Voting is best tool for human rights, LGBTQ progress
Real progress for the human condition typically comes through a conflict-resolution process, where the common denominator toward ultimate progress is communication. Using our voice is something cherished by our Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual and Queer community here in El Centro, as evidenced by the start of positive strides we were making by opening doors and increasing awareness within local government agencies about our needs and priorities.
But since the 2016 election, we have felt a shift in the way the local community engages with us. Where only a few years ago we worked closely with local agencies on education around LGBTQ issues and started to bolster health care and other support services, we now note an apathy if not disdain toward our priorities and less willingness to proactively engage.
It is clear the current national political climate has created a “one step forward and two steps back” atmosphere that grants permission for a cultural toxicity that threatens any forward momentum we have created in the direction of progress. Fortunately, we have the opportunity next month to wield the strongest, most effective tool in our box: our vote. When we are dismissed or ignored, we are not heard. When policies out of Washington, D.C., support a dynamic that penalizes those who are different, we must speak out. To reach those who would turn a blind eye to our community or relegate our issues to the back burner, we must come out in force to cast votes for candidates and issues that represent progress.
As a border town that is home to many Latinx and immigrants, we in El Centro know too well the heightened challenges we face and the fears we must overcome to be seen and heard. This quotient doubles and even triples for our LGBTQ family friends who also are Latinx, for whom access to health care is particularly challenging. Many must travel two hours to find providers who can address their unique health issues.
For the LGBTQ community here, the most critical issues hit our population particularly hard due to the challenges we face with acceptance and integration. Still, there are even more direct reasons to make sure we are voting. Remember when the right of same sex couples to marry was eliminated by voters in 2009? Imperial County stood against gay marriage, breaking our collective heart while at the same time motivating us to organize, make sure we are represented and even run for office. Since its creation, the Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center in El Centro has served LGBTQ people and their families needing help and direction, and began conversations with county agencies providing critical services in health care, mental health, housing and more.
But then, in 2016 the Human Rights Campaign reported that a record 202 anti-LGBTQ bills were filed in state legislatures across the country, 55 of which directly targeted transgender rights. We felt a decline in proactive efforts by local government agencies to engage with us, making our work more difficult and more important than ever.
Chilling trends like this will only change if we continue to communicate what we need and that we are here to stay. We must vote to do so. Of the 10 million LGBTQ eligible voters in the U.S., 7 million voted, representing 5 percent of the total electorate, the Human Rights Campaign reported.
In Imperial County, 2018 registered voter numbers show that just 19,400 of 68,108 eligible voters are actually registered. That’s a staggering 28 percent making decisions for 100 percent of the population. Any person who wants representation has to be part of the process. The good news is it is not too late to register and get educated on the candidates and issues for the Nov. 6 midterm election. Let’s Get Out The Vote, #TogetherandVota. Together we can learn and communicate to make a difference.
We have more to do, and today the most important is making sure we vote. Every vote sends a message for progress even when we aren’t victorious. Every vote has the chance to make a difference.