Sep 26, 2008  |  By: VICTOR MALDONADO  | COMMENTS     

HAVE A CONFESSION TO make: I was once a card carrying Republican. As a younger man, I worked for a Republican member of Congress. I worked for the Republican National Committee within the Bush administration. I worked and volunteered for Republican congressional races and even hit the road in 2004 to help re-elect George Bush to a second term in office. 

That experience has taught me this: No way, no how and under no circumstances will gay Americans be better off under another Republican administration. Electing Barack Obama president is the best hope the LGBT community, and America, has to affect real change in the next four years.

Last week, Patrick Sammon, president of Log Cabin Republicans, wrote an op-ed piece in the Blade supporting Sen. John McCain. Sammon explained how another Republican administration would be “good for all Americans — including gays and lesbians.” This is an assault on common sense. As president, McCain would be beholden to the same people, instituting the same policies, and advocating the same positions as George Bush. Nothing will change with McCain because everything will be the same. Americans, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, cannot be confused — a vote for John McCain is a vote for four more years of the same. Barack Obama is the only candidate offering real and substantive change in this election.

Even a cursory look at John McCain’s record on civil rights proves he is no friend to the LGBT community. Yes, he voted against the federal marriage amendment but that should not be the bar we use when deciding someone is supportive of our rights, that is the bare minimum we should expect from a public servant. McCain has consistently and vocally supported anti-gay legislation in both Washington and back in Arizona. He refused to cosponsor legislation providing Medicaid coverage to low-income, HIV-positive Americans despite the fact that eight other Republicans had already crossed the aisle to support the measure. He publicly supported an anti-gay marriage amendment in his home state of Arizona and believes it should be legal to fire gays from their jobs because of their sexual orientation. He has also publicly supported “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” calling lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans an “intolerable risk” to our nation’s military. John McCain’s record on LGBT issues is the same as George Bush’s and it’s terrible.

BY COMPARISON, OBAMA’S legislative record on LGBT issues is consistent and strong. As a senator, he cosponsored legislation expanding hate crimes laws to include crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity. He supports a gender identity-inclusive ENDA and sponsored legislation banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. He supports a full repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and backs civil unions. He believes same-sex couples should have equal health insurance, employment benefits, property rights and adoption rights as same-sex couples. He opposed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and supports repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Still, there are those in the gay community who say, “We care about more than just civil rights, what about the important issues like the war and the economy?” On each of these issues, Obama is the more responsible choice to be our next president. He plans to jumpstart the economy with a $1,000 rebate to American families. He supports tax cuts for the middle class and a simplified tax code. Obama would cut small business taxes while at the same time protecting homeowners from predatory lending practices.

On the war, Obama understands America cannot continue to fight two wars without a strategic vision of how to bring our men and women home. He understands that the lives of our men and women in uniform are too important for politicians to be stubborn. We must always be willing to assess and reassess our role in global conflicts; at every turn ensuring American lives are not lost because the road to diplomacy was too difficult.

To my friends inside and outside of Log Cabin thinking about voting for John McCain, I urge you to reconsider. As a former gay Republican, I understand how frustrating it is to watch our community thoughtlessly and reflexively vote for the Democrats. I bristle when people automatically assume because I’m gay I must be a Democrat. I like to think I am more than just my sexual identity; that
I also have my beliefs and judgments. 

But having choices and making good choices are two separate things. We each have a choice in whom to support this November, but there is ...