LGBTQ Rights // Breakdown

In honor of LGBT Pride Month, I decided to do this post, which has been sitting in the back of my head for months.
You may have already heard about the shooting in Orlando, Florida a few days ago at a gay nightclub called Pulse. It's the largest mass shooting in US history, with 50 dead and 53 more left with critical injuries. The shooting was most likely a hate crime - someone had to lose control and be disturbed enough by people loving who they want to love that they'd murder.
Personally, I've never found anything wrong or sinful or weird when it comes to homosexuality. Sometimes, homophobia is faith-based. And other times, people are just scared of what's different. Love is love. When a gay person chooses to love someone of their own gender, it doesn't affect anyone else. That's their own life decision, and I firmly believe that they shouldn't be treated any differently because of it. Why should they feel uncomfortable being who they are?
Above all, while being gay or bisexual might be an important part of your identity, it's not the only. I wish we could live in a world where being different doesn't matter - where we can look past it. A world where a gay person coming out would be hardly something to blink at. Where the word "normal" doesn't even play a role in our world's dynamics, because it's not a natural assumption that everyone is straight.
I definitely want to acknowledge transphobia and bathroom rights for transgender people. I'll just define "transgender" accurately first.

Basically, a transgender person is someone who doesn't feel like they're the gender printed on their birth certificates. They prefer to experiment with the stereotypes of the opposite sex. That could refer to a boy who grew up playing with dolls or trying on makeup, or a girl who liked to play with Hot Wheels and Legos. When you think about it like that, it's really not a big deal. A tomboy could very well be considered transgender. 

It's disappointing that anti-LGBT laws like the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, or the North Carolina bathroom bill (which states that in government buildings, trans people must use bathrooms that comply with the gender printed on their birth certificates) still exist. The law immediately received a lot of backlash, with some bands, singers, and other performers cancelling all of their shows in the state of North Carolina. The United States Department of Justice even sued NC Governor Pat McCrory, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, and the University of North Carolina system for directly defying multiple civil rights acts that have already been passed. Transgender people who don't/can't modify their birth certificates are immediately prevented from using bathrooms that fit their gender identity. In North Carolina, only people who undergo sex reassignment surgery (surgery that changes your gender) can alter their birth certificates.
But let's look at it from an alternate perspective. A cisgender (someone who is not transgender) man might feel uncomfortable if a trans man who still looks like a female uses the same bathroom. Sure, there are virtually no transgender rapists and the probability of being assaulted by a trans person in a restroom is extremely low. But at the same time, there's still a chance that a trans man, since he'd still look feminine, could be assaulted by a cisgender man when he steps foot in the men's bathroom.
I personally don't have an opinion in this situation, because there's always some unavoidable downside, and I don't agree with the whole for-the-greater-good thing. If you're against the bill, cisgender people will feel uncomfortable. If you're for the bill, transgender people will feel uncomfortable. And if you're neutral, if you believe in there only being unisex bathrooms, it's generally inconvenient for everyone. I do think I'm leaning towards the against-the-bill side, because when a cisgender person feels uncomfortable, they're judging people merely by how they look. That's why I'd like to give a shout-out to Target, which announced that employees and customers can use the bathroom that complies with their gender identity.
And then there's complete, horrendous transphobia. One cisgender woman walked into the women's bathroom at a restaurant and apparently, another customer using the bathroom lashed out, believing she was transgender because of the way she looked. The cisgender woman later shared the experience on social media, stating that she'd gotten a taste of the day-to-day prejudice trans people face.
Whether you're gay or straight or trans or cis, you're perfect just the way you are. Homophobia or transphobia is terrible, and we shouldn't promote that idea.
Let's wave our rainbow flags.

xx Sneha