A Vote for Brad Ellsworth is a Vote for Gays

Post by Indiana Stonewall Democrats Board Member Aaron Schaler

Over the past few weeks, I have been asked repeatedly by LGBT friends if they should vote Tuesday as a Gay and abstain on the U.S. Senate race or as a Democrat and support Brad Ellsworth.  I have been sure of few things in my life; however, I can tell you that a vote for Ellsworth on Tuesday is one that allows a Gay Hoosier, regardless of political affiliation, to walk into the booth and vote as a Gay.

 When Brad served as sheriff in Vanderburgh County in Southern Indiana, he instituted a non-discrimination policy for his employees.  That was an extremely dangerous political move.  The same can be said of Ellsworth’s vote to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  As you may recall, many Democrats were waiting for political cover in the form of a Department of Defense report supporting the repeal.  Unlike some Democrats, though, when it didn’t come in time, Ellsworth didn’t hesitate in voting for the repeal anyway.  He has that kind of courage.

When I thanked Ellsworth for his vote, he replied, “You know, it’s 2010 and the community has worked too hard and come too far for that policy to still be a reality.”  Rarely do you hear an older, straight man talk about the gay community with such spot on language.

 He hasn’t gotten every vote right, but let me state the obvious.  There are no straight members of society that view our community through the lens we do, and to be honest, very few of us view it the same as our gay neighbor. However, we must realize that until we get our people to the position where they can credibly run for an office like the U.S. Senate, we must look for candidates who are willing to learn from and work with us. That is where Brad comes in.  The most notable feature in the makeup that is Brad Ellsworth is his sincerity and his willingness to learn about issues that do not personally affect him, issues important to LGBT Hoosiers in particular.

 The choice is yours, and according to Dan Coats, so is being Gay. This Tuesday make the choice to send someone to Washington who will want to listen to you about issues that affect your life and who will want to work to find solutions to fix the problem. Otherwise, Indiana will send an ambassador to the United States Senate who is deaf to our concerns and blind to our existence. We are no longer in the closet; make sure you show up on Tuesday to prove it.

Link to the abstention vote http://www.instonewalldems.org/node/6