Remember Who Brought You to the Dance
It is difficult to believe that we are nearing election season yet again. It often seems like the election cycle never ends; there are always fundraisers to attend and candidates to support. It can get tiring for even the most politically-minded persons. But the reason I felt compelled to write this article is to convey how important the upcoming election is to the LGBT community and its supporters.
Now, you might be wondering how the upcoming election could possibly be important after Steve Elkins, Murray Archibald, Fay Jacobs, and other contributors to Letters from CAMP Rehoboth have reminded us time and time again over the past year of the life-changing legislative session we celebrated in Delaware for the LGBT community and its supporters in 2013. In May of 2013, we experienced the legislative adoption of marriage equality—before the Supreme Court decision in the Windsor case. As we see state bans on same-sex marriage falling like dominos in our state and federal courts across the United States, it is important to remember that Delaware will forever be a state in which marriage equality was legalized by legislative act rather than by court decision. That is something our State will be proud of for generations to come. And a mere month later, in June 2013, we witnessed the Delaware General Assembly boldly pass a law that protects individuals from discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression in the workplace and in many other facets of everyday life.
In both cases, the votes were by razor-thin margins. In fact, in practical terms, there were no votes to spare. Zero. And I mean zero. Trust me, I know. I lived with whip counts every day for over a year with Lisa Goodman, Erik Raser-Schramm, and Sarah, Sally and Dave McBride, and the rest of the Equality Delaware team. That means that a different result in only one State Representative or Senator election campaign could have impacted the results. Imagine that the next time you are at a same-gender wedding. I imagine it and it makes me tear up every time.
Our elected officials are the ones who brought us equality, on behalf of the people and for the people. Although overall public support for marriage equality in Delaware exceeded 50% at the time the law passed, there were some portions of Delaware that did not support equality and still do not support it. And opposition for the gender identity and expression nondiscrimination law almost prevailed. In our recent legislative victories for our LGBT community and its supporters, we witnessed the courage and conviction of some State Representatives and Senators who voted in our favor despite the loud objections of many of their constituents. Some announced their votes in eloquent speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives or the Senate, some in letters to constituents so thoughtful and inspiring that they would make Abraham Lincoln smile (available to you by email on request), and some, in a nod to social media, on Facebook. If you have not listened to the recordings of the floor debates in the House of Representatives and Senate that occurred immediately prior to the votes, I encourage you to do so. You might gain a special appreciation for the passion that our supportive State Representatives and Senators brought to the fight, or you might learn something new about the State Representatives and Senators who went on the record to oppose equality. Some of them might even be in your voting district.
It is easy to say that our supportive elected officials were only doing their job. That they serve to make difficult decisions that might not be popular. That they are elected to stand on principle and do what is fair and just, even in the face of overwhelming opposition. But that wouldn’t be fair. That wouldn’t be thanking them for their courage. That wouldn’t be showing them that now we have their back when they had our back. That wouldn’t be reminding them that we remember their vote, whether favorable or unfavorable. And it wouldn’t be politically smart to think that once you achieve victory, that victory cannot be snatched right back or limited by subsequent legislation or policy decisions.
For all those reasons, we find ourselves in yet another important election year. Some of the State Representatives and Senators who protected us need their own protection. They are being attacked in their campaigns, specifically for their support of equality, and more specifically for their votes on the marriage equality and gender identity and expression nondiscrimination laws, the fruits of which our entire community in Rehoboth Beach enjoy each and every day.
Some of the State Representatives and Senators, both near and far to Rehoboth Beach, who were the most vocally opposed to equality are up for re-election. Their opponents support equality.
As members and supporters of the LGBT community, we each have a role in this important election. Whether as a voter, a volunteer, a donor, or as an advocate, we can all have a voice. How will you make your voice heard?