An Open Letter to Gay Americans
Congratulations on something that should have taken place a long time ago. Savor your victory, but let’s be honest here — you screwed up, also. You wasted over forty years supporting the Democratic Party which was, until recently, opposed to your ever attaining equality under the law. You opted for the lesser-of-two-evils position each election, and the result was that you were taken advantage of. I’m sorry you had to wait so long. It didn’t have to be this way.
The Libertarian Party from its inception in 1972 was in full support of allowing you equal rights (not special rights), and you failed to support a party that would have sent a clear message to the establishment bloc of both parties that you are not some pawn.
The first candidate the Libertarian Party ran for U.S. president was an openly gay male (with a Jewish woman as our vice presidential nominee), but you probably never heard about this. From Day One we were on your side. We understand — and consistently assert — that everyone is equal under the law.
Many of you chose to ignore the group most aligned with your long-term goals, preferring instead to work within the system, a system that criminalized the sexual activities of consenting adults conducted behind closed doors. How’d that work out?
Decades of lost time (and countless amounts of money down the drain) because you chose to work with those who, in reality, took advantage of you. Serenaded on Hope and Change, you fell for their sweet talk, only to be dumped the next morning after the elections were over.
Many of you still defend this abusive relationship. Many of you make excuses, pretending that the past never happened. The Democratic Party never really meant to treat you so bad. But they did. When the time to lead, and stand up to injustice presented itself on the national stage many of you even gave money to the very candidates who went on to marginalized you.
Sure, there were some exceptions along the way, but they were for the most part anomalies on the national stage. As recently as 2008, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and even Barack Obama all openly stated that they were against gay marriage. Please don’t forget that when the chips were down, they left you high and dry.
This is a wonderful summary of Democrats sticking up for you:
It finally took a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, but didn’t have to be this way. You have been held back for decades because you never acted on leaving the abusive relationship offered by the Democratic Party. If you had left in mass for even one election cycle, your fight for equal treatment could have come much sooner.
In the end, it was the public who came around long before the politicians to supporting equality under the law. Hillary and Barack publicly “evolved” only when the polls changed, there is no denying this. Obama didn’t officially come out until May 8, 2012, Hillary didn’t come out until a year later. They led from the rear, abandoning you and then finally embracing you only when it was politically convenient. But then again maybe it was always about the money.
Going forward, there will be a lot of revisionist history by Democrats (and some Republicans) who will pretend that they were always in your corner. Unfortunately for many this is a lie that they will use to whitewashing their past transgressions to curry your political support. The Iraq War vote, the PATRIOT Act vote (and reauthorization), NSA spying, militarizing the police, Wall Street bailouts . . . don’t worry, they were all secretly against these, too.
It has been said that the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. Much of this current crowd are mice. Many of the current crop of elected officials are not leaders but instead opportunist converts who blow with the prevailing wind.
I hope that you take the time to remember that Libertarians have always been at the ready to defend your right to live the life you choose, free from government interference. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness mean something to Libertarians. We have never wavered on protecting you, and every other American’s constitutionally protected rights, and we never will.
Jason Scheurer, Libertarian
