I'm seeing a lot of severely misinformed people around here who think that because same-sex marriage was finally legalized, that suddenly all of the struggles of the LGBT community are suddenly over. You could not be more wrong. The five major points from the article: 1. [b]Discrimination[/b]. It is still legal in the majority of states to discriminate against gay and trans people with regards to employment. Obama made gay and trans discrimination illegal for government jobs, but most jobs are not government jobs. So yeah, we can get married now... and then we can go to work the next day and get fired by our homophobic boss. 2. [b]Adoption[/b]. Many politicians (Republicans) and a lot of the public are still against gay adoption, and while it is now legal in almost every state, Republican politicians nation-wide are actively trying to repeal those rights. 3. [b]Homelessness[/b]. Due to a combination of job discrimination and unaccepting, unloving parents, 40% of homeless youth are gay and trans. This affects trans youth even harder, and homeless trans youth are disproportionately sexually assaulted at homeless shelters. 4. [b]Trans rights[/b]. Discrimination, bullying, and hate crimes are even [i]worse[/i] against trans people than they are against gay people. 41% of trans people have attempted suicide, generally due to lack of acceptance, inability to afford (and lack of insurance coverage for) trans-related medical care, or due to homelessness caused by inability to find work because of discrimination. In addition, Republicans all over the country are continuing to attempt to roll out "bathroom bills" that would force trans people into unsafe spaces. 5. [b]HIV and AIDS[/b]. This doesn't so much have to do with equality, but it's still an important issue. HIV and AIDS disproportionally affect gay men, and this has been a major issue for the community since the 80s. Some points of my own I'd like to add: 6. [b]Panic defense[/b]. In 49 out of 50 states (California being the exception) it is still totally legal to use what's called the "gay/trans panic defense." This where the person who has committed a hate crime against a gay or trans person will claim "self defense" and "temporary insanity" in response to finding out their victim was gay or trans. This is 100% real and is used successfully to this day. 7. [b]Sex education[/b]. Sex ed is already lacking, even for straight people. "Abstinence only" sex ed has been proven to be completely ineffective, and yet it is still widely taught across the country. But even more unfortunate is that sex ed in schools is entirely heteronormative. If you're gay or trans and need to learn about the birds and the bees, heterosexual sex ed isn't going to be very useful. In order for all people, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, to be able to enjoy [i]safe[/i] sex, sex ed must account for everyone, not just straight people. 8. [b]Representation[/b]. Gay and trans people are egregiously underrepresented in TV and film, media outlets that almost everyone goes to for entertainment and escapism. If you are straight and cisgender, you will find loads of relatable characters on screen. If your'e gay or trans, it's very hard to find relatable characters. Furthermore, trans people especially are commonly the butt of disgustingly offensive jokes in movies, usually as a way of poking fun at a straight man's sexuality. This lack of representation and horrible caricaturization teaches gay and trans youth that they are less important than others because they don't see people like themselves on TV. 9. [b]Education and acceptance[/b]. Even if all of the things previously mentioned are fixed, that doesn't mean that everyone suddenly accepts us. Making workplace discrimination illegal doesn't stop prejudiced employers from coming up with other excuses to not hire us. Making punishments harsher for hate crime perpetrators doesn't stop hate crimes from happening. Equality in the eyes of the law doesn't end oppression. The only way for the LGBT community to truly have equal standing in society, to not be deemed "lesser," is by educating people. We have to teach people that we're born this way, we don't choose it. We have to teach people that gender and sexuality are fluid, and that falling anywhere on the spectrum is valid. We have to teach people that everyone deserves basic human decency and respect,. We have to teach people to celebrate our differences rather than using them to divide us. We have to undo this archaic, traditionalist heteronormativity and cisnormativity in our culture that perpetuate hatred and oppression. My gay and trans brothers, sisters, and non-binary siblings are still dying for our cause. Every day I see a new article about a gay or trans person being attacked or killed, or committing suicide because their parents refuse to love them. [b][i]This fight is far from over.[/i][/b] Now please stop trying to convince me that my community has achieved equality. Your ignorance will be ignored.