Patrick R. McElhiney believes there should be stricter laws regarding the protection of our diverse population, such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Jewish Americans, LGBTQ, and Women. There should be stricter hate crimes legislation that protects these classes of vulnerable persons from violence. One example of how these social issues affect people disproportionately, is that physicians in the practice of medicine often believe that African Americans can withstand more pain than their white counterparts under the same stresses, but this simply isn't true! Racism, bigotry, and xenophobia exist almost everywhere inside of America, and we need to learn more about these differences to ensure that they are corrected for current generations and not repeated for future generations. The bias in the Police against African Americans and in ICE against Latino Americans because of racism are unjustified in a system that strives for equality above all else. We must do more to bring out the truth about these conflicts, and legislate to stop the hate from occurring in the first place!
A LGBTQ Bill of this type passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, however President Trump issued a veto threat, and the bill was never taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate. We really need protection for the LGBTQ in all aspects of their lives. We need new, stronger hate crimes legislation to protect members of the community based on crimes committed because of the victim's gender identity or sexual orientation. There has been a recent uptick in crimes against the LGBTQ community in America, likely due to the hatred that has been spread by President Trump. It is unfortunate that he doesn't take an anti-crime stance on this issue.
