Human Rights are Non-Negotiable

As a voter, my major concerns reside in policies that deal with human rights.  Whether it be women’s rights, ethnic rights, or anything else that affects the personal choices of a minority group, I believe everyone should be treated the same.  All of this being said, the one issue that I will not budge on is gay rights.  If a politician disagrees on my beliefs pertaining to this subject, there is no chance of them getting my vote.  Gay rights include many different things.  First, and most importantly, is the gay marriage issue that has been truly plaguing the gay rights movement for many years now.  I believe that gay marriage should be legalized in the United States, period.  For some this is a religious issue, and for others it is a benefits issue.  For me it is both.  If gay people were allowed to get married, they would be able to enjoy the same financial benefits that straight couples receive.  This includes everything from health benefits to Medicaid.  For other gay couples, they simply want their love and their commitment to be acknowledged by God.  Many gay people are Christians who believe that God does not discriminate the way extremist Christians say he does.  For me, God is love, and any love I have is a gift from Him and a gift back to Him.

Gay rights also include the right to adopt children.  Many times, the argument is used that a child cannot grow up properly without a mother or a father.  However, there are millions of children who are raised by single parents and do not know the other.  Does that mean the single parent should lose their child?  This argument does not make any sense.  Again, love is love.  If a gay couple has the ability to bring a child into their home and treat the child the way it deserves to be treated, then it does not matter that the parents are the same sex.  It is better to let the child be taken care of by two parents of the same sex than remain on a list to be adopted.

If a politician disagrees with any of the above, then it would be an absolute miracle that they would receive my vote.  Being a gay man, this is a very core issue.  When people try to tell me I cannot get married because God thinks I am an “abomination,” then I am completely turned off.  They may have the greatest economic plan, national security plan, and immigration plan ever thought up.  However, their cases will fall upon deaf ears if they do not view me as a person who deserves the same things everyone else has.

Trevor Kurtz
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2013

How to Get Kayla Mattioli's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

Economy

In a country with an unemployment rate hovering around 8% and an ever growing deficit problem, it is important for this election to focus primarily on the issue of job creation. I will be graduating from college this year along with thousands of others around the country. I don’t want to work two part-time jobs that have nothing to do with the four years of training I just received.

The candidates from both parties need to have a comprehensive plan for job growth in America. Currently, President Obama has shown support for government programs that would put people to work fixing America’s crumbling infrastructure but is having trouble getting the plan off the ground. The presumed GOP candidate, Governor Mitt Romney, is a firm advocate for private sector job growth. The problem with his plan is that the private sector is not creating jobs. They are not hiring Americans. In fact, most of their employees reside in other countries because it’s cheaper to employ foreign labor because of tax loop holes. Therefore, tax reform and job growth go hand in hand. The corporate tax code needs to be restructured so that big businesses, and the people who own them, pay their fair share. American businesses can be given incentives to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. 

Civil Rights

Equal marriage rights have been an issue hovering around the last few presidential elections. Since 2004, six states have begun allowing same-sex marriages and this year alone California overturned Proposition 8, and Washington, Maryland, and New Jersey have all passed bills to allow same-sex marriages. Unfortunately, and possibly politically, Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie has vetoed the bill. Nonetheless, gay rights are being embraced by the younger generations as homosexuals become more visible in the media. 

Now is the time to discuss it on a National level. President Obama repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and for the first time last year, national support for same-sex marriage rights increased to 53%. Since 2001, ten countries have allowed same-sex marriages including England, Canada, and Argentina. Even Mexico recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other regions. So why is it that America, a country that has always prided itself on freedom for all, can’t seem to get on board and grant this unalienable right of the pursuit of happiness, to a subgroup of citizens? 

I will not vote for a candidate that believes we should move backward in time and deny rights to any American because they are not living their life a certain way. For that reason, I will never vote for Senator Rick Santorum as he has made it clear that he does not believe in basic health related rights for women. The candidates need to remember that they are not campaigning to one group of people. They need to have a more realistic idea of the current state of the country and the wants of the people they are supposed to be representing instead of pushing their personal, moral agendas.

Foreign Policy

Just as the United States has finally had enough of war in the Middle East, a whole mess of things happens in Libya, Syria, and Iran. It almost seems as if the entire world is in turmoil when you add in the economic crisis in both the U.S. and European Union. I am a bit of a pacifist and believe the entire War in Iraq was unnecessary and did more harm than good regarding our relationship with Middle Eastern countries. Not to mention the amount of money poured into a ten year war that, arguably, accomplished very little.

The U.S. needs to do more humanitarian work than military operations in the future if for no other reason that as a PR strategy. By running around policing the rest of the world and trying to impose our ideals on them makes us look like we think we’re better than everyone else. Seeing U.S. military personnel is probably intimidating and with the recent scandals involving U.S. troops desecrating the bodies of deceased Afghans as well as the burning of the Quran by NATO troops, we could use some good PR. In 2008, the U.S. spent only 0.19% of its GDP on foreign aid. That is well below the U.N. target of 0.7% and behind other countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Kayla Mattioli

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2012