Women, Your Vote May Save Your Life

For my young life I was a Republican. I came from republicans. They were white, college educated and lived in the suburbs. I didn’t think a lot about it as a child and a young person. I was just going along with what was the norm in my family.

Then when I was in my late twenties, my youngest sister came out. I had known she was gay since she was five. She was always the best sister, smartest one in the family, best student, athlete and person. About that time Rush Limbaugh was gaining prominence and Republicans were starting to be mean. The “Moral Majority” as they liked to falsely call themselves started to have opinions about anyone who was not sis gendered, straight, white, and rich enough.

Suddenly there was a party who did not see my sister as being equal. My college and MBA educated, business owning sister could have fewer rights because she was born liking women more than men. How is that even an issue? She was successful, employed lots of people, paid lots of taxes, yet you think she should be forced to be unequal.

This is how I was driven out of the Republican Party. I could not support a party who did not think all people had the same rights. Anyone who is related to a gay person or treasurers a gay friend should decide if voting for Trump/Vance is worth what might happen to your loved one.

Now let’s just talk about women. Not gay women, but all women. Trump/Vance is as anti woman as a a pair of candidates can be. JD does not believe women should have control of their own bodies, he does not believe in no-fault divorce making women stay in abusive marriages, and does not support child care so women can work. These policies are from the 1950’s, 75 yers ago!

I am not sure how any women or any man who loves his wife, daughters and grand daughters can support these men with these policies. They are not hiding the fact that they want to change America and make the lives of women very different.

Now if you personally want these policies for yourself, you are free to stay in an abusive marriage, and let men make decisions about your health care and not work and stay home with your children. No one is saying that you can’t do those things. I am asking that you don’t let a political party make those decisions for everyone else.

Republicans used to truly be for small government, meaning let people make their own decisions and not the government making them for you. It was a different party. That is not who the party is now.

For my daughter I can not let the government take away her rights that women faught to get. Once rights are taken away they are very hard to get back. You don’t have to tell your husband who you vote for, but if you don’t vote for yourself who knows what else you might be losing.