrimination legislation would make sure that every LGBT person in every state in this country is protected from discrimination.
LGBT elders cannot wait any longer for nationwide non-discrimination protections. Add your voice to the growing chorus and take a stand. Whether you are an LGBT elder, part of the LGBT community, or an ally, you can refuse to be invisible and make your voice heard. Now is the time to tell Congress to support federal civil rights legislation for all LGBT people, because all LGBT people deserve to feel safe from discrimination, no matter where in this country they live.
