..::Nebraska Democratic GLBT Caucus

What is the basis of ordinary civil life? Is it free speech? Is it the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Is it freedom from discrimination? In 1996, in Romer vs. Evans, the US Supreme Court struck down Colorado's controversial Amendment 2, which denied discrimination protection based on sexual orientation, by declaring protection from discrimination as the basis of "ordinary civil life in a free society."

Discrimination manifests in many ways. One is through physical and verbal assaults. On May, 28th 2005 a federal hate crimes bill was introduced in the House of Representatives. This bill is significant because, for the first time, it includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. (The current federal hate crimes law excludes sexual orientation and gender identity). The new bill is not expected to pass. This is a shame. The inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in a federal hate crimes bill sends a distinct message to the nation: That violence, bullying, and harassment will neither be tolerated nor ignored in this country.

Hate crimes don't just affect an individual they affect an entire community. They are message crimes. They send a message that you and others like you are neither tolerated nor wanted. The purpose is to intimidate, scare, and shame. Hate crimes are also a manifestation of fear: the fear of difference, diversity and change. Hate crimes are anti-democratic and their primary motive is to eliminate difference and curtail individual freedoms.

Today, it is still largely acceptable to bash, ridicule, and harass gays and lesbians or anyone perceived as being gay or lesbian. No one is immune from this threat. Last month, in Lincoln, a young man was assaulted because his attackers assumed he was gay. He isn't. Their assumptions were based on stereotypes. Their actions came from homophobia. Hate crimes against the GLBT community affect us all because we are all implicated in the crime in someway. How many times have you made or heard gay jokes? How many times have you heard your teenagers snicker and say "that's so gay" when they wanted to express disdain and contempt for something or someone? How many times have you ignored those jokes and comments? Children as young as eight or nine are bullied and derided if they are perceived as gay. Schools are unsafe, streets are unsafe, and the workplace is unsafe.

In Nebraska, it is legal to evict an individual from housing for being gay or lesbian. In Nebraska, it is legal to fire someone for being gay or lesbian. In Nebraska, men and women lose their children for being gay or lesbian. Physical assaults, verbal assaults, lack of legal protections, together they create a climate of fear and hate. Just like the individual who attacked the young man in Lincoln last month, the lack of housing and workplace protections, the jokes and comments, and the persistent bullying of our children in the schools and on the streets sends a message of intolerance. It says, you are not welcome in this town, this neighborhood, on this street, in this house.

The community of Lincoln must respond. We need to assert that protections against discrimination and hate crimes do not constitute "special rights." They constitute the basis of ordinary civil life in the United States today.

Originally published in the Lincoln Journal Star.