Co-leader of Gender Sexuality Alliance sophomore Euan Lim said he thinks that while gay rights are moving in the right direction, the last few years have been a step back from the progress made.

“If we think of it in the course of decades, (the treatment of the LGBT community) has gotten better, but in the last few years it’s gotten worse,” Lim said.”I think we need to bring (progressing gay and gender rights) back up again, and I don’t know how we are supposed to do that.”

According to Lim, the U.S should lead by example and improve gay rights so other countries follow suite.

“(Current events are) super depressing because people can generally look to the U.S for being the leader of things, which is kind of stupid, but right now the LGBT thing in the U.S is going to crap,” Lim said. “I feel like if the U.S is taking down the LGBT protections, then the rest of the world is going to follow.”

Sophomore Dayna Krause, a close friend of Lim, said Lim is very aware of the negative views and treatments of the LGBT community.

“(Lim is) very updated on (what is happening around the world with the LGBT community). I would say he has more knowledge on that than I do because I am so busy and can’t do my research,” Krause said. “He has a lot of knowledge on (current events) and a lot of outlooks on (what has been happening). He thinks it’s all very bad and all (of the negative treatment of the LGBT community) is very unfortunate.”

According to adviser of Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Kyle Sweeney, Lim is a good leader for GSA because he is knowledgeable.

“I would say  (Lim)  leads by example, so being informed about issues. (He) doesn’t always like to get up front and present but (he) will encourage conversation. If there is an issue that needs to be brought up, he will bring it up,” Sweeney said.

Lim said some people don’t understand how gender and sexuality works and being misinformed can cause negative feelings on the topic.

“I don’t like how (homophobes) view (the LGBT community) in a negative light, and I don’t understand why they they do that, but I don’t think it’s fair because we can’t control (what our gender or sexuality is). Some people think it’s a choice, and other people think it’s a disease,” Lim said.

Lim said he is a strong believer in the idea that all humans are equal and should treat each other kindly.

“(I’m passionate about the LGBT community) because they’re family, and also they’re people too. I’m a passionate believer in that everyone should have equal rights, the same amount of rights. People should not be persecuted for one thing about themselves that they cannot control,” Lim said.

Lim helps lead GSA at 8 a.m. every Thursday in room B231.