tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/gay-club-23222/articlesGay club – The Conversation2022-11-21T21:28:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1950622022-11-21T21:28:17Z2022-11-21T21:28:17ZRed flag laws and the Colorado LGBTQ club shooting – questions over whether state’s protection order could have prevented tragedy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496558/original/file-20221121-14-tvq6qg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C175%2C7340%2C5165&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Flowers at a memorial near Club Q </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-leaves-flowers-and-other-items-at-a-memorial-near-news-photo/1443134730?phrase=colorado%20shooting&adppopup=true">RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The killing of five patrons <a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-colorado-springs-e098d88261db6bcfc0774434abbb7a8f">in a Colorado LGBTQ bar on Nov. 19, 2022</a>, is the latest mass shooting to garner headlines in the U.S.</em></p>
<p><em>Police have said they have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/colorado-springs-police-probe-motive-lgbtq-nightclub-shooting-2022-11-21/">yet to determine a motive</a>. But one thing that has emerged is that the suspect had a history of violent plans, having <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/21/1138197437/colorado-springs-shooting-suspect-red-flag-gun-law">allegedly threatened to attack his mother with a homemade bomb</a> more than a year before the attack at Club Q.</em></p>
<p><em>It has led to questions over why that earlier alleged incident did not trigger <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1177">Colorado’s “red flag” law</a> – something that may have prevented him from acquiring the AR-15-style semi-automatic weapon that police say was used in the Club Q attack. The Conversation asked Alex McCourt, an <a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/3794/alexander-mccourt">expert on gun laws at Johns Hopkins University</a>, to explain how red flag laws are supposed to work – and why they weren’t triggered in this case.</em></p>
<h2>What are red flag laws?</h2>
<p>Red flag laws – also know as <a href="https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-violence-prevention-and-policy/research/extreme-risk-protection-orders/">extreme risk protection orders</a> – allow for judges to make a ruling that results in firearms being taken away temporarily from a person who is deemed to be at high risk of harming themselves or others. They also prevent that person from purchasing guns for a set period of time.</p>
<p>They are aimed at protecting against the actions of individuals who have made violent threats or may be going through some sort of crisis.</p>
<p>The way they work is that specific people can petition a court to issue an order when someone is deemed to be behaving dangerously or making violent threats.</p>
<p>The categories of individuals who can petition in this way vary from state to state. But all the states that have enacted such laws – <a href="https://theconversation.com/red-flag-laws-saved-7-300-americans-from-gun-deaths-in-2020-alone-and-could-have-saved-11-400-more-185009">19 plus the District of Columbia</a> – include law enforcement officers among those who can petition the court to have a red flag order imposed.</p>
<p>Household and family members are also commonly listed. And in <a href="https://health.maryland.gov/bha/suicideprevention/Documents/ERPO_Brochure%20PRINT%20Version.pdf">Maryland</a>, <a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/06/17/hawaiis-red-flag-law-how-file-gun-violence-protective-order/">Hawaii</a> and the <a href="https://oag.dc.gov/public-safety/dcs-red-flag-law-removing-guns-potentially">District of Columbia</a>, health care officials can petition the court should they be concerned over the behavior of a patient. In California, Hawaii and New York, <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/let-school-officials-seek-gun-limits-for-potentially-violent-students-feds-suggest/2021/06">teachers or school administrators are included</a> in the list of people who can petition the court.</p>
<p>Typically, if the court finds there is sufficient evidence of risk of violence, a judge will issues an ex parte – or temporary – order. These cover a very short period until a hearing can take place. At that subsequent hearing the potential subject of the order can provide an argument that they aren’t dangerous.</p>
<p>If the court decides there is indeed a risk, it will deliver a longer-term order. In most cases it covers a period of up to a year. The subject of the gun ban may be able to petition for the order to be ended early, should they be able to prove, for example, that their moment of mental crisis is over or that they have sought sufficient treatment. The petitioner can also ask for the order to be renewed at the end of the year.</p>
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<h2>Does research show that red flag laws work?</h2>
<p>The first thing to note is that the laws are relatively new – most have come in over the past decade. So researchers are still evaluating the data. But studies have shown that they can be effective in preventing mass shooting events and possibly suicides.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31426088/">Research from 2019</a> found that, among a group of cases in which guns were removed from individuals who made threats of mass shootings in California, none of the individuals went on to carry out mass shootings. A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36265579/">2022 study</a> evaluated extreme risk protection orders in six states. It found that all the states being observed were issuing orders on the basis of mass shooting threats – 20% of these cases involved threats toward schools and 15% toward intimate partners or family members.</p>
<p>Though these laws are relatively new, <a href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=4830&context=lcp">research</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30988021/">analyzing</a> the legislation suggests that they may help prevent suicide.</p>
<p>So there is enough evidence to say they can be used to prevent deaths. But these measures are so new, we need to know more about how well they are being implemented by states. So far, research suggests that public awareness of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35977171/">extreme risk protection orders is low</a> and that efforts to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36099263/">educate the public and facilitate filing of petitions might</a> help.</p>
<h2>How well are red flag laws implemented across states?</h2>
<p>Connecticut and Indiana both had early versions of red flags laws, in place in 1999 and 2006 respectively, but the policy was really developed after the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sandy-hook-elementary-school-shooting">Sandy Hook shooting of 2012</a>. Since that incident – in which 20 children and six adults were killed by a gunman – a further 17 states and Washington, D.C., have added extreme risk protection orders to their statutes. Most have come in since the Parkland school shooting of 2018.</p>
<p>One of the areas in which more research is needed is on implementation of red flag laws. There appears to be wide variation – both state by state, but also within states that have laws in place. </p>
<p>Spotty implementation might be the result of a combination of factors. As they are quite new, there is a knowledge gap – that is, would-be petitioners might not know that a red flag order is an option, or how to go about filing for an order.</p>
<p>But it is also true that there has been a fair amount of <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/red-flag-laws-get-little-use-even-as-mass-shootings-gun-deaths-soar">pushback</a> from certain counties and sheriffs who have said that they won’t enforce these laws out of Second Amendment concerns. This appears to be the case more in rural areas. But that has not been systemically studied to date.</p>
<h2>Any chance of a federal red state law?</h2>
<p>There has been some discussion among advocates about trying to <a href="https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/jun/10/ask-politifact-what-are-red-flag-gun-laws-and-do-t/">pass federal legislation</a>. But to date, the main actions taken at the federal level are to make it easier for individual states to adopt red flag laws. The Biden administration has pushed for their adoption, and the Justice Department has issued model legislation that states can use.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Bipartisan-Safer-Communities-Act-SAP-1.pdf">Bipartisan Safer Communities Act</a> passed in June 2022 allows for the distribution of funds to states for crisis intervention programs, including the rollout of extreme risk protection orders.</p>
<h2>What was in place in Colorado?</h2>
<p>Colorado’s <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1177">red flag law</a> was enacted 2019. It allows for law enforcement and family or household members to file a petition to a court. If it is approved, a court can order that an individual’s guns be removed for up to one year.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://injepijournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40621-021-00353-7">2021 study</a> of the first year of implementation of Colorado’s law found that in 85% of cases it was law enforcement that initiated proceedings, and in 15% of cases it was household or family members that petitioned.</p>
<p>There has been slower uptake in Colorado than in some other states. But there have been some questions over whether that is over the timing of the law – it was implemented just before COVID-19 pandemic began, so for a large chunk of the first year it has been in operation, people were under stay-at-home orders.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the study found there were a significant number of sheriffs and counties that said they would not enforce the law. There is no real legal basis for them to do this; it is more of a symbolic or political stance. But it does have implications for red flag laws, as law enforcement officers may not have the training or inclination to pursue red flag orders.</p>
<h2>Why was it not triggered in this case?</h2>
<p>There hasn’t been an awful lot of detail released on why a red flag order was not imposed on the Colorado shooter. Early reporting suggests that this appears to be a classic example of someone who made a threat, in this case threatening his mother with a homemade bomb – and as such would qualify for an order. But there is <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/21/1138197437/colorado-springs-shooting-suspect-red-flag-gun-law">reportedly no public record</a> indicating that law enforcement or any family member acted on that threat and petitioned the court.</p>
<p>Experts can only speculate about why this might be the case. But one point of note is that it occurred in a county where the sheriff has <a href="https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/2019/03/07/sheriff-elder-explains-opposition-to-the-red-flag-bill/">expressed</a> opposition to Colorado’s law and has previously said that his officers <a href="https://www.epcsheriffsoffice.com/red-flag-bill">will not petition</a> for an order except under “exigent circumstances.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex McCourt receives funding from The Joyce Foundation, The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Missouri Foundation for Health, and the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research.</span></em></p>Colorado is one of 19 states that have laws in place to prevent individuals believed to pose a threat from obtaining guns. But a preventive order needs to be petitioned before it can be issued.Alex McCourt, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/817112017-08-08T10:18:22Z2017-08-08T10:18:22ZWhy you should think twice before you talk about ‘the LGBT community’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180410/original/file-20170731-22134-1kyzepl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Living in a rainbow of chaos.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What does the phrase “LGBT community” mean to you? Chances are if you don’t identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans yourself, you might think about what you’ve seen on TV – so <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185102/">Queer as Folk</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2372162/">Orange is the New Black</a>, or <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330251/">The L Word </a>, to name a few TV hits. It might also bring to mind images of brightly coloured rainbow flags or Pride parades.</p>
<p>But just stop for a minute and think about how often you’ve heard someone talk about “the heterosexual community”? Rarely I imagine – but the term “LGBT community”, or sometimes “gay community”, is frequently used by pretty much everyone. </p>
<p>This might not sound like a big deal – after all it’s just a phrase used to identify a large group of people, right? But herein lies the problem, because after carrying out <a href="http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/news/82107/research-suggests-that-the-term-lgbt-community-can-be-problematic/">my latest research</a>, which involved over <a href="http://www.lgbtcommunityresearch.co.uk/">600 LGBT participants</a> from across the UK, I’m not sure that community is a very suitable word for such a diverse group of people.</p>
<p>And as I explain in my new book, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Exploring-LGBT-Spaces-and-Communities-Contrasting-Identities-Belongings/Formby/p/book/9781138814004">Exploring LGBT spaces and communities</a>, the term “LGBT community” can be understood in many different ways, and can mean many different things to many different people.</p>
<h2>A sense of place</h2>
<p>In <a href="http://www.lgbtcommunityresearch.co.uk/">my research</a>, people often said they experienced the “community” part of the phrase as an actual physical space. This could be a particular geographical area such as Brighton or San Francisco, or could relate to places frequented by LGBT people – such as bars and clubs – often referred to as “the scene”.</p>
<p>People I spoke to also reported experiencing this community aspect as part of a virtual space – such as online, or even in an imagined sense – in that LGBT people were thought to share “something”.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180413/original/file-20170731-22126-1nz2cdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180413/original/file-20170731-22126-1nz2cdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180413/original/file-20170731-22126-1nz2cdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180413/original/file-20170731-22126-1nz2cdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180413/original/file-20170731-22126-1nz2cdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180413/original/file-20170731-22126-1nz2cdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180413/original/file-20170731-22126-1nz2cdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Gay disco: the heart of a community?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shuttertstock</span></span>
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<p>People revealed how they often had fears or negative expectations of wider society. And that this is in part why they invest in the idea of an LGBT community – as somewhere where they could feel safe and understood. </p>
<p>But the term does not capture differences and complexities of experience.
It can also wrongly suggest some form of shared experience, which for some people can be frustrating because it seems to ignore their experiences of inequality or discrimination within – or exclusion from – so-called “LGBT community”.</p>
<h2>LGBT and beyond</h2>
<p>Then there is also the issue of the acronym “LGBT” itself, as it excludes a lot of people – such as those who identify as queer or intersex. And it was clear in my research that some people feel less welcomed within this acronym. Even those who do feature within these four letters – notably bisexual and trans people – can often feel marginalised by lesbian and gay people, and like that they don’t really belong to such a “community”. </p>
<p>People also spoke about their quest to find this “community” – with many trying and failing to discover such a thing. The idea of an LGBT community suggests that people who identify in this way should feel part of something. If they don’t it can compound negative experiences. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180415/original/file-20170731-22136-16axubm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180415/original/file-20170731-22136-16axubm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180415/original/file-20170731-22136-16axubm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180415/original/file-20170731-22136-16axubm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180415/original/file-20170731-22136-16axubm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180415/original/file-20170731-22136-16axubm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180415/original/file-20170731-22136-16axubm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Not everyone’s experience of sexuality or gender is the same.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Many participants in my research also talked about experiencing discrimination from other LGBT people relating to their age, body, disability, ethnicity, faith, HIV status, or perceived social class. So although the phrase implies that LGBT people somehow automatically belong to a ready made community – this is simply not the case. </p>
<h2>A group of people</h2>
<p>It is clear then that community belonging is not a given just because people share a gender or sexual identity. And this is why the notion of “LGBT community” is problematic. As someone I interviewed argued:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The idea doesn’t exist, it’s a kind of big myth – a bit like saying there’s a brown-eyed community or a blonde community.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this way, then, the use of the term “LGBT community” could alienate some people and even risks deterring LGBT (and other) people from engaging with services aimed specifically at them. As another participant said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I find anyone who uses this language dubious and with doubtful intention. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not to say that we should abandon the phrase altogether, but often using “LGBT people” would be more accurate – and would not risk alienation felt by an already (at times) marginalised group of people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eleanor Formby receives funding from, currently, the Government Equalities Office and the British Academy/Leverhulme, and previously the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Department for Education.</span></em></p>The term ‘LGBT community’ can be understood in many different ways, and can mean many different things to many different people.Eleanor Formby, Senior Research Fellow in Sociology and Education, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/609772016-06-15T09:51:37Z2016-06-15T09:51:37ZLGBT equality doesn’t exist – but here’s how to fight for it<p>When I came out as gay in my sophomore year of college, I absolutely loved going to Tigerheat – a kitschy 18-and-over gay club in Los Angeles. I mostly remember my nights there as frivolous fun, but they also had deeper meaning. That’s where I first learned how to openly and unabashedly celebrate being gay. </p>
<p>I danced wildly to Britney Spears in the fog and strobe lights, made out with beautiful men and bonded with college friends who came along. After hiding my sexual orientation for nearly a decade, those moments liberated me. After isolating myself from other gay people for years, I was suddenly surrounded by them. Those nights had special meaning to me as someone exploring my newfound identity as an openly gay man. </p>
<p>Such memories make me especially disgusted that a gay club has become the site of the U.S.’s <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/orlando-shooting.html">deadliest mass shooting ever</a>. An assailant <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/terror-hate-what-motivated-orlando-nightclub-shooter-n590496">who apparently hated gay people</a> shot over 100 people at the Orlando gay club Pulse. A space <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/06/12/pulse-more-than-just-another-gay-club/85785762/">created as a respite from discrimination</a> had turned into the setting for a horrific nightmare. </p>
<p>As this massacre reminds us, violent hatred toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people still remains in the United States. LGBT people also still do not have full equal legal rights under U.S. law, despite winning marriage rights, and face daily stressors and fears that others do not. Fortunately, however, social science research has begun to identify concrete actions to durably erode such hatred and create environments inclusive to LGBT people.</p>
<h1>Injustices against LGBT people</h1>
<p>LGBT people are more likely than any other minority group, including black people and Muslims, to be targeted in a violent hate crime, according to <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2011/anti-gay-hate-crimes-doing-math">a 2011 Southern Poverty Law Center analysis</a> of FBI statistics. LGBT people of color face <a href="http://www.cuav.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/4379_NCAVPHVReport2011Final_Updated.pdf">particularly high rates of violence</a>. For instance, at least 21 transgender women <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/more-transgender-people-reported-killed-2015-any-other-year">were murdered</a> in the U.S. in 2015, and 19 of those 21 were women of color. </p>
<p>The injustices against the LGBT community extend well beyond unconscionable, violent hate crimes. For instance, in <a href="http://www.glsen.org/article/2013-national-school-climate-survey">a large 2013 national survey</a> of middle school and high school students, 65 percent of LGBT students reported hearing homophobic remarks like “fag” or “dyke” frequently or often, and 30 percent missed at least one day of school in the previous month because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable. </p>
<p>Compared to the general population, LGBT people also face higher rates of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.012809.103636">homelessness</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.02.005">depression</a> and <a href="http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf">suicide</a>, especially among transgender people. For instance, <a href="http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf">national surveys</a> estimate that between 25 and 43 percent of transgender adults have attempted suicide at some point in their life, compared to 10 to 20 percent of LGB adults and 5 percent of the general U.S. population.</p>
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<p>Though declining over time, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143826">homophobic attitudes</a> are still with us in the U.S. For instance, according to <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/1651/gay-lesbian-rights.aspx">Gallup poll data</a>, 37 percent of Americans still view “gay or lesbian relations” as morally wrong, compared to 53 percent of Americans in 2001. And despite this modest decline in explicitly stated homophobia, seeing two men or two women kiss <a href="http://www.randomhousebooks.com/books/195070/">still disgusts</a> many people – even well-intentioned people – at <a href="https://contextualscience.org/system/files/Cullen_in_press.pdf">an implicit, automatic level</a>.</p>
<h1>Anti-LGBT bias intersects with others</h1>
<p>These harsh realities remind me how much of a protected bubble I live in as a young white cisgender male graduate student living in Chicago’s largest gay neighborhood. Being physically attacked for my gender presentation or even my sexual orientation is not a daily fear for me, but it can be for <a href="http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Herman-Gendered-Restrooms-and-Minority-Stress-June-2013.pdf">transgender people</a> simply trying to use the bathroom.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The ‘bathroom predator’ myth fuels anti-LGBT legislation that puts transgender people at risk.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Multiple factors such as gender, race and geographic location <a href="https://theconversation.com/intersectionality-how-gender-interacts-with-other-social-identities-to-shape-bias-53724">intersect to shape prejudice</a> in complex ways. For instance, as photographer and writer <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/12/queer-muslims-mourning-orlando-nightclub-shooting">Samra Habib described</a>, many queer Muslims not only fear homophobic attacks but also “have to take extra care walking down the street at night and entering [their] mosques for fear of Islamophobic attacks.” </p>
<p>The racial targeting of the Orlando victims also can’t be overlooked. The assailant who reportedly hated <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/terror-hate-what-motivated-orlando-nightclub-shooter-n590496">races and religions other than his own</a> attacked the gay club on its “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-praise-of-latin-night-at-the-queer-club/2016/06/13/e841867e-317b-11e6-95c0-2a6873031302_story.html">Latin Night</a>.” <a href="http://fusion.net/story/313038/orlando-shooting-victims-names-pulse-massacre/">The victims</a>, including Edward Sotomayor, Amanda Alvear, Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, Deonka Deidra Drayton and too many others, were primarily Latino, Hispanic or black.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Victims of the Orlando massacre.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h1>Using policy to fight for LGBT equality</h1>
<p>One positive outcome of this tragedy is a sharp, rude awakening that the fight for full LGBT equality is far from over. Even members of the LGBT community such as myself can at times forget and become complacent about this reality. </p>
<p>Part of the fight can be won through policy change. Despite the <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf">Supreme Court’s historic gay marriage ruling</a> in June 2015, LGBT people still do not have equal legal rights in the U.S. For instance, in 28 states, private employers can still <a href="http://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimination_laws">legally fire employees</a> based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Those same 28 states also provide no explicit protections against LGBT discrimination in housing; that’s especially dismaying because large field experiments have found bias against gay couples inquiring about <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/fairhsg/discrim_samesex.html">apartment rentals</a> and <a href="http://www.equalrightscenter.org/site/DocServer/Senior_Housing_Report.pdf">senior housing</a>. </p>
<p>A proposed bill in Congress called the <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/7/23/9023611/equality-act-lgbt-rights">Equality Act</a> would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act and ban LGBT discrimination in employment, housing, public education, access to credit, jury service and public accommodations such as restrooms and stores in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Over 85 percent of Democratic members of Congress have <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1858/cosponsors">formally</a> <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3185/cosponsors">endorsed</a> the bill, but Republicans <a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/10/28/house-panel-blocks-vote-on-equality-act/">have actively blocked it</a>. </p>
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<p>If enacted, such policy changes could have cascading effects on attitudes and behaviors. For instance, a 2013 study in Texas found that city-level bans on employment discrimination based on sexual orientation made employers <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028350">treat presumed gay applicants more favorably</a> in a real or mock interview hiring context. </p>
<p>Those laws influenced behavior not because employers feared punishment, the study’s researchers argued, but instead because the laws set the morals of the community. “Even absent any possibility of tangible punishment, legislation may reduce a given act (discrimination) simply by designating it as illegal, criminal, or deviant,” the researchers suggested. However, researchers haven’t yet empirically verified this psychological mechanism in this context.</p>
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<h1>Using conversations to fight for LGBT equality</h1>
<p>Everyday citizens can fight for LGBT equality by voting for politicians who will push for pro-LGBT policies. However, short face-to-face conversations can also help durably change LGBT attitudes. Although scientists have been suspicious about such claims because of <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/4/7/11380974/reduce-prejudice-science-transgender">an earlier scandal involving faked data</a>, other independent researchers with new data are finding real results.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aad9713">a recently published study</a> in Science, 10 minutes of conversation about transgender rights reduced transphobic attitudes for at least three months. In the study, 56 canvassers knocked on the doors of 501 voters in Miami. </p>
<p>To avoid effects that are only short-lived, as found in <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2712520">some prior studies</a>, canvassers actively engaged voters in conversation about voters’ personal views and experiences. For instance, voters were asked to consider a time in which they were judged for being different and then consider how transgender people might encounter similar experiences. Compared to passively listening to well-rehearsed arguments, such active learning approaches have often been <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1245936">far more effective</a> at durably reducing prejudice.</p>
<p>This study’s results should be reproduced before they are considered robust. However, if they do replicate and transfer to other prejudices, this method of engaging in conversation and taking others’ perspectives could be a powerful antidote to hatred and ignorance.</p>
<p>The Orlando massacre has left me heartbroken. The hard data further serve as a sober reminder that full LGBT equality is still in the future. However, at the same time, my ability to influence policy by voting in November and change hearts by reaching out to others gives me strength. Scientific studies such as the new one about transphobia give further hope that the hatred toward the LGBT community will erode over time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60977/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Miller receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>The massacre at an Orlando gay club is a savage reminder that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people still face harsh prejudice in America and lack full equal protections under the law.David Miller, Doctoral Student in Psychology, Northwestern UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/519362015-12-11T09:38:24Z2015-12-11T09:38:24ZDrinking on the gay scene: why we need to take it more seriously<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105315/original/image-20151210-7434-1fpzhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need to talk about booze</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&searchterm=gay%20bar&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=192145985">exopixel</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Gay bars and clubs have been at the heart of LGBT culture in the modern era. But where chemsex <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/Chemsex/review/">has received</a> much of the attention in recent months, voices within the LGBT community have also raised concerns about levels of alcohol consumption. <a href="http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/12/02/gay-men-we-have-drinking-problem">Writing in</a> the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the US, the journalist <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyler-curry/">Tyler Curry</a> has argued for a move away from this bar culture. He pointed out that LGBT people are more likely to drink, have higher rates of substance abuse and are more likely to continue drinking into later life than the general population. </p>
<p>Similar concerns have been raised in the UK. Lesbian, gay and bisexual populations are more likely to drink – and drink excessively – than the general population, <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/Gay_and_Bisexual_Men_s_Health_Survey__2013_.pdf">according</a> to <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/Prescription_for_Change__2008_.pdf">research by</a> gay rights group Stonewall. <a href="lgbt.foundation/downloads/123">As many as</a> 34% of gay and bisexual men in England reported binge drinking in the last week (more than eight units in a session), compared to around 18% of men in the general population. And 29% of lesbian and bisexual women reported drinking more than six units in a single session compared to around 12% of women in the general population. </p>
<p>In this context, we are presenting <a href="http://www.gcu.ac.uk/media/gcalwebv2/gcunewsroom/publications/shaap-glass-report-(web).pdf">new research</a> at the Scottish parliament on December 15 that explores how LGBT people perceive and experience drinking in the country. Scotland has a general reputation for excessive drinking, but we aimed to look at a group where surprisingly little is known about these issues. We asked groups of friends aged 18 to 51 to tell us about their experiences with alcohol, deliberately focusing on people who saw themselves as “normal” or “social” drinkers rather than those who thought they drank excessively. </p>
<h2>‘Get hammered and boogie’</h2>
<p>Most participants agreed there was a heavy drinking culture on the gay scene, coupled with a lot of peer pressure. The reasons they gave included the expectation that everyone would be drinking heavily; that it was cheaper than straight venues; that it was associated with big nights out and celebrations; and the need to drink to have the confidence to go out on the scene. </p>
<p>Here are a few of their comments:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s a culture thing to go on the gay scene [and] get drunk, so maybe people don’t realise they have an issue with alcohol.</p>
<p>If (I think) about being gay and on the scene, I was always pissed.</p>
<p>It’s a bit too manically drunk for my liking.</p>
<p>The only thing to do is get hammered and have a boogie.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The participants were wary of LGBT people as being branded as drinkers, though. They recognised they lived in a country with a heavy drinking culture which influenced people whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity. What many thought was different was that LGBT people were more likely to use bars and clubs because they had more limited options to socialise – and were less likely to have their drinking restricted by parenthood. </p>
<p>The drinks industry is well aware of links between drinking and identity. Many brands have become adept at positioning themselves as “gay friendly”. Bud Light <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/10/anti-gay-groups-pride-sponsors-are-sadomasochistic-and-perverted/">sponsors</a> New York City Pride, for instance, while brewer SAB Miller <a href="https://www.marketingweek.com/2014/05/16/barclays-seeks-greater-diversity-with-lgbt-sponsorship/">has sponsored</a> Pride in London. Smirnoff and Absolut vodka <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/smirnoff-and-absolut-show-their-support-gay-marriage-facebook-148171">both ran</a> social media campaigns supporting equal gay marriage. Our participants viewed drinks promotion on the LGBT scene as even heavier than elsewhere. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104668/original/image-20151207-3133-ut5qin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gay Pride.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/littlebiglens/11854425314/in/photolist-24em6V-24jEmC-24jWCC-24ezKF-5LDsTX-4YFhga-S4Pr7-o3tZfT-j4x2Dm-kMZZn-8esmV9-X9daw-WwxhT">Steve Baker</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Service barriers</h2>
<p>Our interviewees saw a number of barriers with alcohol support services. They thought the service providers tended to assume everyone was heterosexual and gender-assigned at birth. They saw the services as macho and intimidating for people who weren’t heterosexual men, and didn’t see self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous as safe spaces. None of our participants seemed to be aware of the existence of <a href="http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/aa-literature/p-32-aa-and-the-gaylesbian-alcoholic">LGBT AA groups</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104670/original/image-20151207-3133-1jgs29n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alcohol support meetings: safe space?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwpkommunikacio/16904900381/in/photolist-rKQ2VF-e9b7NF-fUkjHq-awbQqH-aweyDu-awbQzD-awexiw-aweyzU-awbQDx-aweyGL-aweyFu-awbQU8-awexkq-aweyBW-awbRbc-awexpQ-awbQGR-awbQrV-awbQvH-aweytU-uXdFCz-JoZ3G-7dfRP4-apJHAx-9ZQbb7-4SAGdV-Bi5sJc-61K8Ke-awbQkV-ZYLwo-ADX1H-ddXzML-ddXzka-awey8y-dB1Swr-awexU5-awbQSB-awey3m-awey7j-awbRpp-awbR3e-awbRnX-3fnCo6-cQJu4Y-xsDQu-65yCSP-fUkmTs-995gTn-foDkcs-foDmkE">Lwp Kommunikáció</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our findings hopefully provide some useful background to drinking in the gay scene. If gay people are wary of alcohol services and AA groups, the providers need to look at how inclusive they are perhaps reconsider their approach. When it comes to making sure that there are places to socialise where it is acceptable to drink moderately or not drink at all – and it is vital that LGBT people are not left out of the equation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51936/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carol has received funding for research from NIHR, Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council and was a co-applicant on the £5,000 award from SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems) for the research connected with this piece.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jemma was a co-applicant on a £5,000 award from SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems) for the research connected with this piece.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lana was a co-applicant on a £5,000 award from SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems) for the research connected with this piece.</span></em></p>When most of us are asked to imagine an alcoholic and they probably think of a middle-aged straight man. But new research highlights the risks of heavy drinking on the gay scene.Carol Emslie, Reader / Lead Substance use & misuse research group, Institute for Applied Health Research, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityJemma Lennox, Pre-doctoral researcher, University of GlasgowLana Ireland, Lecturer in Social and Forensic Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.