This column has been dedicated to examining the various issues our community is facing in the upcoming election. We’ve already discussed how this election could devastate the LGBTQ+ community—potentially taking away many of the rights you have under marriage equality, or even ending marriage equality altogether. We’ve also looked at how the issue of abortion impacts not only women but also the health care you currently have access to.
What about immigration? In 2012, I was invited to a conference at the Desmond Tutu Center in New York to discuss the “Dreamers,” immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children by their parents. Many have grown up here, with some knowing only English. If Donald Trump follows through on his promise to deport them, they would be sent to countries they’ve never known, speaking languages they don’t understand. The “Dreamer” population is over 600,000.
Then there are those in our community who have formed relationships but, due to various barriers, have not been able to marry. We also met “Dreamers” that weekend who, because of their status as undocumented immigrants, are in relationships where one or both partners could be forced to leave the country.
And we haven’t even touched on the immigrants who fled their countries to escape oppression. Many would face imprisonment or even death if forced to return. Think that’s an exaggeration? Imagine being sent back to places like Iran, Uganda, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Chechnya, Russia, Brunei, Nigeria or Yemen, just to name a few.
A few weeks ago, I gave a talk in Harrisburg, Penn., where I recapped what I’ve written in this column. I asked how any LGBTQ+ person could support Donald Trump. He would take away your marriage rights. He would destroy our health care systems. And his immigration policy would effectively sign death warrants for LGBTQ+ immigrants.
My next point was this: The Log Cabin Republicans are the only LGBTQ+ organization in the nation that supports Donald Trump. If you support him, you should be ashamed. With this column, I now add that the Log Cabin Republicans would have blood on their hands for handing over LGBTQ+ immigrants to countries where they would be imprisoned or killed.
