Gay rights, you see them everywhere. It’s always a topic of discussion. The LGBTQ+ community is growing larger and larger over the years, it’s a bright and colorful creative community for people to just be themselves. Things are so much better than they used to be, we’ve made so much progress as becoming a norm. But we still struggle, with hate and attacks from others who disagree with our lifestyle.

The majority of homophobia stems from religion, they say it is against the bible and there for a sin. They use the argument of Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination,” when fighting against the LGBTQ+ community.

A well known religious group in Kansas that is against the LGBTQ+ is Westboro Baptist Church, once lead by Fred Phelps and his family. Phelps had a very, very strong view on homosexuality and often protested it. Fred Phelps died 4 years ago, but the hate from his church is still strong, the large family still continuing the man’s work.

But there is a unique house across the street from the church that caused a storm of support on any and all social media platforms. It is called the Equality House on 1200 SW Orleans St, Topeka, Kansas. It is a normal suburb house painted into a rainbow, representing the gay flag. It has been converted into a museum of LGBTQ+ history, having LGBTQ+ of the past and everything about how the culture has grown. And a house next door has followed suit, painting the house blue, pink, and white for the transgender flag. The house was purchased by Aaron Jackson, the founder of nonprofit organization Planting Peace. This just goes to show how much support is out there for this community.

The increase of support has made it so much easier for people of the community. Along with the fact more and more laws are protecting us, all 50 states of the US allow gay marriage, and is becoming stronger and stronger! But we are nowhere close to being fully accepted. 2018 has been a bad year in politics for the LGBTQ+ community, most stemming from trump wanting to eliminate the term transgender entirely. It’s sad honestly.

What did we do to deserve this kind of treatment? Because we’re different? And I say We because I am part of this beautiful community. I am Panromanic Acesexual and Gender Apathetic. Panromantic meaning I’m romantically attracted to any and all genders, I like to say “I like what’s in their heart and not their pants” to explain it more simply, Acesexual meaning I feel no sexual attraction. And Gender Apathy is when you have no gender preference, so I don’t care if I’m perceived as male, female, or something else. I also have a girlfriend, she’s bisexual, a more well known LGBTQ+ term. But you’d be surprised to hear there is hate in the community itself. It’s thought by some Bisexuality is just a phase to some or that you are being indecisive, that Acesexual/Aromantics don’t exist, or that you have to know exactly who you are when you become part of the community. It’s sad to think people in the community are homophobic to different sexualities and genders. You’d think they’d know better?

The LGBTQ+ community is growing more and more nowadays, people becoming comfortable and proud of who they are. So let’s not take that away, we deserve to be happy like everyone else. Let us be whoever we are, Don’t you think?