Comparison of the State of LGBTQ Rights in the United States and Brunei

Brunei is a small independent Islamic sultanate found on the northern coast of the island of Borneo, surrounded by the South China Sea and Malaysia. The country is one of the absolute monarchies remaining in the universe and, to be precise, the only monarch in Asia. Being an absolute monarch, the sultan of Brunei is the head of the government and the head of the state. It implies that the sultan is the king, prime minister, minister of foreign affairs, finance, and minister of defense. The sultanate is also the official protector and guardian of tradition and Islam. About two-thirds of the country’s population is classified as Malay. However, this category comprises not only the native Malays but also some of the indigenous people like Kedayan, Bisaya, Murut, Dusun, and Belait. The Chinese make up around one-tenth of the country’s population. The remaining of the country’s population comprises other indigenous people (non-Malay) like the Sea Dayak. The population of Brunei is predominantly Sunni Muslim, although the Chinese normally follow Daoism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Confucianism. The indigenous people of Brunei are Christians, but others follow their local religions. The country’s population is growing and youthful. More than one-fifth of the country’s population is below the age of fifteen, and roughly half of the population is below thirty years of age.

Introduction

Rights that affect LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) vary by country or authority, from the lawful acknowledgment of same-sex marriage to death consequences for homosexuality. Remarkably, by January 2021, twenty-nine countries had approved same-sex marriage. In the US, LGBTQ rights have significantly evolved (Geidner, 10). By 1962, all the 50 states of the USA criminalized same-sex activity, but by the wake of 2003, the remaining laws on same-sex sexual affiliations had been canceled. By 2015, LGBTQ people had won the right to marry around all the American states. More so, in many municipalities and states, LGBTQ Americans are openly protected from discrimination in housing, employment, and access to public lodgings.

Legality or illegality

The country’s Supreme Court has created several LGBTQ rights in the US. In five major rulings between 1996 and 2020, the country’s Supreme Court canceled state laws banning threatened class recognition based gaysim, canceled sodomy laws, scraped from the constitution section three of the marriage and defense Act, prohibited employment discrimination against transgender and gay employees, and legalized same-sex marriage in all states (Naylor, 8). The US has enacted LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws. Washington and twenty-three states outlaw discrimination on sexual orientation, while the states, alongside twenty-two other states, outlaw discrimination on gender expression and identity. The Equality Act, which is at the proposal level in the US Congress, shall outlaw discrimination on gender identity and sexual orientation. LGBTQ people in Brunei are prone to legal challenges which are not common among residents who are non-LGBTQ. In Brunei, homosexuality is illegal and sexual relations between male people are punishable by whipping or death (Muchransyah, 419). Lesbianism is punishable by imprisonment or caning. However, currently, the sultanate has in effect a moratorium on the death penalty. To be precise, Brunei has a problematic state of rights for LBTQ individuals in South East Asia. With this, LGBTQ people in Brunei feel the urge to be discreet about their sexual orientation.

Source:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/world/lgbtq-global-rights.html

Public opinion of LGBTQ in the US has rapidly shifted since Americans started to be poled frequently. National support has increased, reaching 70% in 2021. Generational variances in opinion are the main cause of the change.

Presence or absence of same-sex marriage

The convenience of legally recognized same-gender marriage in the US expanded from a single state in the year 2004 to all states in the year 2015 through different state legislation, popular votes, and court rulings. The states have different marriage laws that adhere to the Supreme Court of the US, which identify marriage as a significant right given by the due process clause and the equal protection clause of the country’s Fourteen Amendment as established in the 1967 civil rights case. Before 2004, marriage between same-sex people was not recognized or performed in the American jurisdictions. Still, it began to be recognized and performed by law in various jurisdictions through court rulings, legislation, popular referenda, and tribunal council rulings. However, the Supreme Court’s on the civil case Obergefell v. Hodges brought to an end all inter-state lawful problems surrounding same-sex marriage. The ruling orders state to carry out marriages of people of the same sex and recognize the marriage of people of the same sex done in other states.

In contrast, in Brunei, same-gender marriage is prohibited, and homosexuality is illegal and sexual relations between male people are punishable by whipping or death (Muchransyah, 420). Lesbianism is punishable by imprisonment or caning. However, currently, the sultanate has in effect a moratorium on the death penalty.

Laws specifically targeting the Transgender community

Thirty-three states in the US have presented one hundred bills that are aimed at curbing the rights of transgender people, although advocacy groups have called the year 2021 a record- year for lawmaking of this kind. Arkansas became the first state to outlaw the provision of gender-upholding treatment for children, a move which the American civil liberties union says send a heartbreaking and terrible communication to transgender youths all over the nation (Lee, 20). On the other hand, in 2019, the monarch of Brunei introduced its final phase of the regressive Sharia Penal code, making homosexual acts punishable by stoning. Whereas it is yet to be put into practice, the forthcoming threat of this law has transgender Bruneians living in fear.

Restrictions on adopting, fostering, or parenting for those in the LGBTQ community

In the US, family law differs by state. The adoption of kids by same-sex couples is legal throughout the country as from June 2015 due to the decision of the Supreme Court on the Obergefell v. Hodges civil case. However, Mississippi never had its same-gender adoption ban get struck until March 2016. Nevertheless, policies concerning adoption differ significantly between jurisdictions, and some states accept adoption by all couples, whereas others ban unmarried couples from adopting kids. When it comes to the case of Brunei, same-sex adoption is illegal, fostering or parenting is illegal (Muchransyah, 421).

Restrictions on military service

Whereas America’s Don’t tell, Don’t Ask policy was repealed in 2011, permitting open service by bisexual, lesbian, as well as gay service memberships, transgender individuals get striped from being admitted into the military. The ban is in effect through health screening rules, history, or present psychosexual circumstances such as exhibitionism, voyeurism, transsexualism, paraphilias, and transvestism. Unlike the Don’t Ask, Don’t tell, this dogma is not authorized by the Congress but just an inner military rule. Regardless of this, the tendency of transgender persons to serve in the American military is two times that of cisgender (Geidner, 13). Moreover, transgender people suffer from discrimination that gets forbidden from serving in the military due to the medical procedures that brand them as mentally unfit individuals. When it comes to the case of military service in Brunei, it is not apparent whether individuals who are gay or transparent will be allowed to serve now that the country has made illegal LGBTQ.

In a nutshell, public opinion of LGBTQ in the US has rapidly shifted since Americans were frequently poled. National support has increased, reaching 70% in 2021. Generational variances in opinion are the main cause of the change. The United States of America has legalized LGBTQ, while in Brunei, it is illegal. In the US, same-sex marriage is accepted, while it is illegal and punishable through stoning in Brunei. In the US, a same-sex couple can adopt or foster children, but in Brunei, it is illegal for the same-sex couples to adopt a child.

Works cited

Geidner, Chris. “The court cases that changed LGBTQ rights.” New York Times. Retrieved from https://www. NYTimes. com/2019/06/19/us/legal-history-LGBTQ-rights-timeline. HTML (2019):1-20

Naylor, Lorenda A. Social equity and LGBTQ rights: Dismantling discrimination and expanding civil rights. Routledge, 2020: 1-15.

Lee, Chelsea, and Robert L. Ostergard Jr. “Measuring discrimination against LGBTQ people: A cross-national analysis.” Hum. Rts. Q. 39 (2017): 1-37.

Muchransyah, Azalia. “The Southeast Asian Woman Writes Back: Gender, Identity and Nation in the Literatures of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, by Grace VS Chin and Kathrina Mohd Daud (eds).” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, land-en volkenkunde/Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia 176.2-3 (2020): 419-421.