By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) NOV 2 | Today is an election day unlike many previous ones over these past three decades that I have been reporting on American politics in regard to full Equality Rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Americans across the United States.
As a citizen of Canada, obviously I will not be voting today, however, I should note that as a full time resident here, YOUR votes will effect me and my sons as I am Gay as is my youngest child, and as residents of this country, we both are affected by the outcome of the elections.
There's been some relatively uncivil discourse in the greater LGBT community with vitriolic filled diatribes being directed at the leadership of the Democratic Party, in particular, the President of the United States. Ironically, some of which sounds dangerously close to what one expects to hear from those opposed to LGBT Equality Rights.
In a simplified version, it may be condensed down to this one salient point: The LGBT community feels that its been betrayed by the Obama Administration over Defence of Marriage, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, the United American Families Act, and whats generally perceived as studied political indifference to the plight of LGBT Americans who by & large indeed have only second class status as citizens. Therefore the logic called for by some is to lump all in the president's party and its allies into one political persuasion and school of thought, "They're lying sacks of feces that do not deserve our vote."
Since today, the polling spreads across the political spectrum on a local, state, and national level, it would seem prudent, in my opinion, rather than sit out this election in anger of the aforementioned perception, would it not be better to instead travel to the polls and vote for those individuals who have stood up for LGBT Equality?
As an example I'd point to Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District race in New Orleans where the incumbent is fighting for reelection to his seat. What makes this race stands out is that the Representative is a Republican who has voted to overturn DADT and said recently:
"I believe it is a human rights violation to impose government-sanctioned penalties on a group of people just because of their sexual orientation, just as it would be a human rights violation to impose penalties on a group because of its religious affiliation or race," Congressman Joesph Cao said. "I will continue to fight for the protection of human rights for all people."
I received this mailing from the Matthew Shepard Foundation regarding today's elections and I am going to share this portion:
Are you voting in the midterm elections for Congress on Tuesday? People who don’t want to let LGBT people serve openly in the military are voting. So are the folks who oppose marriage equality, or equal treatment of same-sex couples in the immigration system. They feel like their voice matters and should be heard. Do you feel the same way?
Every two years --- and more often in some states and cities --- Americans get a chance to weigh in on what kind of government they want, whose values will be incorporated into the laws we live under, and what issues will have priority in our national discourse. Are you making your voice a part of that process?
Perhaps you registered to vote for the first time in 2008 --- or the first time in a long time, anyway. Maybe you’re disappointed in the slow pace of progress on LGBT equality --- and so are we. But dropping out of the process now is a sure-fire way to make sure that progress stalls completely, or worse yet, is reversed.
Cast your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 2, with LGBT equality in mind.
Your voice is your most powerful tool in erasing hate. Please put it to good use!
Please note the last line.... to achieve parity and equality in a society, one must have a vote and a say. To achieve that? The representatives of the people in the government must reflect those same ideals and desires. To enjoy the benefits of a truly free and equal society you must participate in the process, and elect like minded individuals to represent you. It really is that simple. I'll echo the above sentiment again:
Your voice is your most powerful tool in erasing hate. Vote!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment