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Courage and
Patriotism
Pete Buttigieg
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Sixty
years ago in 1959, when
I was a clueless little
kid, it was impossible
to imagine that the son
of a Black African
Muslim and a white
Christian mother from
Kansas would one day
become the most
intelligent progressive
President this nation
would ever know.
It was beyond imagining
that he would be
followed by the most
vulgar, crude, corrupt,
ignorant,
segregationist,
treasonous president in
history.
Given
all that, it is not at
all difficult to imagine
and hope for the
election of a brilliant
young hero who is a
veteran, a highly
educated Rhodes Scholar,
who happens to be gay.
37 year old, US Navy
Reserve LT Pete
Buttigeig, Mayor of
South Bend Indiana, who
was deployed to
Afghanistan, is the
third most popular
Democratic candidate for
President as of late
October. He is
just behind a radical
socialist female 70 year
old Senator and a 76
year old former Vice
President. If you
think his Maltese
surname is a bit funny
or difficult to say,
don't forget that
America elected our
first Black President
with the middle name
Hussein. And try
to forget that the
current president, in
the true spirit of
American diversity, is
the grandson of a pimp.
The
incredible thought
occurred to me, how much
different American
history might be had
Lieutenant Colonel
Alexander Hamilton
become our first highly
educated, gay veteran,
mixed race President.
Imagine! But, that will
have to wait for a
future article.
In
October, Mayor Pete's
campaign provided Gay
Military Signal with
his 'Comprehensive Plan
to Secure A New Era of
Equality for LGBTQ+ Americans.'
It is promoted as
"breaking down the walls
of exclusion to secure
full equality in Health,
Youth and Families,
Community, Justice,
Honor, and Leadership."
Imagine being free of
fear that being who you
are could cause you to
be bullied in school, or
threaten your job
security, or your
patriotic desire o serve
your country, or your
confidence that you can
aspire to become
anything you are capable
of regardless of race,
gender, or sexual
orientation, and
everything else.
Remember that President
Obama accomplished a lot
of all that, and that
the current pseudo
president has revoked
almost all of it.
Buttigieg's plan
proposes to provide
'workplace protections,
a new national
mentorship program that
will build up a sense of
belonging among LGBTQ+
youth, and will will
ensure
anti-discrimination
is the law of the land, and
it will
work to put an end to the
violence that is taking the
lives of transgender
Americans.'
Specifically, the plan
lists the following:
-
End discrimination
against LGBTQ+ people
by passing the Equality
Act and rescind the
Trump Administration’s
efforts to strip
protections against
discrimination.
-
Launch the We Belong
National Mentorship
Program for LGBTQ+ youth,
which will call on
leaders in the public
and private sectors to
mentor and strengthen
the sense of belonging
they need to thrive.
-
Improve access to and
quality of health care
for LGBTQ+ people.
-
End the HIV/AIDS
epidemic by 2030
by restoring investments
into researching a cure
and ensuring access to
affordable medication.
-
Protect LGBTQ+ students
from bullying
by providing resources
for school districts to
develop training
programs to support
students targeted by
harassment.
-
End “conversion
therapy.”
-
Ban medically
unnecessary surgeries on
intersex infants and
children.
-
Protect the rights of
all LGBTQ+ families
by prohibiting
discrimination against
adoptive and foster
parents and passing the
FAMILY ACT to provide 12
weeks of paid family and
medical leave to care
for a new child or sick
loved one, including
chosen family members.
-
End youth homelessness
as part of a
comprehensive housing
agenda.
-
Ensure the safety of all
LGBTQ+ people,
especially transgender
women of color, by
vigorously enforcing
hate crimes prevention
laws and properly
training law
enforcement.
-
Rescind the transgender
military ban
and grant honorable
discharges and
appropriate benefits to
the over 13,000 veterans
discharged solely based
on being LGBTQ+.
-
Lead on LGBTQ+ rights
around the globe,
including by
strengthening
protections for LGBTQ+
immigrants and refugees.
-
Celebrate LGBTQ+ history
and culture,
including by expanding
the representation of
LGBTQ+ people and
history in our National
Parks System.
Buttigieg's LGBTQ
campaign promo's
introduction correctly
reminded us that
"Fifty
years ago," the "resistance at
the Stonewall Inn" was "primarily
led by transgenderwomen of color like Marsha
P. Johnson and Sylvia
Rivera," and others.
They also remind us that
"the repeal of Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell,
end(ed) a policy that forced
service members to choose
between the person they
loved and the country
they loved." They
remind us that under the
current administration
transgender youths often
cannot use school
restrooms appropriate to
their gender identity
nor aspire to
patriotically serve our
nation, and that LGBTQ
Americans continue to
live in fear of violent
assaults.
The
promo goes on at great
length and you can read
every word at:
https://storage.googleapis.com/pfa-webapp/documents/LGBTQ_White_Paper.pdf
Suffice it to say that
as a proud gay veteran,
I think he'd be our best
next President.
