6 Social Change Project Part 1 Sara Hale Walden University 3/14/2020 LGBTQ+ and Equality According to Singh and Durso (2017), the LGBTQ+ community in the country face pervasive discrimination regularly, which adversely affects their lives. Consequently, many members of this community make changes in their lives to hide their authentic selves with the objective of lowering the chances of experiencing discrimination. Although the United States has made significant progress towards facilitating LGBTQ+ equality, one in four LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination (Singh & Durso, 2017). This discrimination hinders the LGBTQ+ community from effectively engaging in society and limits their ability to get effective health services. Consequently, a review of this social problem is crucial in order to effectively craft the necessary steps for social planning, social action, and policy change. This social problem can be incongruent with traditional social work ethics and values. These are ethics and values that are normally influenced by issues of morality and religion. Standard morality and tradition are very strict on issues to do with a person’s sexual orientation. Therefore, social work may be unable to effectively cater to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. This is why the ethics and values that guide social work must be modernized and amended to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+. This is the only way social work can be truly inclusive for all people regardless of their sexual orientation. Historically, this social problem started gaining recognition in 1924 when Henry Gerber established the Society for Human Rights, the first official gay rights organization (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). Although the issue of the LGBTQ+ community was one that had spanned centuries, it was socially unacceptable, and its members shunned. The actions that were taken to address this concern were varied in nature such as the creation of the gay rights organization by Gerber. Another group called the Mattachine Society was formed in 1950 to fight or the social acceptance of homosexuals (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). However, the society continued to oppose this group with the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association describing homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance in 1952. Also, Eisenhower banned homosexuals from the federal government in 1953. Nevertheless, several steps were taken to call for social change including the creation of the Daughters of Bilitis, a lesbian rights organization, in 1955. A major breakthrough was made in 1961 when Illinois decriminalized homosexuality (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). Since then, despite many instances of opposition towards the LGBTQ+, significant progress has been made towards socially accepting this community. Currently, there is no federal law against the discrimination of an individual base on his/her sexual orientation. However, there are at least 22 states that prohibit su.

1. 6
Social Change Project Part 1
Sara Hale
Walden University
3/14/2020
LGBTQ+ and Equality
According to Singh and Durso (2017), the LGBTQ+
community in the country face pervasive discrimination
regularly, which adversely affects their lives. Consequently,
many members of this community make changes in their lives to
hide their authentic selves with the objective of lowering the
chances of experiencing discrimination. Although the United
States has made significant progress towards facilitating
LGBTQ+ equality, one in four LGBTQ+ people continue to face
discrimination (Singh & Durso, 2017). This discrimination
hinders the LGBTQ+ community from effectively engaging in
society and limits their ability to get effective health services.
Consequently, a review of this social problem is crucial in order
to effectively craft the necessary steps for social planning,
social action, and policy change.
This social problem can be incongruent with traditional
social work ethics and values. These are ethics and values that
are normally influenced by issues of morality and religion.
Standard morality and tradition are very strict on issues to do
with a person’s sexual orientation. Therefore, social work may

2. be unable to effectively cater to the needs of the LGBTQ+
community. This is why the ethics and values that guide social
work must be modernized and amended to meet the needs of the
LGBTQ+. This is the only way social work can be truly
inclusive for all people regardless of their sexual orientation.
Historically, this social problem started gaining recognition in
1924 when Henry Gerber established the Society for Human
Rights, the first official gay rights organization (CNN Editorial
Research, 2019). Although the issue of the LGBTQ+ community
was one that had spanned centuries, it was socially
unacceptable, and its members shunned. The actions that were
taken to address this concern were varied in nature such as the
creation of the gay rights organization by Gerber. Another
group called the Mattachine Society was formed in 1950 to fight
or the social acceptance of homosexuals (CNN Editorial
Research, 2019). However, the society continued to oppose this
group with the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric
Association describing homosexuality as a sociopathic
personality disturbance in 1952. Also, Eisenhower banned
homosexuals from the federal government in 1953.
Nevertheless, several steps were taken to call for social change
including the creation of the Daughters of Bilitis, a lesbian
rights organization, in 1955. A major breakthrough was made in
1961 when Illinois decriminalized homosexuality (CNN
Editorial Research, 2019). Since then, despite many instances of
opposition towards the LGBTQ+, significant progress has been
made towards socially accepting this community. Currently,
there is no federal law against the discrimination of an
individual base on his/her sexual orientation. However, there
are at least 22 states that prohibit such discrimination.
Over time, the groups that are affected by this concern
have changed tremendously to become bolder than they were
before. Previously, such groups operated in secret for fear of
societal backlash (UCF, 2020). However, these groups are
openly coming out to call for social action in support of their
rights. Currently, there are several groups that actively work to

3. fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the US. For instance, there is the
LGBT Rights ACLU, which advocates for a society where the
LGBTQ+ members can live freely without discrimination and
enjoy the same freedom that heterosexuals have (UCF, 2020).
Other groups that fight for similar rights include the Human
Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, and the National LGBTQ+
Taskforce (UCF, 2020).
There are several policies that are related to this social
problem. This paper covers three of them. All of these policies
are dictated by a combination of federal, state, and local
statutes. First, there is the SB 868, which is utilized in Virginia.
It prohibits the discrimination of individuals based on their
sexual orientations in the context of employment, housing,
credit, and public accommodation (Ebbin, 2020). This policy
has been in place since 03/06/20. There have been three
amendments made to this policy since its inception, one of
which was accepted and two rejected.
Second, there is the HB 1429, which is utilized in
Virginia. This policy prohibits discrimination of individuals
based on their gender identities in the context of health
insurance (Roem, 2020). This policy has been in place since
03/05/20. There have been three amendments made to this
policy since its inception, two of which were accepted and one
rejected.
Finally, there is the SB246, which is utilized in Virginia.
This policy directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure
applicants have the freedom to designate their genders as
female, male, or non-binary when applying for special identity
cards or driver’s licenses (Surovell, 2020). This policy has been
in place since 03/03/20. There have been no amendments made
to this policy since its inception.
There are factions that support the policies above and
those that oppose them. The policies were passed in the state
through bipartisan votes, that is, 30-9 in the senate and 59-35 in
the House (Associated Press, 2020). The policies were mainly
supported by Democrats while the opposition majorly came

4. from the Republicans. The factions that support the policies felt
that the regulations were vital for supporting human rights for
all while those that opposed them felt that the regulations could
have adverse effects on religious freedom.
The policies affect the clients that I might see in a clinical
setting positively. The clients will be more at ease when
revealing pertinent details about themselves that relate to their
sexuality since they will know that they are protected by the
law. These clients will be in a public space where they do not
face discrimination for being in the LGBTQ+ community.
Furthermore, the HB 1429 will be beneficial to the LGBTQ+
community since its members will not be discriminated against
based on their gender identities in the context of health
insurance As a medical practitioner, the polices will also be
beneficial for me since I require a lot of client details for me to
carry out diagnoses effectively, especially when it is gender and
sex-related.
As a clinical social worker, it is crucial that I advocate for
change. This change will see that members of the LGBTQ+ be
included in the rest of the community and enjoy the same rights
and freedoms that heterosexuals are privileged with, without
discrimination. Advocating for change will ensure that I
energize and empower the LGBTQ+ community, which has
traditionally been misunderstood by the larger society
(Rabinowitz, 2020). I can call for social action to unify
communities and fend off stubborn opponents. This social
action can also facilitate policy change where I can work in
collaboration with government agencies, legislators,
(Rabinowitz, 2020) and the LGBTQ+ community to achieve real
change in society. This way, I will have played a huge role in
achieving inclusivity for all.
References
Associated Press. (2020). Virginia lawmakers pass protections
for LGBTQ people. Retrieved from
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/virginia-lawmakers-

5. pass-protections-lgbtq-people-n1132301
CNN Editorial Research. (2019). LGBTQ rights milestones fast
facts. Retrieved from
https://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/19/us/lgbt-rights-milestones-
fast-facts/index.html
Ebbin, A. (2020). SB 868 Discrimination; prohibited in public
accommodations, etc., causes of action. Retrieved from
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-
bin/legp604.exe?ses=201&typ=bil&val=SB868%5C
Rabinowitz, P. (2020). Section 4. Social action. Retrieved from
https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/promotion-
strategies/systems-advocacy-and-community-organizing/main
Rabinowitz, P. (2020). Section 3. Social planning and policy
change. Retrieved from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-
contents/assessment/promotion-strategies/social-planning-
policy-change/main
Roem, D. (2020). HB 1429 Health insurance; nondiscrimination,
gender identity or transgender status. Retrieved from
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1429
Singh, S. & Durso, L. (2017). Widespread discrimination
continues to shape LGBT people’s lives in both subtle and
significant ways. Retrieved from
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtqrights/news/2017
/05/02/429529/widespread-discrimination-continues-shape-lgbt-
peoples-lives-subtle-significant-ways/
Surovell, S. (2020). SB 246 Driver's license, etc.; sex
designation on application form. Retrieved from
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-
bin/legp604.exe?ses=201&typ=bil&val=SB246
UCF. (2020). Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer
resources. Retrieved from
https://guides.ucf.edu/glbtq/organizations