[ad_1]
Gay icon Barbara Streisand has endorsed a new video saying ‘Enough is Enough’ of Trump and calling on people to ‘Vote Proud’.
The video’s soundtrack is taken from her 1979 hit song No More Tears – also informally called Enough is Enough.
The video warns that in 2016, ‘more than 50% of the LGBTQ+ community didn’t vote’.
And it goes on to list some of the attacks President Donald Trump’s administration made on LGBT+ people.
It starts by highlighting his decision not to give visas to the same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and UN employees.
Next it shows Ben Carson, Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, saying that being gay ‘absolutely’ is a choice.
Moreover, it highlights the case of a same-sex couple who had to undergo DNA testing to establish a biological connection with their own children. And it shows how Trump banned trans people from serving in the US military.
Meanwhile it also mentions the US’s ongoing ban on sexually active gay and bi men donating blood. The AIDS-era ban continues despite the fact experts say it is out of date.
And the video flashes up headlines showing some of Trump’s other attacks on the LGBT+ community. These include allowing doctors to discriminate, erasing trans healthcare rights, and supporting faith-based adoption agencies who want to turn away same-sex couples.
It also warns that the number of anti-LGBT+ hate groups has soared in the US. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, says Trump lent the legitimacy of the White House to haters.
The video ends with a clip of Streisand singing ‘Enough is enough’ and telling people ‘vote proud’.
This might be our most important video yet. Love is love. Your vote matters. Special thanks to Vote Proud and @BarbraStreisand for their collaboration on this project. #VoteProud pic.twitter.com/DMhrJkU7SR
— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) August 11, 2020
Trump v Biden: LGBT+ rights records
Last month White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed Trump had a ‘great record’ on LGBT+ rights.
However experts widely ridiculed that claim.
US LGBT+ organization GLAAD says it has tracked ‘168 attacks in policy and rhetoric’ against the community by the Trump administration since it took office. Moreover, it says that number is now rising ‘every week’.
Moreover, research earlier this year showed Trump is pursuing more anti-LGBT+ policies as he prepares for the re-election battle on 3 November.
By contrast, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his vice presidential choice Kamala Harris have strong pro-LGBT+ records. The Democrats have promised an ambitious platform of policies to improve life for LGBT+ Americans and support rights around the world.
While straight, Streisand made her name as a ‘gay icon’ in the 1960s when she embraced both her gay fans and her Jewish heritage. She helped raise funds to fight Proposition 8 – the short-lived law banning same-sex marriage in California.
Magazines and newspapers including The Advocate, Out, Gay Times and The Guardian have all identified her as a ‘gay icon’.
She’s also a long-term supporter of the Democrats.
Why the LGBT+ vote is key this November
Getting out the LGBT+ vote could be crucial in securing victory for the Democracts in November.
While the polls are favoring Biden, it could easily prove to be a tight race which Trump could still win.
The Williams Institute estimates the US has 11million LGBT+ people eligible to vote. And that 9million of them are registered to vote.
Many of the registered Democrats supported other candidates, particularly Bernie Sanders in the primaries. However, they are likely to back the Biden-Harris ticket now.
In the 2016 presidential election, 78% of LGBT+ people voted for Hillary Clinton against just 14% for Donald Trump.
Furthermore, in the 2018 midterm elections 82% of LGBT% people voted Democrat for Congress, while just 17% voted Republican.
Indeed, the video identifies Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida as key swing states that Hilary Clinton could have won if enough LGBT+ people had turned out to vote.
Together, the four states represent 75 electoral college votes. That would have been more than enough to take victory off Trump and put Clinton in the White House.
A new SuperPAC – a US organization that funds political campaigns – called MeidasTouch created the video. Three brothers – all lifelong Democrats – founded the organization during quarantine with the sole purpose of defeating Trump in the 2020 elections.
So far they have gathered over 350,000 Twitter followers and generated over a billion online impressions.
[ad_2]
Source link
