Elmwood Townhall

anarcho-queer:

While the head honchos at the HRC are making 6 figure salaries from donations to support ‘marriage equality’, hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ youth are homeless and are purposely ignored by mainstream gay organizations. The ‘fight’ for same sex marriage has proven to be a profitable business for gay ‘non-profit’ businesses, so it’s no wonder why gay marriage overshadows all other LGBTQ issues. After all, helping the needy results in smaller pay.

Supporting gay marriage doesn’t mean you support the queer struggle. In fact, most ‘allies’ and even a large portion of more fortunate queers don’t know the facts about LGBTQ homelessness, violence against trans* people, high unemployment, discrimination, etc, nor do they bother to research it. They are just concerned about their favorite gay celebrities being able to tie the knot.

If you care about the queer struggle, take a minute of your day to familiarize yourself with some of the disturbing statistics:

• 20- 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ. In comparison, the general youth population is only 3-10% LGBTQ.
• LGBTQ youth are twice as likely to experience sexual abuse before the age of 12.
• LGBTQ youth, once homeless, are at higher risk for victimization, mental health problems, and unsafe sexual practices. 58.7% of LGBTQ homeless youth have been sexually victimized compared to 33.4% of heterosexual homeless youth
• LGBTQ youth are roughly 7.4 times more likely to experience acts of sexual violence than heterosexual homeless youth
• LGBTQ homeless youth commit suicide at higher rates (62%) than heterosexual homeless youth (29%)
• At least 20% of ALL transgender people will be homeless sometime in their life.
• 29% of transgender people reported being turned away from a homeless shelter due to their transgender status.

Please consider taking action to help combat LGBTQ homelessness. I suggest making a donation to the Ali Forney Center or volunteering at your local LGBTQ homeless shelter.

P.S. Fuck the HRC!

(via queerinsurrection)