During a West Point Pride Month ceremony in 2021, one decade after the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT), Cadet Frankie Rivera spoke about the enduring stigma encountered by LGBTQ+ service members. He said that, to this day, he knew of friends being told they “aren’t masculine enough to serve” and others who have been “denied promotions and positions” because of their sexuality.
A new Center for American Progress analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve Board finds that the roughly 79,000 LGBT individuals currently serving in the armed forces — and an estimated 1 million LGBT veterans — face higher levels of economic insecurity, housing instability, and mental health concerns than their non-LGBT counterparts. To help eliminate barriers for LGBTQ+ service members and veterans, the U.S. Senate must pass the Equality Act in order to codify protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in housing, employment, and public spaces.
For current LGBTQ+ service members, significant cultural barriers persist, and those serving regularly experience mistreatment and discrimination at the hands of their superiors and fellow service members, who are more likely than the general population to hold anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. LGBT service members are more likely to experience sexual harassment, stalking, and sexual assault than their non-LGBT counterparts, and stigma is such that 59 percent of LGBT service members are not openly gay in their workplace.
LGBTQ+ service members face large-scale barriers to economic stability. Active-duty service members face discrimination in rising through the ranks, and many still feel that they are overlooked for positions because of their LGBTQ status; LGB service members are also more likely than non-LGB members to report leaving the military due to lack of promotions. In addition, the recently overturned ban of same-sex couples on military bases indicates that fewer LGBTQ+ service members live on bases; this significantly affects service members’ access to food and goods, which are sold at reduced rates on base, as well as eligibility for benefits assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which, because of eligibility standards, is easier for those living on base to access.
Read more at AmericanProgress.org.
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