LGBT Rights & Equality

I'm gay (apparently, I’ve never really liked labels) and that makes me the other.  And, gosh how I hate being the other.  I suppose if being the other was this hip, cool thing, maybe it would be okay.  But, it's not.

So, yeah, I'm the other.  When you are the other, it is impossible not to question your worth.  I have endured political and religious debate about my worth for the duration of my life.  I anticipate that that will never end.  The Republican party believes that my marriage should be overturned, my son should not exist as a part of my family because he is more likely to become drug addicted or otherwise damaged, I should not be allowed to adopt, and that businesses should have the right to refuse service to me.  It is a part of their official platform.  Fellow followers of Christ teach that I am an abomination, a sinner that needs to repent, and that my marriage is not blessed by God.  Is it really any wonder that the rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth?

I had to spend months listening to my state debate about my worth to marry my wife in 2012 and then again in 2013.  I read every editorial in an effort to understand.  It was brutal.  Have you ever endured the majority debating your worth or your right to something?  It’s degrading and unbearable.

I know what it is like to have people spread lies about me and have others believe them, putting me on the eternal defensive.  I am always on guard.  Only recently have I been able to own who I am because I know who I am.  I know the horrible things that are said about me aren’t true and I don’t have to believe them.  It took years of speaking up, having someone try to silence me, and then realizing I was okay.  It took me thirty five years to get to this point and it is a work in progress.

But, here's what being the other has taught me.  I'm not the other.  I am you.  There is no other.  It's a fabrication.  One that people believe and put so much wasted time and energy into.  There are politicians whose entire platform stands on separating people into us and them, who can and who shouldn't, whether it be due to what you look like, where you born, who you love, who you worship, or how much money you do or do not have.

But, when you can look on the face of the other and see yourself, those walls disappear.  If we could all just look at the other and see ourselves, how would this world change?  I am committed to stopping those who insist on separating us into groups and then vilify and dehumanize the other.

This election (like every election) is very personal for me.  If you can look at this project and say, “I would never speak about politics like this…”  If you can vote for Donald Trump or not vote, or vote third party, I envy that privilege.  I'm privileged in many ways, but that is not one of them. I have to speak up, so that someday, I'm no longer an other.

Here is what a vote for each candidate means.

Clinton:  Clinton will work with Congress to pass the Equality Act that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.  She will continue Obama’s executive orders that extend protections against discrimination in hiring for  LGBT people.  She will put an end to the incredibly damaging and demeaning conversion therapy.  She will ensure adequate funding for safe, welcoming shelters for LGBT homeless youth (which accounts for 40% of the homeless youth population while only 7% of the general youth population.  About 80% of them were forced out of their homes.)  She will end discrimination against LGBT parents wishing to adopt and protect LGBT elders from discrimination.

Clinton supports the Pentagon’s decision to allow transgender individuals to serve openly and will upgrade the service records of LGBT veterans dismissed for their sexual orientation.  She will work to protect transgender individuals from violence, make it easier for them to change their gender on official documents.

Clinton will also work to support LGBT rights around the world including increasing investment into the Global Equality Fund to advance human rights.

I think it’s important to point out that, like many Americans, Clinton’s stance on LGBT rights has evolved over the years.  I’ve noticed many pointing to her stances as first lady as some sort of evidence that she is not truly an ally to the LGBT community.  However, she has truly evolved and has an admirable track record since then.  

As a Senator, she championed legislation to address hate crimes, fought for LGBT protections in the workplace, and advocated for end to LGBT adoption restrictions.  As Secretary of State, she advance LGBT rights abroad, enforced stronger anti-discrimination regulations within the State Department like those that denied same-sex couples and their families equal rights, launched the Global Equity Fund, and most famously declared on the global stage that, “gay rights are human rights.”

Trump:  Trump opposes marriage equality.  He doesn’t agree with the Supreme Court’s decision granting marriage equality and has said he would “strongly consider” appointing judges committed to overturning the ruling.  He does not support the Equality Act, but does support the First Amendment Defense Act that enables people like Kim Davis who work for the federal government to deny rights to LGBT individuals.  He supports North Carolina’s HB2 “bathroom bill” which discriminates against and perpetuates unwarranted fear of transgender individuals.  Perhaps, most telling of all, was his selection of Indiana Governor, Mike Pence, who famously signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which originally protected discrimination against LGBT people under the guise of religious freedom.