..::Nebraska Democratic GLBT Caucus

Fear has been the dominant feature for most Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) people since their earliest childhood memories. Will my parents love me, if they know? What will my church think of me, if they know? How will I ever survive school, if they know? How will I ever support myself and my family, if they know?

The questioning, the self-loathing, the fear never stops. During the teen years, the burden often becomes too heavy, the isolation too great, the depression too deep...many take their lives at this point. For those of us that survive, the fear and questioning remain.

President Bush has endorsed an amendment to the constitution forever barring the GLBT community from the right of marriage. This far reaching amendment oversteps states’ rights to decide for themselves, and will most likely erase domestic partnership benefits and civil unions that exist in Vermont and a few cities. During this time of war, economic uncertainty, spiraling health care expenses, persistent unemployment, plummeting consumer confidence, and increased concerns over global warming, our president feels the best way to kick-off his reelection campaign is to codify discrimination against a select minority.

So aren’t civil unions and marriage just a debate on semantics? According to the General Accounting Office, married couples are accorded 1,049 benefits and privileges not granted through civil unions. Among these benefits are the ability to make emergency medical decisions for a partner, the right to petition for a partner to immigrate, up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave from work to care for a seriously ill partner or parent of a partner, parenting responsibilities of children brought into the family through birth or adoption, the ability to purchase continued health coverage for a partner after loss of a job, the ability to adopt, the ability to inherit without a will, and many, many more. In addition, GLBT adults and their partners must pay federal taxes on partner health benefits, including the employer’s contribution, pay full inheritance taxes (regardless of any will one may draw up), cannot receive Social Security death benefits for a surviving partner or children (even though GLBT workers pay the same taxes you do), and pay heavy penalties when inheriting a partner’s 401(k). In the meantime, in 36 states a person can be legally fired for being gay and in 46 states for being transgendered.

Civil unions are not recognized across state lines, legal rights are granted under state law only, and offer a very limited number of rights, primarily confined to being able to visit a partner when they are hospitalized, being consulted on funeral arrangements, and gaining some access to health insurance.

So instead of discussing the state of the economy, national security issues or the war in Iraq, President Bush has focused the discourse on gay marriage. Does this not seem somewhat odd?

Granted most people in this country are heterosexual and really cannot fathom how anything related to the gay rights struggle has anything to do with human rights. So here it is in a nutshell: How do you prove you’re not gay? What is stopping an employer from marching into his work place tomorrow, pointing to all the people of color and saying, they’re gay, out of here? What is stopping the landlord from saying to the single mother with a child, you’re gay, I’m not renting to you? What is keeping your local social service agency from saying to a poor Hispanic, you’re gay, I don’t have to serve you? How can you prove you’re not gay? How can you retain your human rights when one group is discriminated against based on a private relationship? Really focus on this, because you cannot prove your heterosexuality in the face of accusations. This impacts everyone!

So many say homosexuality is a behavior. Behaviors can be changed. Some demand change based on morality. Are not religious preferences behavior-based? Using this logic, could we not demand that Catholics and Jews convert to an acceptable Protestant faith? Are the protections accorded to religious affiliation not protecting minority behaviors?

Finally, what does all of this mean for electoral politics? Well, a recent Harris poll (December 2003) found that 87% of GLBT adults are registered voters. The majority reported voting in the 2000 and 2002 elections, 81% and 74%, respectively. Additionally, 62% of respondents are registered Democrats. More than half are in committed lifelong relationships with their partners. There is no doubt, this constitutional amendment, these debates regarding our rights, and how our candidates react to these challenges will be major deciding factors in this year’s elections.

(Article republished from the Lancaster County Democratic Party Newsletter)