My Thoughts on the Election

I know it's been quite a while since I have posted here, and maybe I'll start back up again more regularly, but for now I have to say my piece on the upcoming election.  The results of this election mean a lot to me.  This election has made me much more strident in my poltical viewpoints and much more likely to raise my voice politically. It's not because I like to cause a stir, or that I like getting into it with people in politics. It's because I'm scared. I've literally had nights where I couldn't sleep due to worrying about the outcome of this election.

For me, this election is about more than just the economy or what is left, right or center. For me this about my rights and about being treated as a basic human being. It’s about being a first class citizen. It is about being able to someday marry the man I fall in love with, to adopt a child, to have a family, to have the right to visit him if he’s sick and in the hospital, to be lucky enough to have what so many of my friends and family have found over the years. I’m lucky to live in a state that is a bit ahead of the curve and provides that, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll always live in this state.

I can’t trust Romney. He ran for governor as a centrist on many issues. He courted the gay vote and told us that he would support us in our fight for greater civil rights. He’s since qualified that by saying he meant that, but he never meant that civil marriage rights were civil rights. He made gay marriage and his former constituents punch lines to get laughs and support from the rest of the country as he ran for President. He’s become more and more avowed about preventing expansion or curbing/repealing existing rights for gay people.

Romney has committed to keeping DOMA on the books, which would among many things make me and my spouse have to file taxes as a single person. DOMA prevents same-sex spouses from receiving federal benefits such as social security, military pensions, etc. He also will put forth an amendment to the constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

From MittRomney.com:
“As president, Mitt will not only appoint an Attorney General who will defend the Defense of Marriage Act – a bipartisan law passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton – but he will also champion a Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.”

Paul Ryan has given assurances to “Focus on the Family” (a longstanding anti-gay group) that a Romney-Ryan administration would push for the Federal Marriage Amendment. Both of the top Republicans in the Senate and House support the FMA. The party platform also supports the FMA. This is not just a few fringe elements spouting off, this is the core leadership of the party.

In the end, I cannot support a candidate or a party that systematically seeks to curb or remove my rights.

I will be voting Obama to another 4 years in office.  He has stopped defending DOMA, he has come around to finally supporting full marriage equality, and he worked to get DADT repealed.  For this and more, he has earned my vote.