Ever since 2015, same-sex marriage has been legal in all 50 states, but that does not mean they have been treated equally. Same-sex couples go through every day life struggling to be treated normally. From being glared at while walking down the street, to being told they can’t do things other couples can, they are spending their lives being mistreated, all for the sake of their happiness. 

One out of four same-sex marriages report that they have been mistreated at some point in their lifetime. With this mistreatment continuing on, members of the LGBTQ+ community could be scared to go out into public places because they don’t know what could happen to them. Some states have taken longer than others to get safeties and new laws to help protect people in same-sex marriages. With Massachusetts being the first state to legalize it in 2004, there were still 49 more to make it legal so their people could have the freedom to do what makes them happy. Before the new law that allowed same-sex marriage had passed in 2015, only 37 out of 50 states had legalized same-sex marriage, which started a lot of new discrimination, especially in the workplace. 

Discrimination in the workplace for people in same-sex marriages has always been hard. Different pay, not getting promotions and so many other things are just a few of the disadvantages that members of the LGBTQ+ community are faced with,  just simply for the fact that they are a part of the LGTBQ+ community. Some employers do not treat their LGBTQ+ employees the same as their straight employees because they just do not agree with their lifestyle. This mistreatment makes people in same-sex relationships not want to work because they would be mistreated in certain workplaces. This could not be stopped because the government would not do anything about it. 

The government finally started the Non-Discrimination Act for people in the LGTBQ+ community so that their employers could not discriminate against them as they had in past years. This act did not come easily; it took a lot of peaceful protests to get the job done. People would stand outside of major city government houses with signs and flags while screaming chants to support the community. After protesting for years about how bad the discrimination was, the government finally decided to make a law to aid the community. 

Even though there is a law protecting discrimination, people in same-sex marriages still get mistreated every day and it is unfair to them. After all, it’s how they want to live their lives, with what makes them happy.