The United States is an example of diversity and tolerance in the world. There are laws, policies and protection of personal rights. However, despite this, many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people still face discrimination. The LGBT community today faces discrimination in housing, employment, relationships, insurance, medical care, adoption, religion and social prejudice. The rights of homosexual people are not the same as those of a heterosexual person. A homosexual person is told that he cannot have the same as others because of his sexual orientation Many times we like to think of the United States of America as a place that has reached a higher level of progression, unfortunately this is not the case case as we continue to give the same right to everyone equally. The many different forms of discrimination that LGBT people face can have negative effects on their lives. The states in which a person lives and how that state chooses to protect an LGBT person's rights have a connection to how mental illness can affect them. According to the American Journal of Public Health, “The association between lesbian, gay, and bisexual status and psychiatric disorders was stronger in states with policies that did not extend protections than in states with these protection policies.” (Hetzenbuehler, Keyes, & Hasin, 2009) The effect on a person's mental health due to environmental stressors……………..State-level policies were associated with a higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity, defined as the presence of 2 or more disorders. Specifically, individuals living in a state with policies that did not extend protections to lesbians, gays, and bisexuals were 4.76 times more likely to have a comorbid psychiatric disorder than d... .com.ezproxy.brescia. edu/docview/1499845042/C12B334A881C46C0PQ/1?accountid=9713 United States Department of the Treasury and the Interior The Revenue Service (IRS) today ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies regardless of whether the couple lives in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage or in a jurisdiction that does not recognize same-sex marriage. The ruling implements the federal tax aspects of the Supreme Court's June 26 decision invalidating a key provision of the 1996 law. Defense of Marriage Act.http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Treasury-and-IRS- Announce-That-All-Legal-Same-Sex-Marriages-Will-Be-Recognized-For-Fe Federal Tax Purposes;-the-ruling-provides-certainty,-benefits-and-protections-under-the-law -federal-tax-for-married-same-sex-couples