Now that the RNC is over, I had to step back and give a little more thought to the 24/7 blitz of sound bites coming across social media and the news outlets during the convention and prepare myself for the Democratic Convention this week.
Donald Trump’s nomination acceptance speech invoked fear and doom and represented an America that has become a deflated country that has lost its standing in the world. Patrick Heely and Jonathan Martin of the New York Times describe his speech: “Evoking the tumult of the 1960s and the uncertainty that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Mr. Trump made a sharp departure from the optimistic talk about American possibility that has characterized Republican presidential candidates since Ronald Reagan redefined the party over 30 years ago.”
Then there was openly gay Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel who decided to support Donald Trump. His participation in the convention must not mislead us to believe that the Republican party is in any way supportive of the LGBTQ community. On the one hand, it may be true as reported by Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, that Trump has more accepting views on gay issues that set him apart from the general GOP, “His ease with gay people does not seem to be the result of deep soul searching, but, rather, the product of the Manhattan social and political world he has inhabited the past five decades.”
Then there was founder of the gay conservative group GOProud, Christopher Barron, who in 2015 called Trump a “sociopath” who last month wrote in support of Donald Trump and launched a campaign “gays for Trump.” Shortly after the shooting in a gay Orlando nightclub earlier this year, Barron wrote, “In the wake of Sunday’s attack, we heard from both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Only one of those two candidates spoke forcefully and passionately about defending LGBT Americans. Only one of those candidates seemed 100% committed to protecting us from terrorists who seek to murder us simply because of who we are — and that candidate was Donald Trump.”
Both Thiel and Barron call out the “fake culture wars.” Barron writes, “For LGBT Americans, this election won’t be about bathrooms or who will bake our wedding cakes. No, this election will be about which of the candidates for President is willing to stand up and fight to defend our very right to life itself.” Barron’s support of Trump has been questioned by many. Not only has he flip-flopped on his support of Trump, he appears to be falling prey to the fear-based approach to garnering his vote and the “law and order” candidate has won his support.
I agree there is indeed an all out attack on American life by radical Islamic groups and individuals, and as part of their “beliefs” these groups are also targeting LGBTQ individuals here and abroad. Needless, unjust, merciless killing of humans is a travesty. Trump should not immediately receive our support because he is the “law and order” candidate. But rather, Hillary Clinton should be pushed to loudly and passionately speak out against these terrorist groups and take appropriate action against them.
Even with the violence taking place, we cannot shut our eyes to the written fundamental beliefs, positions, and motives of the GOP which, if enacted would put the rights and treatment of LGBTQ individuals here in our own country into a state of regression.
What should and must cause every LGBTQ community member and their allies concern is that the largest and oldest Republican group representing gay people, The Log Cabin Republicans, issued a statement calling the Republican Platform of 2016 “the most anti-LGBT Platform in the Party’s 162 year history.” Gregory T. Angelo, the group’s president, opens his press release with, “There’s no way to sugar-coat this: I’m mad as hell — and I know you are, too.”
Donald Trump may be supportive of the LGBTQ community but how are his views going to align with the hundreds of other elected Republican officials in Congress? Do we need to prepare ourselves for four years of 24/7 reality TV as Trump battles the GOP to support us? Are we going to be blinded by the building of the wall and the sending of our troops abroad to destroy radial Islamic groups? Or is Trump going to have to compromise with other GOP leaders and then where will those compromises end up?
I also have to question the GOPs understanding of where Americans sit on various moral and social issues in the year 2016. Are they living in some 1950s time capsule? For the past 15 years Gallup has been reporting on American’s acceptability of different social and moral issues. And this year, likely because of the election, Gallup divided out the moral acceptability of the topics by party identification. Sure enough, while the overall majority (60%) of American’s find gay and lesbian relations morally acceptable, only 44% of Republicans find gay and lesbian relations to be morally acceptable vs. 62% of Independents and 75% of Democrats. (Gallup)
So let’s look at the Republican Platform for 2016. I have never read one before but I took the responsibility to read the 66 page document for myself to better understand what the GOP is up to. And, yes, it does call for the building of a wall!
There is much to digest, but LGBT community members and their allies really need to consider the following two portions of the Republican Platform for 2016 and spread the news to their family and friends:
Defending Marriage Against an Activist Jury
“Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values.”
It is perfectly fine to hold this position, however, how does this play out in a country where only 16% of American households include a married couple raising their own children? Even if you went back to the 1960s to consider the “traditional family,” only 37% of households were structured that way. (5 Facts About the Modern American Family, Pew Research Center)
In 1960, 73% of US kids younger than 18 years of age were living in a home with two married heterosexual parents in their first marriage. Today, fewer than half (46%) fit this description. In 1960 the percent of US children living with a single parent was 9%, in 2013 that number increased to 34%. I can hear it now, some arguing that’s why America is falling apart. (Pew Research Center)
The reality, however, is the American family has changed. As pointed out in the data, families today are more blended and differently constructed; more babies are born to unmarried mothers than ever before; Americans are delaying marriage; intermarriage among people of different races is increasingly common; and more than a third of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults have had a child at some point in their lives. (Pew Social Trends)
The First Amendment: Religious Liberty
The Republican platform reads, “We endorse the First Amendment Defence Act, Republican legislation in the House and Senate which will bar government discrimination against individuals and businesses for acting on the belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. This Act would protect the non-profit tax status of faith-based adoption agencies, the accreditation of religious educational institutions, the grants and contracts of faith-based charities and small businesses, and the licensing of religious professions — all of which are under assault by elements of the Democratic Party…we strongly support the freedom of Americans to act in accordance with their religious beliefs, not only in their houses of worship, but also in their everyday lives. We support the right of the people to conduct their businesses in accordance with the religious beliefs and condemn public officials who have proposed boycotts against businesses that support traditional marriage. We pledge to protect those business owners who have been subjected to hate campaigns, threats of violence, and other attempts to deny their civil rights…We assert the First Amendment right of freedom of association for religious, private, service, and youth organizations to set their own membership standards.”
All this is to say, the Republican party wishes to discriminate against gay people under the guise of religious liberty. If you haven’t checked lately, some cities and states still allow businesses to discriminate upon unprotected groups. Don’t be fooled, this is really about the ability to refuse service to gay people.
I brought up the fact to a very close family member that a private business, except in a city or state where there is a law prohibiting it, who’s owner held the religious belief that it’s wrong to be divorced (72% of Americans find divorce morally acceptable, 67% of Republicans) or have a child outside of marriage (62% of Americans find having a baby out of marriage morally acceptable, 49% of Republicans) could refuse her and some of our family members service under the guise of the owner’s religious beliefs. She in fact understood this notion and shared that’s why she has chosen not go to certain national chain establishments who have been fighting for their “religious liberty” and have been denying service to groups of people.
The Times Editorial Board sums up my thoughts best, “The G.O.P. used to insist it was the ‘big tent’ open to one and all. Now it’s the ‘big wall’ party braced by a destructive platform out of touch with American lives and devoid of the common sense the nation needs for any form of political progress.”
Members of the LGBTQ community and their allies must not fall prey to manipulation by fear. Go beyond the headlines and sound bites, read what’s being proposed, understand it, vote on it, and raise your voice to the issues being brought forth by both political parties. Think about whether you are voting for an individual or a political party and their platform for a new administration.
