Gay Americans explain why they voted for Bush
Too depressing to really go into.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Michael Winn, 62, a health care industry professional who lives in Deerfield, Beach, Fla., said he voted for George W. Bush for president this year after having voted for Al Gore four years ago. Winn is a gay man and a lifelong Democrat, although he admits he “strayed” from his party in the 1980s when he voted for Ronald Reagan.
“When 9-11 happened, I thought President Bush was so wonderful because he brought the country together,” he said. “He began the war on terrorism, which I strongly support.”
Winn makes clear that he disagrees with the president on some issues, such as a constitutional ban gay marriage and stem cell research. “But I feel the issue of national security is more important than the issue of gay marriage and the other issues I don’t agree with him on,” he said.
Winn is among those who put a face on the 23 percent of the gay electorate that a national exit poll claimed voted for Bush, breaking from the 77 percent of their gay brothers and sisters who reported voting for Democrat John Kerry.
The 23 percent of gay voters who backed the president translate into more than one million gay male, lesbian, or bisexual voters, according to the exit poll, a figure that stunned and baffled many gay activists. (source)
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I view myself as a very giving and forgiving person. I am passionate about the needs of others and I am a friend who is always there for a friend in need.
But I draw the line here.
People who say through their votes that they endorse a President who wants to put into the United States Constitution that I am a second class citizen, are no friends of mine.
I will not be a friend to someone who thinks that we are less worthy, after everything Kent and I have been through, of being able to be married.
This President is so stupid, alone with the majority of Americans, that they are unable to separate civil marriage from religious marriage. Maybe stupid is the wrong word. Maybe it just boils down to good old fashioned bigotry.
When gays were getting beat up left and right, we just accepted that that was the best that life could offer us. I'm sick of that. I want to be equal. To me, this is no less than gay bashing, and instead of using fists, they are using the ballot box to “put us in our place”.
Anyone who does this is no friend of mine. Read “Why I gave up on Marriage II”. It goes into the issue in a bit more depth and tells about a friend I lost over this election.
I WILL NOT COMPROMISE ABOUT MY EQUAL RIGHTS - NOT TO ANYONE.
I may not have equal rights, but if you support that, you are no friend of mine!
We have a friend who I suspect voted for Bush. He is an older (70+) gay man who has expressed Republican leanings in the past. Most of our friends, gay couples, expressed strong Democratic leanings and feel that same-sex marriage is a right we should have. (The whole marriage / civil-union thing is a semantic issue as far as I'm concerned) I'm having a hard time reconciling gays who would vote for Bush. I feel that they have betrayed and denigrated my relationship. I don't feel that I can be friends with someone like this. What are your thoughts?