An immutable characteristic is any sort of physical attribute which is perceived as being unchangeable, entrenched and innate. The term is often used to describe segments of the population which share such attributes and are contrasted from others by those attributes, and is used in human rights law to classify protected group

Protected class

Protected class is a term used in United States anti-discrimination law. The term describes characteristics or factors which can not be targeted for discrimination and harassment...

s of people who should be protected from civil or criminal actions which are directed against those immutable characteristics

Hate crime

In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...

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A major debate over sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

is over whether or not non-heterosexuality is a valid physical attribute, with religious and social conservatives often perceiving sexual orientation as a "correctable" behavior.