To my fellow GLBT members

[William769]

In the next Presidential Primary which is more important to you.

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Sorry, I know you disagree, but...

..... I think they should stop killing people first, then equalize marriage rights.

[William769]

2. Like in Spain?

[LostinVA]

3. Equal rights for ALL Americans should be primary

[Der Blaue Engel]

4. I plan to vote for the most overall progressive candidate

I consider IWR irrelevant. That's history. It's the candidate's stance on the war today that matters to me, and how s/he plans to bring our troops home. Marriage equality is equally important, but if the candidate is for civil unions and not the right to marry, I'm willing to give it a pass if they're right on everything else, versus a staunchly pro-marriage candidate who is not progressive on other issues. (Though, honestly, that sounds like a rather unlikely scenario.)

Whomever we nominate will get my vote in the general election. I'm not one of those people who's ever had to hold my nose to vote for a candidate. I think we've had some pretty good ones, even when I didn't agree with them on every issue.

[closeupready]

5. It's the whole package taken together, as a composite candidate.

(Does that sound Orwellian, or what? LOL)

But seriously, it's very important pre-primary for gays and lesbians to push hard for a candidate who supports equal rights because post-primary, there would be less need for the candidate to appeal to Democratic constituencies and more of a push to compromise on those issues as a means of "triangulating" more votes from independents and RINO's.

So it's an interesting question to think about, but not useful. IMHO.

[hyde]

6. Equal rights is very very important to me, but

The war is more important to me at the moment. I do want to see a legitimate conversation about equal rights take place in these upcoming elections though.

[dsc]

7. Other

I am looking for a candidate who has a record of standing up for gay rights, not just a great platform. I would prefer a civil unions candidate who bucked popular sentiment to support us over a marriage candidate who never had to do that. As a pratical matter we should expect that the next time Democrats are in control of both Congress and the White House we get an end to Don't Ask Don't Tell, a gay civil rights bill which includes transgendered, and a comprehensive hate crimes measure. Only a candidate who has a record of fighting will be able to get that.

The IWR vote is irrelevent to me. I am more interested in their position now.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. My sentiments exactly n/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. solutions to poverty and healthcare

those are my priorities when picking a candidate

[SanFranciscoValues]

9. One Issue Out of Many

To me, gay marriage is just one issue that should be considered when voting for President. In fact, it honestly isn't even in the top ten issues that I think we should be focusing on. Do I believe in marriage equality? Absolutely! But I also believe in finding a solution to our mess in Iraq, restoring the world's trust, lifting people out of poverty, restoring our political system, and reducing the influence that big business now enjoys on our government.

I also think that there is a danger is pushing too hard and too fast for GLBT rights. Our movement is relatively new, and it is amazing how far the country, and the world, has come in recognizing glbt rights over the past 30 years, but the truth is that a majority of Americans, not a bare majority, a majority, are as yet against gay marriage. It would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for a Presidential candidate who favors gay marriage to win a general election. Is that fair? No. Is it just? No. But, never-the-less, it is the truth that we find ourselves faced with. I firmly believe that American's will eventually come around on the issue of gay marriage, but in the meantime, there are several other glbt issues that I believe America is more than ready to address. DADT, and a federal non-discrimination law should come first. Again, it isn't that I do not believe in the inherent injustice that our current laws regarding marriage creates, or that a minority should not have equal rights, even when the majority doesn't want them to, only that I truly believe that we should be thinking a little more tactically, and less idealistically.

The danger, as I see it, in pushing so hard for gay marriage rights, is a backlash by the public against gay marriage in particular, and gay rights in general. Our cause will not be helped any by a return of republican majorities in either or both of the houses, or in the election of an anti-gay presidential candidate in 2008. I would much rather see a few states with civil partnership/marriage rights, for now, than a Constitutional ban on gay marriage.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. : )

[Creideiki]

10. I'm going to say marriage equality because that's the least likely supported position

Anyone that is going to be for marriage equality is most likely going to fall in line across the many areas that interest me (like the repeal of NCLB). On the off-chance that someone is pro-marriage, but anti-choice, for example, I'll start thinking about how likely to convince them that abortion choice is acceptable.

[mondo joe]

12. Other: No one factor decides it for me -- the overall situation does.

[ThomCat]

13. Other: Both, and several other issues too.

Why is it so hard to accept that politicians can work on multiple issues simultaneously? Why is it wrong to demand that they work on several issues simultaneously?

I'm going to push a package of issues, and I'll evaluate them according to that entire package. But rest assured, both of these issues on that poll are included. We need peace, responsible government, equal rights, emergency environmental policies, and massive reforms to fight corruption just to start.

[sui generis]

14. There are 300 million Americans

who are potentially going to vote for every other reason, but NOT for us.

It is among the top criteria for me. Here's a better question:

Would you vote for a candidate who was AGAINST gay marriage? The answer for me is absolutely not under any circumstances, and I don't care if he shits XXL solid gold turds, walks on water and raises the dead for kicks.

[Jella]

15. absolutely

for me it's not just the issue of gay marriage, or even civil unions. It's about dignity.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. lol!

good one...

"I don't care if he shits XXL solid gold turds, walks on water and raises the dead for kicks."

[Deja Q]

17. Equal rights for Americans should be a non-issue.

The Constitution is supposed to already say as such.

All the issues have to be weighed and civil union equality is not the highest ranking one I can think of right now.

Besides, the pubz use it as a wedge issue. Why give them free ammo?

Offshoring, the economy (a lot of which has been hurt by offshoring) healthcare, sensible energy usage, et al, seem to be more important issues. (I'm not against nation building, but for all the talk the US is slipping behind, something has to be done from within. Bringing in temporary workers under the guise of 'immigrants' does nobody any good.)

[ronnykmarshall]

18. Other ...

I'll I can say is that I send love to you in this new year!