It seems like today, within the United States of America, no one should have to avoid living in a state because they’re afraid that state’s laws won’t protect them or their family. But, for LGBTQ Americans, this fear is still a real concern because of the discrimination they continue to face. That discrimination can affect which job offer they feel comfortable accepting, where they feel able to safely live, and what businesses and stores they can shop at without being mistreated.
In recent years, Utah has made progress in better protecting its LGBTQ residents from discrimination. On March 12, 2015, Governor Herbert signed SB 296 into law. This milestone legislation added the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to Utah’s Anti-Discrimination and Fair Housing Acts, which has helped protect LGBTQ Utahns against discrimination at work and in the housing market.
Passing SB296 is an achievement we should all be proud of because, as the Williams Institute estimates, there are 55,000 LGBTQ adults living in Utah and 37,000 of those LGBTQ adults are employed in the workforce and because it covers the over 1 million jobs, 600,000 homes, and over 200,000 apartments within the state.
But persisting discrimination can affect many other areas of an LGBTQ person’s life, including people’s attitudes about who they should be allowed to marry, whether they should get credit card and loan approvals, what types of transportation they can use, and whether they deserve to have access to health care. That’s why LGBTQ Utahns need legislation that will specifically protect them from discrimination in those and in many other important areas.
Additionally, we all need to acknowledge that discrimination in Utah is real and that it is harming many of its residents. Before SB 296 passed, in 2015, 43% of Utah’s lesbian, gay, or bisexual workers said that they had been discriminated against in interviews or at their current jobs (according to the Williams Institute), and 67% of Utah’s transgender workers reported that they have experienced employment discrimination.
As a result, Equality Utah is continually advocating for our LGBTQ community to ensure that they will receive the same rights and protections that all other Utahns now enjoy—like inclusion within Utah’s existing public accommodations laws to help protect LGBTQ Utahns from discrimination in all stores, restaurants, hotels, and bathrooms within the state—making Utah into a more welcoming, inclusive place for LGBTQ people to live and to work.
Public Accommodations & LGBTQ Utahns
One of our policy goals is to make sure LGBTQ Utahns have the same rights as any other Utahn when it comes to using public businesses and services. In legal terms, this is called “inclusion within Utah’s existing public accommodations laws.”
But what exactly are “public accommodations”? Public accommodations are businesses and facilities that are open to the public. They include restaurants, stores, theaters, hotels, transportation services, and health care providers. The most well-known case of discrimination occurring at a public accommodation may be at Masterpiece Cakeshop—the bakery in Colorado that refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple.
Federal civil rights laws protect some groups of people from being discriminated against by businesses that serve the public and guarantee people’s rights to use public accommodations no matter what race, color, national origin, religion, or disability status they have. But the Civil Rights Act—which was passed in 1964—doesn’t protect people based on their biological sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. This means that businesses and other public accommodations can legally discriminate against LGBTQ people just because of who they are.
Many states have recognized this loophole, and 19 states now have laws designed to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Another 2 states—Wisconsin and New Hampshire—have laws to protect lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation.
But Utah still does not have laws to protect LGBTQ people from this kind of discrimination. At Equality Utah, we are working to change that.
To find out how you can help us do that, reach out to volunteer, attend an upcoming EU event, or find helpful resources at EqualityUtah.org.
Credit & Lending Discrimination for LGBTQ Utahns
Like everyone else, LGBTQ Utahns need access to loans, mortgages, and credit cards to make it possible for them to go to college, buy a home, or start a small business. So, having equal access to credit and loans is an important tool for helping them to also achieve the American dream.
But, unfortunately, Utah doesn’t have laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in lending or credit approval. According to SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders), LGBTQ people have a higher chance of living in poverty when they’re older because of enduring a lifetime of discrimination.
Currently, 13 US states have laws that prevent creditors and lending agencies from discriminating against LGBTQ people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and one additional state—New York—has a law that prevents creditors from discriminating against LGBTQ people because of their sexual orientation.
Utah prides itself on having a strong economy that is enjoyed by all its residents. But Utah’s economy would become even stronger if our state would pass a law that guarantees fair and equal access to credit and loans for LGBTQ Utahns.
What to Do If You Have Experienced Discrimination
We wish our laws would always stop discrimination from happening. But that is not the case. If you believe an employer or landlord has discriminated against you or someone else, we urge you to report this.
If you need legal counsel or services, please contact the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. If you have experienced housing discrimination, please contact the State Office of Fair Housing. Or, if you have experienced discrimination in the workplace, please contact the Utah Labor Commission and the EEOC.
And, if you believe you have been discriminated against, please be willing to speak up and to tell others your story so that they can also become more aware of discrimination and can feel encouraged to report discrimination if they see or experience it themselves.
Together, we can oppose discrimination in all its forms to improve our communities throughout Utah and everywhere else.
Additional Resources for Nondiscrimination
Opportunity means that everybody has a fair chance to achieve their full potential. Here are a few other online resources that may be helpful:
Opportunity means that everybody has a fair chance to achieve their full potential.
