6 Days to Election Day
Hey folks
I'm pasting this right now because its my article for the NM Voice about Election Day.
Please pass this on to folks to help us get out the gay vote for patsy, and consider it when you vote!
Martinez Mundo
Last Stop: Election Day!!
Last Stop Folks! This is the last issue of this newspaper before Election Day. This election is incredibly important and I’ve said that before. There are many crucial decisions that we as GLBT folks and we as New Mexicans are going to be faced with on November 7th. Amongst the mudslinging, the news, the mail, and the automated phone calls, we’re probably all getting tired of it, (well, not me, but I’m kind of sick that way.)
I want to remind us all of a few things before I get going on the ballot itself. We recently experienced the bloodiest day in Iraq since the war began. We have been flooded with scandals in national politics involving self professed gay men and minors. We have the highest rate of uninsured Americans in history and we are recovering economically, but only after the last 6 years have taken us to the highest unemployment rate in decades. This picture is grim. We should consider this election the important one that will have multiple impacts on us as a nation.
In New Mexico, however, the picture is much more positive. We are still the most progressive state in the country with respect to choice and GLBT issues. We have Hate Crimes Legislation that has been used, and is more progressive than in the rest of the country. We are one of only four states that protect Transgender people in our Human Rights Act, one of less than 20 that protect Gay or Lesbian folks. We have no laws on the books that define marriage, nor do we have any case law or court rulings that indicate our state won’t someday allow legal marriages for same-sex couples.
This said, we have lots to do in this state, lots to protect, and much more fabulousness ahead of us, if we work for it. If we work for it, if we vote for it, if we speak for it, and if we use the powers we have to create it!
A Fight More Fierce Than Two Drag Queens
The most exciting race on the ballot for most of us has been, is, and will be the race between Patricia Madrid, the Attorney General in New Mexico, and Heather Wilson, the incumbent Congresswoman.
Patricia Madrid has been a controversial figure in the GLBT community and will likely continue to be years beyond this column existing. Patricia Madrid was the centerpiece of the Marriage issue in New Mexico, the saving grace we had as a community during a battle of our civil rights, and the best shot New Mexico has seen of beating Heather Wilson since she got elected.
Let’s start with Heather Wilson: A Quick Review.
Heather Wilson believes in what she calls “pragmatic gay rights.” She claims to prefer that the issue of gay marriage is decided by the state and not by the Federal Government, but she would vote in support of the President’s constitutional ban if it came up for a vote. She has done even more than that. I sat listening to C-Span in 2004 when Heather Wilson gave a speech on the floor of the House during which she cried over her desperation to stop gay people from ruining the foundation of civilization. She must not prefer the issue to be dealt with on a statewide level too much or she would’ve just voted either way and been done with it. But don’t worry folks; she thinks Gay people should be able to adopt children. Whew, I was worried on that one. How pragmatic of her! She has also voted against defining anti-gay crimes as hate crime, to allow states in the union to deny the marriage certificates of gay couples from other states, and to prohibit DC from providing Domestic Partnerships Benefits to city employees. Heather Wilson’s record of denying GLBT citizens equal protection and rights under the law is obvious. But why should we support Patricia Madrid? Just because she isn’t Heather Wilson?
Well I personally think that ought to be enough, but I realize many people don’t think the way I do, so I’ll go further. I sat down with Attorney General Madrid a couple of weeks ago, to discuss GLBT issues point blank. And this time I warned her upfront, I wasn’t her friend, I was someone concerned for the safety, and support of my community. She clearly and quickly said, of course, to the interview, also pointing out that she wouldn’t’ shy away from GLBT issues, in her campaign or once elected.
Keeping Our Community Safe
Madrid was integral in our passing Hate Crimes Legislation in New Mexico, also helping to ensure the bill contained protection for Transgender people, while welcoming someone on her staff back, after having sex reassignment surgery. Her office lobbied diligently to pass the bill they wrote, protecting New Mexicans from Hate Crimes statewide. The Attorney General also specifically requested to co-council on the Maestes Santa Fe Hate Crime, to make sure the Hate Crimes law was used appropriately.
But when, in 2004, an anti-gay group rallied to repeal the Human rights Amendment we had fought 13 years to pass, Attorney General Madrid said no issuing a legal opinion making the law exempt from referendum. She helped ensure we would remain safe from discrimination at work while preventing us from being used as political football by the Radical Right Wing. .
Marriage.
In my interview Madrid said she undeniably supports Civil Unions, and “would oppose any attempt to amend the Constitution to deny right to same sex couples, or to actually put discrimination into the Constitution.”
The gay marriage issue was thrown into the spotlight in the same year, when the Sandoval County Clerk decided the only way to get a ban in gay marriage was to “force the Legislature” through the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. She was no ally to us and Madrid acted to prevent long term harm to the Community by ceasing the issuing of the licenses. She made sure no ruling was issued on the legality of Gay marriage in NM while again removing the GLBT community as a political pawn fro the bidding of the Republican Party.
The Attorney General was lambasted by our community for stopping the marriages, but the important things to remember:
The Clerk was not an ally of our community and did this, in her words, to stop Gay Marriage permanently.
The Attorney General was hesitant to hurt our community temporarily but saved us from a bigger debacle.
The AG worked diligently to make sure there was never a legal ruling issued on Gay Marriage.
The AG says clearly, that when the GLBT community is politically ready to move forward with marriage, we will have not statutory, or court issued hurdles to prevent that from happening.
This conversation was eye opening, even for me.
If this isn’t reason enough to vote for her, then this, in combination with Heather Wilson’s record, surely is!
A Quick Jog Down The Rest of the Campaign Trail
Looking down the ballot, I’ll quickly pass along the offices for which I’ve already written a column endorsing a candidate.
Governor/Lt. Governor: Governor Richardson has kept every promise he has made to the GLBT community, supporting and signing Hate crimes Legislation, Non Discrimination Legislation, and Domestic Partner Benefits for State Employees. Governor Richardson has said he support civil unions, and though he may have said he would support a DOMA, he will not sign it without at least getting Civil Unions for our community as well.
Lieutenant Governor Denish has been a supporter of GLBT issues for many years, both as Democratic Party Chair, and Lt. Governor. Still riding in the PRIDE parade every year she gets a chance, and being an advocate for our issues within the Democratic Party she deserves our support fully.
Secretary of State: This is a race I haven’t previously said much about, except that the Secretary of State is the chief elections officer in the state, and plays an important role in deciding what issues can and cannot be placed on the ballot. There are two candidates in the race with different records. Vickie Perea, the Republican running, was a democrat for many years but became a Republican when she said the moral value of the Democratic Party was being degraded. She is a member of an evangelical church. Mary Herrera, the Democrat running has been an ally of the GLBT community for many years, and looks forward to working with us as a constituency, when considering new policies impacting Elections in the future.
Attorney General: Gary King received an endorsement from Equality PAC, as well as my endorsement in the primary. He has been an ally of ours in the legislature in the past, and can be counted on again. James Bibb, the Republican candidate, again has ties to homophobic churches, and refused repeatedly to return my calls to talk to him about our issues.
Land Commissioner: Jim Baca worked hard to include GLBT folks in all his work as Albuquerque Mayor, and though the Land Office has no direct impact on the GLBT community, we ought to be concerned for our environment, and therefore elect a pro-conservationist to the office.
State Auditor: Hector Balderas was endorsed by Equality PAC as a state legislative candidate, and has continued to support our community. Though the auditor won’t have immediate impact on the GLBT community, Hector is a reliable friend to the community.
State Treasurer: James Lewis has in the past been the State Treasurer, and can be trusted with our votes again. The Treasurer will be the office that analyzes the costs to the state of new policy decisions, such as Civil Unions, or Same Sex Marriages. We need someone in that office who we know will be fair, and bring a pro-gay conscience to that office. Leaders of the Queer community are working hard on his campaign.
State Representatives: Please consider the Equality PAC website www.equalitypac.com, to find the Representative Candidate in your area to vote for, or call me.
Judges: I conducted interviews with judges in contested races, and these are the folks who I think deserve our votes, based on their understanding of GLBT issues, keeping in mind they never answered questions that might come before them in court one day.
Monica Zamora, Clay Campbell, Carl Butkus, Clyde Demersseman, and Linda Rogers.
Quality of Life; A Queer Perspective
The last thing on the ballot that specifically concerns the GLBT community is the Quality of Life Initiative. First things first, this is a temporary tax increase on sales tax in Bernalillo county, and the oppositions only case against this initiative is that it is a tax increase. This is only 3/16% increases in taxes in New Mexico. County Commissioner Deanna Archuleta, longtime ally to the GLBT community through her sociology work at UNM was the sponsor of this initiative at the County Commission. She deserves our support for this alone. But in addition, Brian Morris, openly gay Vice President of Downtown Action Team, and President of the Friends for the Public Library lends his support as well to this initiative. “The gay community, in particular, must stand up and take notice of this initiative. The gay community tends to move to and travel to great cities with amazing cultural amenities. We can make Albuquerque one of those great communities by ensuring passage of the QOLI.” The beneficiaries of the funds are organizations that provide public programs based on culture, history, art and science, that have offices within Bernalillo County, and that range from small, non-profits to our pre-eminent zoo and museums. The program is intended to be as inclusive as possible as long as the organization meets certain minimum requirements. This includes organizations such at the NM Gay Men’s Chorus, who could benefits from this funding, and reach a point of long term sustainable funding, which enhances our profile as Queers in New Mexico, as well as brings education through entertainment to our children. And if nothing else a more educated, well rounded population of youth, will grow into a more understanding accepting population of adults, giving us hope for those GLBT youth who deserve better than we have now.
Election Day is November 7. Early Voting is available until November 4. If you would like more information about how to cast a pro-gay vote with your ballot on Election Day or before, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
I'm pasting this right now because its my article for the NM Voice about Election Day.
Please pass this on to folks to help us get out the gay vote for patsy, and consider it when you vote!
Martinez Mundo
Last Stop: Election Day!!
Last Stop Folks! This is the last issue of this newspaper before Election Day. This election is incredibly important and I’ve said that before. There are many crucial decisions that we as GLBT folks and we as New Mexicans are going to be faced with on November 7th. Amongst the mudslinging, the news, the mail, and the automated phone calls, we’re probably all getting tired of it, (well, not me, but I’m kind of sick that way.)
I want to remind us all of a few things before I get going on the ballot itself. We recently experienced the bloodiest day in Iraq since the war began. We have been flooded with scandals in national politics involving self professed gay men and minors. We have the highest rate of uninsured Americans in history and we are recovering economically, but only after the last 6 years have taken us to the highest unemployment rate in decades. This picture is grim. We should consider this election the important one that will have multiple impacts on us as a nation.
In New Mexico, however, the picture is much more positive. We are still the most progressive state in the country with respect to choice and GLBT issues. We have Hate Crimes Legislation that has been used, and is more progressive than in the rest of the country. We are one of only four states that protect Transgender people in our Human Rights Act, one of less than 20 that protect Gay or Lesbian folks. We have no laws on the books that define marriage, nor do we have any case law or court rulings that indicate our state won’t someday allow legal marriages for same-sex couples.
This said, we have lots to do in this state, lots to protect, and much more fabulousness ahead of us, if we work for it. If we work for it, if we vote for it, if we speak for it, and if we use the powers we have to create it!
A Fight More Fierce Than Two Drag Queens
The most exciting race on the ballot for most of us has been, is, and will be the race between Patricia Madrid, the Attorney General in New Mexico, and Heather Wilson, the incumbent Congresswoman.
Patricia Madrid has been a controversial figure in the GLBT community and will likely continue to be years beyond this column existing. Patricia Madrid was the centerpiece of the Marriage issue in New Mexico, the saving grace we had as a community during a battle of our civil rights, and the best shot New Mexico has seen of beating Heather Wilson since she got elected.
Let’s start with Heather Wilson: A Quick Review.
Heather Wilson believes in what she calls “pragmatic gay rights.” She claims to prefer that the issue of gay marriage is decided by the state and not by the Federal Government, but she would vote in support of the President’s constitutional ban if it came up for a vote. She has done even more than that. I sat listening to C-Span in 2004 when Heather Wilson gave a speech on the floor of the House during which she cried over her desperation to stop gay people from ruining the foundation of civilization. She must not prefer the issue to be dealt with on a statewide level too much or she would’ve just voted either way and been done with it. But don’t worry folks; she thinks Gay people should be able to adopt children. Whew, I was worried on that one. How pragmatic of her! She has also voted against defining anti-gay crimes as hate crime, to allow states in the union to deny the marriage certificates of gay couples from other states, and to prohibit DC from providing Domestic Partnerships Benefits to city employees. Heather Wilson’s record of denying GLBT citizens equal protection and rights under the law is obvious. But why should we support Patricia Madrid? Just because she isn’t Heather Wilson?
Well I personally think that ought to be enough, but I realize many people don’t think the way I do, so I’ll go further. I sat down with Attorney General Madrid a couple of weeks ago, to discuss GLBT issues point blank. And this time I warned her upfront, I wasn’t her friend, I was someone concerned for the safety, and support of my community. She clearly and quickly said, of course, to the interview, also pointing out that she wouldn’t’ shy away from GLBT issues, in her campaign or once elected.
Keeping Our Community Safe
Madrid was integral in our passing Hate Crimes Legislation in New Mexico, also helping to ensure the bill contained protection for Transgender people, while welcoming someone on her staff back, after having sex reassignment surgery. Her office lobbied diligently to pass the bill they wrote, protecting New Mexicans from Hate Crimes statewide. The Attorney General also specifically requested to co-council on the Maestes Santa Fe Hate Crime, to make sure the Hate Crimes law was used appropriately.
But when, in 2004, an anti-gay group rallied to repeal the Human rights Amendment we had fought 13 years to pass, Attorney General Madrid said no issuing a legal opinion making the law exempt from referendum. She helped ensure we would remain safe from discrimination at work while preventing us from being used as political football by the Radical Right Wing. .
Marriage.
In my interview Madrid said she undeniably supports Civil Unions, and “would oppose any attempt to amend the Constitution to deny right to same sex couples, or to actually put discrimination into the Constitution.”
The gay marriage issue was thrown into the spotlight in the same year, when the Sandoval County Clerk decided the only way to get a ban in gay marriage was to “force the Legislature” through the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. She was no ally to us and Madrid acted to prevent long term harm to the Community by ceasing the issuing of the licenses. She made sure no ruling was issued on the legality of Gay marriage in NM while again removing the GLBT community as a political pawn fro the bidding of the Republican Party.
The Attorney General was lambasted by our community for stopping the marriages, but the important things to remember:
The Clerk was not an ally of our community and did this, in her words, to stop Gay Marriage permanently.
The Attorney General was hesitant to hurt our community temporarily but saved us from a bigger debacle.
The AG worked diligently to make sure there was never a legal ruling issued on Gay Marriage.
The AG says clearly, that when the GLBT community is politically ready to move forward with marriage, we will have not statutory, or court issued hurdles to prevent that from happening.
This conversation was eye opening, even for me.
If this isn’t reason enough to vote for her, then this, in combination with Heather Wilson’s record, surely is!
A Quick Jog Down The Rest of the Campaign Trail
Looking down the ballot, I’ll quickly pass along the offices for which I’ve already written a column endorsing a candidate.
Governor/Lt. Governor: Governor Richardson has kept every promise he has made to the GLBT community, supporting and signing Hate crimes Legislation, Non Discrimination Legislation, and Domestic Partner Benefits for State Employees. Governor Richardson has said he support civil unions, and though he may have said he would support a DOMA, he will not sign it without at least getting Civil Unions for our community as well.
Lieutenant Governor Denish has been a supporter of GLBT issues for many years, both as Democratic Party Chair, and Lt. Governor. Still riding in the PRIDE parade every year she gets a chance, and being an advocate for our issues within the Democratic Party she deserves our support fully.
Secretary of State: This is a race I haven’t previously said much about, except that the Secretary of State is the chief elections officer in the state, and plays an important role in deciding what issues can and cannot be placed on the ballot. There are two candidates in the race with different records. Vickie Perea, the Republican running, was a democrat for many years but became a Republican when she said the moral value of the Democratic Party was being degraded. She is a member of an evangelical church. Mary Herrera, the Democrat running has been an ally of the GLBT community for many years, and looks forward to working with us as a constituency, when considering new policies impacting Elections in the future.
Attorney General: Gary King received an endorsement from Equality PAC, as well as my endorsement in the primary. He has been an ally of ours in the legislature in the past, and can be counted on again. James Bibb, the Republican candidate, again has ties to homophobic churches, and refused repeatedly to return my calls to talk to him about our issues.
Land Commissioner: Jim Baca worked hard to include GLBT folks in all his work as Albuquerque Mayor, and though the Land Office has no direct impact on the GLBT community, we ought to be concerned for our environment, and therefore elect a pro-conservationist to the office.
State Auditor: Hector Balderas was endorsed by Equality PAC as a state legislative candidate, and has continued to support our community. Though the auditor won’t have immediate impact on the GLBT community, Hector is a reliable friend to the community.
State Treasurer: James Lewis has in the past been the State Treasurer, and can be trusted with our votes again. The Treasurer will be the office that analyzes the costs to the state of new policy decisions, such as Civil Unions, or Same Sex Marriages. We need someone in that office who we know will be fair, and bring a pro-gay conscience to that office. Leaders of the Queer community are working hard on his campaign.
State Representatives: Please consider the Equality PAC website www.equalitypac.com, to find the Representative Candidate in your area to vote for, or call me.
Judges: I conducted interviews with judges in contested races, and these are the folks who I think deserve our votes, based on their understanding of GLBT issues, keeping in mind they never answered questions that might come before them in court one day.
Monica Zamora, Clay Campbell, Carl Butkus, Clyde Demersseman, and Linda Rogers.
Quality of Life; A Queer Perspective
The last thing on the ballot that specifically concerns the GLBT community is the Quality of Life Initiative. First things first, this is a temporary tax increase on sales tax in Bernalillo county, and the oppositions only case against this initiative is that it is a tax increase. This is only 3/16% increases in taxes in New Mexico. County Commissioner Deanna Archuleta, longtime ally to the GLBT community through her sociology work at UNM was the sponsor of this initiative at the County Commission. She deserves our support for this alone. But in addition, Brian Morris, openly gay Vice President of Downtown Action Team, and President of the Friends for the Public Library lends his support as well to this initiative. “The gay community, in particular, must stand up and take notice of this initiative. The gay community tends to move to and travel to great cities with amazing cultural amenities. We can make Albuquerque one of those great communities by ensuring passage of the QOLI.” The beneficiaries of the funds are organizations that provide public programs based on culture, history, art and science, that have offices within Bernalillo County, and that range from small, non-profits to our pre-eminent zoo and museums. The program is intended to be as inclusive as possible as long as the organization meets certain minimum requirements. This includes organizations such at the NM Gay Men’s Chorus, who could benefits from this funding, and reach a point of long term sustainable funding, which enhances our profile as Queers in New Mexico, as well as brings education through entertainment to our children. And if nothing else a more educated, well rounded population of youth, will grow into a more understanding accepting population of adults, giving us hope for those GLBT youth who deserve better than we have now.
Election Day is November 7. Early Voting is available until November 4. If you would like more information about how to cast a pro-gay vote with your ballot on Election Day or before, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
posted by Marshall at 11:48 AM
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