Republicans should fear LGBT people. Why?

Because for us the election isn't just about "the economy, stupid!" It's about our whole lives. If we activate our passion for equality, LGBT people can carry this election.

I envy the Americans who "aren't very political." Maybe all their friends can legally marry. Or they haven't had any friends whose kids are bullied at school. Or they don't know anyone who tried to commit suicide as a teenager. Maybe their formative years weren't littered with friends being beaten up, then afraid to go to the police because that could bring more hostility. I presume they can even talk about their personal lives at work without fearing repercussions or even firing. Wow.

I wish that were my life, but it's so clearly not. Who knows what I would be doing with my life if I hadn't been put in a mental hospital and diagnosed as "homosexual" at the age of 17. If I hadn't been part of a mass LGBT firing at one job, then endured my bosses' jokes about exterminating me and all other LGBT people at the next.

Decades later, I still feel the twist in my gut at how we are treated. This week I read the story of a lesbian cancer survivor whose family told her when she was diagnosed, "We hope you die." Weeks ago a friend of mine called to tell me that a transgender woman of color she knew had just been beaten and killed. Yes, it's sometimes even about marriage, like months ago, when my own proposal to my girlfriend attracted a stream of hate speech on Internet forums. It was horrible to wake up and read that a stranger wanted to douse my new fiancée in gas and set her alight.

I dream of a world where the economy is the only problem for LGBT people.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scout-phd/its-time-to-ask-our-friends-and-family-for-lgbt-equality_b_1934193.html

I highly recommend reading the entire article.