By Michael Crawford
Cross-posted at Bloggernista

A couple of days ago I wrote that gays won’t let their friends vote McCain and with less than four weeks before election day that message has taken on an increased urgency. This post the second is a series that I am writing urging LGBT people to talk to our family, friends and co-workers about why a vote for John McCain is a vote for discrimination against LGBT Americans.

John McCain and Sarah Palin have unleash a wave of negative attacks in speeches and ads against Barack Obama and our fight to change our country for the better. They have, as a New York Times editorial stated, moved “into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia.”

What makes you think that if elected they will not turn that same mean-spiritedness and willingness to engage in divisive politics against us?

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I wanted to bump up this post by Vic Basile because with less than 50 days before election day Vic’s message is even more important than ever. This video from the Human Rights Campaign also underscores Vic’s message and makes clear what is at stake this election for LGBT voters.

By Vic Basile

Vic, a longtime GLBT activist, was the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign and a co-founder of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

During the 2004 election, I wrote about doing all that I could to prevent my family and friends from voting for candidates who oppose equality for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people. More importantly, I encouraged all of my GLBT brothers and sisters, as well as our straight allies, to do the same.

Of course, we can’t really stop our friends and families from voting for whomever they choose – it is, at least for them, a free and democratic country – but we can prevent them doing it without damaging our bonds of love, trust and friendship. The reality is that they can’t truly love or even respect us, and knowingly vote for candidates who work to deny us the same equality and freedoms they enjoy. The two are simply incompatible.

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By Michael Crawford

I don’t want you to miss out on the electoral fun of saying buh-bye to the Bush/Cheney/McCain regime so make sure you are registered to vote.

Visit Vote for Change to register to vote, request to vote absentee, or find your polling location.

Click for registration deadlines for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

By Anthony M. Brown
Originally published in Gay City News

There is nothing more frustrating to me than a gay person who won’t vote. While hard to believe, there are still some of you out there. Recently, my friend Patricia, whom I have known for almost 20 years and lived with as a roommate for two years, told me that she had never registered to vote, nor does she plan to do so for the upcoming presidential election.

“I would have voted, if it were Hillary,” she explained.

What’s more, Patricia just moved to Pennsylvania, where her vote could really make a difference. I explained why it was so important. I went through the laundry list of reasons, from the Supreme Court to the economy to the war in Iraq. Nothing made a difference. But what I didn’t say was that her vote might just be a matter of life and death.

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