The gay rights movement has come very far in the last 50 years. Gay people used to live their lives in secret, having to hide who they were in order to conform to the desired norms of society. Not only could same-sex couples not get married, but consensual sexual encounters between two people of the same sex also used to be punishable by prison time. Both of those have since changed, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down bans on gay sex as unconstitutional in 2003 and bans of gay marriage later in 2015. With these victories, it might make it seem as if the movement has accomplished its goal. However, that is far from the case.

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The first thing one needs to understand is the scope of what the movement and what the goals are. In addition to the above-mentioned changes to the law, the other major goal is comprehensive protections from discrimination. Currently, 26 states have no laws banning crimination against people on the grounds of sexual orientation. In addition, some states, namely Tennessee and Alabama, have passed laws prohibiting local governments from passing local nondiscrimination ordinances. That means that businesses can deny service to same-sex couples if so desired. This is not just limited to Christian bakers refusing to bake cakes for weddings, which is a completely different issue (although I do not believe religion should ever be used as an excuse for discrimination regardless of the circumstances). A restaurant, for example, could refuse service to gay couples, as has actually happened in the past. This also extends to the workplace, as this lack of protections makes it so one can literally be fired for being gay or bisexual.

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While discrimination is certainly the big issue that has not been resolved in the country, there are other issues that have not been addressed. Currently, only 15 states and DC ban the conversion therapy, which is the practice of trying to make a gay or bi person straight, which is viewed by the medical community as junk science and is often harmful to those who undergo it. Currently, the practice is still legal in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, 20 states have no laws that address hate or bias crimes based on sexual orientation.

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Also, as one may have already noticed, I have spoken exclusively about gay and bisexual people and have not mentioned transgender people at all. Hopefully, it’s needless to say at this point, but transgender people have even fewer protections that gay and bisexual people. 12 out of the 30 states that do have hate crimes, only protect against sexual orientation, but not gender identity. Furthermore, transgender people constantly face battles about being permitted to use the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. This discrimination is usually followed up by some fear mongering about women being assaulted in bathrooms, despite a lack of evidence to suggest that this is actually a problem created by this.

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As one can clearly see, the battle has, in fact, come a long way since Stonewall, but the fight has only just begun. There is still much work to do.