A lot is on the line this election for LGBTQ+ people, marginalized communities and all Americans. Yes, we’ve made significant gains, but that only means we have much to protect, and much left to do.
The good news is we can make a difference in this election — if we bring our voices to the polls and vote. This is our fight for social justice; for civil rights; for full, lived equality. Every segment of society deserves a seat at the table — especially those who are historically and systematically disenfranchised.
With so many overt and covert voter suppression tactics being used by the Trump administration and others, we must do everything we can to help ensure historic voter turnout — the results of which will leave no wiggle room for those who would challenge the will of the people. That’s one of the reasons that Silver State Equality, a statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, is working tirelessly to get-out-the-vote.
What’s at stake in the 2020 election? The list is voluminous and significant: voters’ rights; economic security; marriage equality; racial justice; affordable health care; police reform; access to quality education; the environment; national security; Social Security and Medicare benefits — to name a few. That’s a powerful list of issues that affect each and every American.
In Nevada, voters have the opportunity to Vote “yes” on Question 2 to finally recognize same-sex marriage within the state’s constitution, just as it’s recognized at the federal level. Nearly two decades ago, discriminatory language was added to thwart same-sex marriages, but a “Yes” vote on Question 2 will amend the constitution to remove that language and make sure Nevada remains committed to protecting civil rights for all of its citizens. So no matter what happens at the Supreme Court level with Amy Coney Barrett and the court leaning conservative for decades, LGBTQ+ Nevadans will be protected.
Also remaining at the forefront for LGBTQ+ people, should President Donald Trump serve a second term, is health care. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, with nothing to replace it, and the Supreme Court will soon hear a brief submitted by the Trump administration arguing that the law should be thrown out.
While the ACA was a landmark legislation for all Americans, it was particularly so for LGBTQ+ people. Under an Obama-era Health and Human Services rule, the bill banned health care discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. Just as essential were protections for coverage of preexisting conditions such as HIV/AIDS or gender dysphoria. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Trump administration, all Americans will again fall victim to indiscriminate exclusion from health care insurance coverage. But even if the ACA survives, this administration has already done damage by limiting LGBTQ+ access to health care through such actions as finalizing a rule clarifying that LGBTQ+ people are not entitled to sex-based protections under the ACA.
These are just two examples. Over the past four years, the Trump administration has pushed policies under the guise of “religious liberty” that open the door to discrimination against LGBTQ+ people not only in health care, but housing, public accommodations, education and other aspects of life. It has rescinded key protections for transgender students, appointed two anti-equality justices to the U.S. Supreme Court — and have nominated a third who is in the process of being confirmed — and banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military.
Make no mistake, this election, up and down the ticket, will shape our future for decades to come. At the federal level, we face a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. Nationally and locally, we have clear choices between candidates devoid of humanity whose goal is to strip LGBTQ+ persons of their civil rights and those who will fight for the rights of marginalized communities and a better future for all Americans.
It has been more than 50 years since the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement was energized because ofthe Stonewall Riots. But over the years, the actions of those who put self over community have stirred the better angels of a large and diverse group of Americans who together demonstrate that LGBTQ+ rights are human rights — for all.
The fight for LGTBQ+ equality is a fight for human equality and a sentiment echoed in a recent public service announcement featuring actor-activist Billy Porter, who partnered with Silver State Equality and Equality California to promote a get-out-the-vote message.
LGBTQ+ Nevadans and our allies have an opportunity to decide this election — to decide who will represent us in the White House and Congress, but also in Carson City and our communities. Generations of leaders fought and died for our right to vote — it’s up to all of us to use it.
As Porter says in the PSA, “This fight is full of love. And it’s a fight we win by voting.’”
André Wade is state director of Silver State Equality; chair of the Nevada Office of Minority Health and Equality, and chair of the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization for the state of Nevada.