As Illinois pushes for equal marriage, many state LGBTQ organizations will face a serious identity crisis.
What happens to groups that formed to achieve equal marriage and non-discrimination laws? What issues will they fundraise off of? Will they be necessary now? Do they have the buy-in from those most marginalized in order to remain relevant and continue?
Some groups have planned for the end of the marriage campaign, increasingly taking on transgender rights issues in the last couple years.
What few mainstream LGBTQ organizations have worked on, however, are issues facing LGBTQ people in the criminal legal system, where LGBTQ people continue to face the greatest hardships and most extreme forms of discrimination.
It is perhaps no coincidence that the equal marriage movement, working from the premise the LGBTQ people are normal and respectable, has often struggled to make sense of those deemed less acceptable by society: transgender people, sex workers, people who commit crimes and registered sex offenders, to name a few.
Over the last several weeks, our "Crime Out" series has attempted to explore some of those issues facing LGBTQ people locally, nationally and even internationally. Coincidentally, the series has come at the height of the state's push for marriage equality. We hope to build on our coverage of crime issues in future work.
History, like that explored in WCT Publisher Tracy Baim's introduction piece "With Malice Aforethought," tells us that our definitions of justice as LGBTQ people are often at odds with the values of our legal system, especially in Cook County, a longstanding model for systems across the U.S.
That continues to hold true, despite notable progress on LGBTQ issues in courts, jails and prisons. Reports of abuse by jail corrections staff are common. LGBTQ youth, often kicked out of their homes, still face higher rates of incarceration than their straight peers. Transgender women report that police wrongfully profile them as sex workers. Questions remain about the efficacy of sex offender registries and their impact on LGBTQs, especially gay men. HIV notification laws continue to fuel stigma and shame.
The challenges facing queer people behind bars and in courts are myriad and urgent. They raise difficult questions for LGBTQ organizers and policy experts: Is it enough to defend only the innocent when so many are criminalized without options? Can we place faith in institutions that have historically marginalized LGBTQ people? Finally, is it enough to fight for LGBTQ people without connecting their struggles to those of all people working their way through criminal legal systems?
While Windy City Times cannot answer these questions definitively, we offer a few suggestions here:
For all of us
LGBTQ people, like the rest of the population, need access to affirming medical care. This is especially important for people with HIV, transgender people, youth and seniors.
Access to transgender-related medical care would take many transgender people out of harm's way, as some fund expensive but necessary surgeries through sex work, while others turn to illegal street hormones or the dangerous practice of silicone pumping in order to achieve the bodies they feel they need to live.
This should be the priority of policy makers, funders, LGBT organizations and individuals.
For LGBTQ organizations
Mainstream LGBTQ organizations must decide where they stand on issues of criminalization.
The recent case of Kaitlyn Hunt, a Florida 18-year-old facing charges over her relationship with a 14-year-old girl, highlights this fact. WCT writer Yasmin Nair reported that LGBTQ organizations opposed charges against Hunt, stating that she had been singled out as a lesbian, despite the fact that she technically broke the law. If convicted, Hunt could end up on a sex offender registry. But many LGBTQ organizations have not taken a stand against the laws under which Hunt has been charged, claiming her as an exceptional case. Advocates cannot have it both ways. They must push for reform for all people prosecuted under unjust law.
For those in corrections
Institutions that have moved towards adopting LGBTQ-friendly policies are to be commended for their efforts. However, institutions that historically oppressed and abused LGBTQ people cannot be improved with simple policy additions. Abuse that occurred without a policy will continue unless the structures that allow for abuse are changed. A policy cannot correct this, for LGBTQ people or anyone else.
Alarming is the rampant violence and abuse impacting LGBTQ staff and prisoners in the jail systems in Illinois, where staff who interrupt abuse seem at risk from their fellow officers.
Changes from bottom to top
Changes on behalf of LGBTQ people, as well as those with HIV/AIDS, must involve their voices. Institutions that enact procedure to improve the lives of LGBTQ and HIV-positive people often fail to consult with them. The result is often flawed policy that unintentionally disempowers the community it is meant to serve.
There need to be sweeping changes to the laws in Illinois, as well as policy and policy enforcement at the prison level. Windy City Times will continue to monitor these issues in the coming months and years.