Dear Donald Trump

Dear Donald Trump

I didn't vote for you. I couldn't vote for you because of everything you seemed to represent during the election: racism, misogyny, and bigotry. 

I want a country where everybody is treated equally under the law. I want a country where labels - Democrat, Republican, Christian, Atheist, Conservative, Liberal, Gay, Straight, etc. - do not define people. I want a country where none of the citizens are considered second class citizens based on their gender, the color of their skin, their sexual preference, their religion, their political affiliation, or anything. 

My rights - the rights of every single citizen of this country - are just as important as yours. All the respect and consideration you expect people to give you is exactly what I expect and deserve, and what every citizen should expect and deserve . . . and recive.

In your speech yesterday, you called for the unification of our country and said the following . . .

Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.

It is time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country.

What I want to know? What are you going to do to protect my equal rights under the laws of the country? How are you going to unite us if you plan - as you have stated - to roll back marriage equality? How are you a "president for all of Americans" if you sign the First Amendment Defense Act (which allows for open discrimination of members of the LGBT Community based on alleged religious freedoms - more on that later) into law? In both instances, your actions would not unify this country. 

You also stated the following . . .

Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.

Actually, you're wrong about that  if you do either of the things I mentioned above. Because if you do those things, the future of my marriage to my husband is quite possibly beyond my reach. The future marriages of same-sex couples across this great nation might be beyond their reach if you do either of the things I mentioned above.

We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict.

Again, to roll back marriage equality and to allow open discrimination of members of the LGBT Community does not seek "common ground" and it actually creates "hostility". "Partnership" cannot exist, and all that will leave is "conflict" if you strip away the right to marry granted to same-sex couples on that momentous day in 2015.

Then, there is the fact that your vice president is a known bigot and very anti-gay. He claims to be a Christian, but, sorry, not something he has ever evidenced with his behavior. He wants to strip away my right to equal protection under the law. He wants to deny my marriage to my husband.

I've been with Frank for 22 years. In 2014 we were legally married according to the laws of the State of Delaware. Unfortunately, Tennessee, where we live, didn't honor or recognize our marriage . . . until the Supreme Court ruling on June 26, 2015 which made them recognize our marriage.

To be honest - my relationship has lasted longer than any of your marriages. I'm not judging. If something is not working, and it can't be fixed, I believe people should move on. I do not believe people should stay in a marriage/relationship that is not working. Sometimes, the best thing people can do is walk away from a relationship. 

I do not believe that people misinterpreting the bible to justify their discrimination towards others, and make them feel all warm and fuzzy about their bigotry, have the right to say Frank and I can't get married. 

With all that said: how are you going to protect me, a United States citizen (whose family has been in this country since the mid-1600s) from the bigotry of others? Of the bigotry of your own chosen vice president? Are you going to strip away my equal rights and make me a second class citizen? Are you going to help promote discrimination based on personal beliefs hidden behind the phrase "religious freedoms"? Neither God nor Jesus ever said anything about homosexuality. Now, the followers of God and Jesus - humans, flawed individuals with personal biases, said an awfully lot about homosexuality . . . Well, we really don't know if they did, or if those parts were added to the Bible. You see, President-Elect Trump, nobody knows what was actually in the original documents because they haven't existed for centuries. All we have are copies of copies of copies, some so badly damaged that in the copying process the clerks/monks/whoever actually had to guess at words. Then, there was the fact that when translating the words, no known equal word existed, so the clerk/monk/whoever just put the word they thought it should mean in it's place.

So, as you can see, the Bible has been shaped by the personal biases of men who were not perfect in any way. Their word does not count above God or Jesus, no matter what the misguided faux-Christians would like the world to believe. God and Jesus did not speak out about homosexuality, so what gives men like your vice president Mike Pence the right to impose his will upon the people of our once great nation.

We have fallen far, President-Elect Trump, as you so clearly pointed out in your campaign. We will fall farther still if laws are passed that directly support discrimination toward law-abiding, tax-paying citizens of this country, many of whom have been in this country since not long after it's founding.

So, President-Elect Trump, as you plot the course of the next few years, please remember you represent not only the people that voted for you, but also for those that voted against you as well. Your job is not to govern only the Republicans or the alleged Conservatives, but all the people of the United States.

So, again, my simple question is: what are you going to do to protect the rights of the LGBT citizens of the United States? Will you allow your Vice President to attack us? Will you support his attacks on us? Will you allow open discrimination against us? How many more transgendered individuals have to die before someone acts? How many more LGBT teens have to be bullied into suicide before someone will act? How many deaths will you have on your hands if you allow the reign of terror against the LGBT community that has been ongoing for centuries?

When you were elected, and my friends were in despair, I told them this: we must hold onto hope, we must be the light in the darkness. 

As much as I do not like what you seem to represent, I'm a fool who believes that there is good in all people. I could be delusional, for all I know, in thinking that there is good in you and that you won't strip away the equality the members of the LGBT community have fought for for centuries. Your choice of Mike Pence doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy, but . . . I still hope that you, as President of the United States, will respect every single citizen of this country, and will not go out of your way to openly harm them, or allow others in this country to openly harm or discriminate against them.

As hard as it is for me to say this, I wish you the best of luck as President of the United States. I hope you can unify our country; that Democrats and Republicans can actually work together, for the best interest of the country as a whole, instead of against each other; and that the hostility and conflict of the pre-election period are at an end.

And, if you really want help or guidance, if you really care about the millions upon millions of members of the LGBT Community . . . well, you now know how to contact me. I'd be glad to help.

Sincerely,

Scott Mitchell

Religious Freedom

Dear Uninformed Faux Christians -

Religious Freedom is the right to practice your religion. End of Story! Period!

Religious Freedom does not give you the right to discriminate. Your personal beliefs give you that ability, not your religion. 

Nowhere in the Bible does it state "thou shall discriminate" or "thou shall pick and choose to follow only the Biblical passages that you use to justify your discrimination". Those aren't parts of the Bible. 

The fact that you feel comfortable taking the Bible out of context to justify your discrimination is quite sad. 

Freedom of Religion, as defined by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States means a person has the right to "practice his or her own religion, or no religion at all". The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment grants the right to "worship or not as you choose". 

Nowhere, not nowhere, no way, no how, in any way, shape or form and all that jazz, does the First Amendment state you can openly discriminate against an individual because of your religious beliefs.

As noted above, the Bible does not state THOU SHALL DISCRIMINATE! It does state THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE, LEST YE BE JUDGED and LOVE THY NEIGHBOR.

When you openly discriminate because of a false understanding of the words religious freedom, you are judging and you are not loving thy neighbor. And yes, whether you know it or not, you probably have a gay neighbor.

So, when you, perhaps as a county clerk in say, well, maybe . . . Kentucky, claim that issuing a marriage license to a same-sex couple goes against your religious beliefs, well, that's an outright lie. It goes against your personal beliefs.

Perhaps you should spend some time understanding the difference between personal and religious beliefs before standing up and proclaiming that doing your job is against your religious beliefs.

On that note, divorce is mentioned in the Bible way more often than same-sex relations. Have you, oh say, said county clerk, in say, KY, or perhaps, a judge in say, well, maybe, let's see, OH, ever issued a marriage license to a divorced person and/or performed a marriage ceremony to a divorced person? Shouldn't that be against your religious beliefs? Why, yes, it should! I thought I'd answer the question for you since you're obviously having a hard time with understanding things right now!

So, dear, uninformed, faux Christians . . . please say it like it is, not how you wish it to be. Stand up, be proud, and be courageous and say: I personally don't believe in same-sex marriage and it has absolutely nothing to do with my freedom of religion, only with my own personal bias. Be proud when you state that you feel you're a superior person because you were born heterosexual rather than homosexual - btw, no choice, all genetics, not matter what you think - and feel that the equal protection clause should only apply to heterosexuals. Shout it from the mountaintops when you declare that only certain people deserve equal protection under the law. Do not hide behind religious freedom and use the Bible out of context to justify your contempt for your friends, neighbors, family, people you meet on the street or interact with on a daily basis. 

You have an absolute right to your opinions and personal beliefs. You have an absolute right to declare those opinions and personal beliefs. But the key here is personal and not religious!

So, next time, dear faux Christian, you want to use your religion not to perform your job or deny equal protection under the law to citizens of the United States of America, please do so honestly without claiming religion has anything to do with it . . . because it doesn't!

S

Dear One Million Moms

Dear One Million Moms:

I am extremely disappointed to learn that One Million Moms has chosen to practice convenient truth in regards to their "campaign" against Angie's List. Shouldn't every American be free to work and live according to their belief system without an organization such as yourself allegedly fear-mongering and misrepresenting the truth?

Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act is NOT exactly the same law that is already in place and working just fine in 19 other states.In fact, a bit of research on your part would have informed you of the differences between Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the other acts that are already in place in 19 other states.

And, its language is NOT identical in all fundamental respects to the 1993 federal RFRA signed into law by President Bill Clinton after it passed the House unanimously and the Senate 97-3.

Because your company opposes operates without revealing the full truth to further your belief system, I will be using Angie's List in the future, and make a concerted effort to have others use this service as well. After all, a company standing up for equal treatment under the law for ALL citizens of the United States is an admirable company, and the more money they earn based on this position is the American Way after all.

Thanks so much!

The Management!!

Religious Freedom

With the recent passage of Indiana's "Religious Freedom" bill . . . it seems as if the world has gone INSANE!

My thoughts on this are simple: religious freedom does not give anybody the right to discriminate.

The Bible does not state "thou shall discriminate"!

When people argue their religious convictions in order to discriminate, in my personal opinion, they are using the terms "religious convictions" and "religious freedoms" to excuse their bigotry.

It's that simple. No length explanations or excuses are needed.

These are the same people who won't answer the question "what would Jesus do?" because they know . . . he wouldn't be doing what they're doing: discriminating based on their own personal biases.

So, when someone complains that their religious freedoms are being infringed upon by having to serve members of the LGBT community . . .

That's a lie they are using to condone their own bigotry.

The lovely (and I use that term in the most sarcastic way possible) Governor of IN could not answer a simple yes/no question on This Week with George Stephanopolus: click here http://goo.gl/v5opHu for a good article about that interview.

After repeatedly trying to get an answer, George posed this question:

“So when you say tolerance is a two way street, does that mean that Christians who want to refuse service … to gays and lesbians, that it’s now legal in the state of Indiana? That’s the simple yes-or-no question.”

And, again, Governor Pence refused to answer!

Governor Pence continues to try to justify the bill he signed into law, continually saying it has nothing to do with discrimination . . . and yet now feels the need to clarify that law. If discrimination wasn't involved in the crafting of the law, then why should clarification be needed.

The fact is, neither the Governor or the IN government members voting this law into existence, counted on the backlash IN has received, and continues to receive.

The fact is, if the law wasn't about discrimination, why were these three people included to witness the private signing: Micah Clark, Curt Smith and Eric Miller.

In order of appearance . . . 

Micah Clark . . . believes "homosexuality is a treatable disorder".

Curt Smith . . . equates "homosexuality with bestiality and adultery".

Eric Miller . . . "distributed a fear flier falsely claiming that pastors could be jailed for preaching against homosexuality".

Click on this link http://goo.gl/BhVzpi for more on these three.

The people you surround yourself with, Governor Pence, show a lot about you as a person! Just sayin' . . .

So, while people will use the terms "religious convictions" and "religious freedoms" as a way of justifying their discrimination, please remember that the Bible does not justify discrimination.

S