As time goes by, our communities continue to get more and more diverse. It is such an empowering and beautiful thing. The way that people interact and respond to those differences is a great way to understand someones character. However, sometimes people don’t respond to difference in a positive way, and that is what this post is all about. We want to empower people to accept everyone as they are, regardless of their differences and to help foster that type of future.  We want to talk about who the LGBTQ+ community is and how a more inclusive community could help shape a better world.

LGBTQ+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer and/or questioning individuals/identities. In the 1990’s the abbreviation replaced the concept “the gay community” in order to be more inclusive of all identities. For decades the LGBTQ+ community has struggled to fight for individual rights and freedoms.  Most people in this day and age are pretty familiar with what it means to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. There is less education surrounding the transgender and queer community. A transgender person is an individual whose sense or personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.

While LGBTQ individuals have fought for rights for decades, fighting against discrimination America finally took a step in the right direction in 2015. President Barack Obama legalized gay marriage on June 26th, 2015. Although the passing of the law created a large backlash of hate and discrimination throughout the country, it is now a nationwide law. The courts ruled that states cannot ban same sex marriage, it was the biggest victory for the LGBTQ community to date!