Why States Reject Gay Marriage
By Andy Heath
I think it is a tragedy and a waste of taxpayer dollars that so many states have constitutionally banned gay marriage. But there is an even sadder fact than this. There are so many many many gays in our country that voted to ban gay marriage as well from pressure from their friends and family. There are also many that did not vote at all in these elections.
I talked to some friends of mine when the vote came up in Tennessee in 2006, and I was shocked to find out how many of them did not even vote! I asked them how they could ever live with that.
You see, politicians listen to voters. If there is a county in a state that has a high voter turnout, then the governor of that state is going to pay extra attention to that county. Same with states that have high voter turnout when it comes to the president paying attention to the individual needs of states. And of course, the politicians that plan on being president will spend more time in those areas as well, so voting definitely gets the attention of politicians.
So what happens when gay people vote against themselves? And perhaps worse, what happens when gay people don't vote at all? Why would politicians spend any time on a group of people that don't vote. It doesn't help them to work with us if we do not help choose our leaders.
We must find the courage and the time and the discipline to vote in every election we can. It is important to our community. If we do not vote, we will get no help from our leaders.
