LGBT Rights In The Union of Everett
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File:LGBT Rights EV Federal vs State.png Left:Everetti territories in which federal law protects the full rights of LGBT citizens. Right:State laws which individually declare protections of LGBT citizens (Green: Full protections/Blue: Varied Partial Protections/Yellow:Proposed State Amendments & laws to include protections) | |
| Status | Legal since 2003 |
| Gender identity | Transsexuals provided full legal protections and rights |
| Military | LGBT allowed to serve openly |
| Discrimination protections | LGBT protected from discriminations/hate crimes |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | Same Sex Marriage Legal in Federal Law |
| Adoption | Same Sex and Transsexuals may legally adopt |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) persons are entitled to full legal rights and protections regarding equality within the Union of Everett. Since 2003, when the Union of Everett ceded from the United States, LGBT people were provided full protections under federal laws such as protection from discrimination in public and private including employment, housing, education, healthcare and protections from hate crimes. Laws such as ENDA were passed by 2004, ensuring such protections and rights to LGBT people. While individual states did not recognize same sex marriage, in the 2004 the federal government passed federal recognition of same sex and transsexual marriages and began licensing marriages federally. Gays and lesbians serving the military were protected from discharge from service in 2003 under Presidential order as Commander-in-Chief and later was passed as a law, repealing the United States' old, Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Between 2003 and 2006, the majority of LGBT people acquired full legal rights and protections as heterosexual and non-transgender people under federal laws. Up into 2011, individual states were encouraged by the federal government to pass their own laws ensuring state level protections, even though federal law already provided such rights and protections.
Homosexual Rights
LGB, or lesbian, gay and bisexuals, part of the homosexual community, have full legal protections under federal laws, protecting them from discrimination in housing, education, employment, healthcare, marriage, adoption, military service and protections from hate crimes. Under state level laws, homosexuals are often provided more rights and protections than transsexuals.
Transsexual Rights
The Union of Everett is noted for its specification of a transgender person as a transsexual, who are provided legal protections, while other forms of transgender people, such as transvestic fetishists, as classified under the Everetti Psychology Association DSM IV, are not protected under federal level laws. The Union of Everett passed the Everetti Non-Discrimination Act in 2004, which provided this definition and provided full legal protections for transsexuals including that of employment, housing, education, healthcare, marriage rights and protections from hate crimes. Later laws included the rights to adopt and parental/guardian rights and in 2006, the right of transsexuals to serve in the military.
While some individual states have passed laws regarding use of public restrooms, known as "Bathroom Bills", federal level protection has not yet been passed regarding transsexuals using the men's or women's rooms in public, as it continues to be a hotly debated issue. In Everett City itself, most public place possess men's, women's and a gender neutral/family/handicap room, which is under city ordinance, a location for transsexual persons to use without issue, while city ordinance does not prohibit the use of men's or women's rooms.
State Protections
By the time the Union of Everett federal government passed same sex marriage legalization, states such as Massachusetts had already passed state level recognition. Since the federal government passed federal recognition in 2004, several states have passed their own state level protections and recognition of same sex marriage and transsexual rights. New York passed same sex marriage in 2011. The current states that have passed same sex marriage include Massachusetts (2004), Connecticut (2007), Vermont (2008), Maryland (2009), Ontario (2009), Quebec (2010), New Jersey (2011), Nova Scotia (2011), New Brunswick (2011), Newfoundland (2011), Hawaii (2011), New York (2011), Maine (2012) and Minnesota (2012).
Civil rights protections on the other hand have been passed by far more states, also after the federal government enforced federal level laws protecting the rights of LGBT people. Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Quebec, Hawaii, Ontario, New Brunswick, Maryland, Florida, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Ohio and Illinois have passed varying legal protections for homosexuals and transsexuals.
Children's Rights
The Union of Everett is the only country which specifically outlines equal designated rights of minors, those who are 17 years of age or younger. While not legal adults, they are entitled to the same equal freedoms as adults, as citizens of the Union of Everett. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual children are entitled to several specific rights and legal protections. LGBT minors have the right to freedom of expression, including the right to express their sexual orientation and gender identity openly, whether at home, in public or private, at work or at school. Minors have the right to go to school and be open with their sexual orientation and gender identity without the threat of facing bullying or hate crimes and the legal right to protection from discrimination by school officials, especially discrimination faced by transsexual minors who go to public or private schooling. Sensitivity training is required by federal law through Department of Education regulations over the school system, for all teachers, officials and employees of schools. LGBT minors also have the freedom to express themselves without interference by parents including protections from abandonment, neglect, domestic violence, abuses and criminal actions of parents or legal guardians. Foster care homes and government facilities are even more regulated to respect a child's sexual orientation or gender identity.