Katelyn Lee/OutWrite
Content warning: Discussion of homophobia, transphobia, the AIDS crisis, and a mass shooting
With the results of the 2024 election casting the future of queer rights and safety into further uncertainty and turmoil, it is completely natural to feel afraid. It is important that we allow ourselves time to process and grieve. However, one thing remains clear: now, more than ever, community will be essential in the fight for our rights.
Despite the claims made by many Republicans that Donald Trump supports the LGBTQ+ community, the policies he endorsed while he was in office prove otherwise. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the Trump-Pence administration imposed multiple homophobic and transphobic policies against the LGBTQ+ community, such as supporting discrimination in the workplace and schools, and banning transgender service in the military. These repressive policies will likely continue through his upcoming term as president.
This is far from the first time the queer community has faced disdain and adversity.
However, this does not mean that we are powerless. The queer community has faced and continues to face discriminatory policies, hostile attitudes, and other hardships, but we have continued to push forward regardless because of the strength that community gives us.
This strength can be seen in the actions of the queer community during the AIDS epidemic. Throughout most of the AIDS crisis, public policy was actively against the queer community. From discriminatory policies to the outright dismissal that AIDS was an issue, the queer community was failed by the U.S. government.
This did not mean that our queer ancestors passively let the crisis occur, as highlighted by the Yale Library Exhibition “We are Everywhere: Lesbians in the Archive.” It explains that “when doctors and scientists refused to care for HIV patients, lesbians stepped in,” serving as nurses and caretakers in queer-run care centers.
As previously mentioned, the government largely ignored the AIDS crisis and failed to do research on how AIDS spread and how to prevent it. Thus, queer activist groups took it upon themselves to disseminate information about AIDS and its prevention to attempt to slow transmission as much as possible.
One such example recorded by the HIV Timeline was a gay activist group from San Francisco who, in 1982, published the first pamphlet on safer sex. They distributed over 16,000 copies at the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Parade. It was not easy; there was resistance and backlash from outside the community and hesitance within, but the queer community did not quit, they did not back down, and they did not allow themselves to quietly disappear.
They protested, they fought, and they stood together to fill the holes created by hatred and governmental neglect. It was their unity that helped them overcome this horrific era.
Of course this is far from the only instance where the queer community has come together to fill in the gaps created by a cisheteropatriarchal society.
In one of my previous articles, I discussed the struggles of queer asylum seekers as they travel across countries to escape the rampant homophobic violence of their home countries. However, gaining asylum into the US is far from easy; many queer asylum seekers face numerous legal challenges and fear for their safety while waiting to hear news about their appeal.
That is where the queer community steps in. Casa Arcoíris, or Rainbow House, is a safe house located in Mexico near the U.S. border run by members of the queer community. Their goal is to keep queer asylum seekers safe and prepare them to apply for asylum.
Within the U.S., the LGBT Asylum Task Force raises money and awareness for queer asylum seekers to aid in their legal battles. When members of the community are granted asylum, the task force helps them get on their feet and adapt to life within the U.S. Where laws fail to protect queer migrants, it is the queer community that comes together to make a difference.
The hardships faced by the queer community are far from just legal ones. In 2016, the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida created a large wound. But it is through the actions of the community that healing is possible. According to George A. Wallace, executive director of LGBT+ Center Orlando, “we are a resilient community. There was an outpouring of love, not just here locally but from around the world.”
The support given by the queer community during such a dark time helped the process of healing wounds created by violence that stemmed from hatred and ignorance. According to CNN, many activist groups were created as a result of the shooting, giving safe spaces for queer latinos, a group directly affected by the shooting. Church services were held to mourn the lives lost, and to help create a space where people could process the tragedy that occurred and feel a sense of community once more. Over 7.8 million dollars were donated from 120 countries around the world in response to this tragedy. The community came together to mourn, to grieve, and to rebuild together, not just in Orlando but around the world.
As history has shown and continues to show us, it is when the queer community comes together that a difference can be made.
Even now, many people are getting involved in any way they can. In LA alone, there are many programs focused on supporting queer youth through a variety of means, including through housing, food, and community activities. At least half of the queer community in LA is involved politically or donates money, and that number is expected to rise.
Our rights have never been handed to us. As a community, we have had to fight time and time again for equality, safety and self-determination, and now we must continue to fight. However, we are resilient. We are resilient because we have a big and beautiful community that has not passively allowed our rights to be taken from us before. We will not allow our rights to be taken from us now.
With that said, it is still essential that we take care of our mental and physical well-being. For UCLA students, the CAPS 24-hour line phone number is (310) 825-0768. For assistance in general, you can access this guide to connect to the Trevor Project 24/7, and access this compilation of information on LA LGBTQ+ resources. We need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves if we want to make a change. Remember, one of the most powerful things you can do is live.
As we enter this new era, there will be challenges, hardships, and opposition. Just as history has shown us, time and time again, we will fight — and we will fight together. Now more than ever we need to be united as a community because we are stronger together. United, we will make change. We are here, we are queer, and we are not going anywhere.