Hello everybody!   
      
   As a child I was a big fan of the Republican Party, just like as people root   
   for baseball teams such as the Dodgers. This continued on until 2004 when   
   George W Bush strategist Karl Rove decided to utilize discrimination to help   
   his clients electoral chances in over 10 states by making it harder for same   
   sex couples to have equal marriage rights. The irony is Log Cabin Republicans   
   declined to endorse Bushs second term, but they decided to endorse Romney at   
   the last minute.   
      
   I held my nose in 2004 and even in 2008 when McCain decided to throw raw meat   
   on the balcony and support Sarah Palin. This time since I first registered to   
   vote in 1998, I cannot vote for my political partys nominee for president.   
   Mitt Romneyused to be a decent choice and now he lied down with dogs in his   
   quest to obtain power. I knew Romney could not be trusted ever since the 2010   
   California governor campaign of Meg Whitman.   
      
   It is not just LGBT issues that make me disgusted about Mitt Romney. My   
   decision to support Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnsondoes rely upon   
   more issues than the idea of equality for all Americans even for those who are   
   not heterosexual or do not fit gender norms. President Obama and Mitt Romney   
   both believe in the individual mandate which makes health care more expensive   
   for those who buy their own insurance or those who do not need insurance.    
   Both candidates believe in the NDAA which supports indefinite detention of   
   Americans, the war against marijuana, the much loathed TSA and the Patriot Act.   
      
   Just as how Proposition 8 brought forth the National Organization for   
   Marriage, I made it a crusade to oppose any candidate who signs their pledge.   
   What does the NOM pledge that Romney signed entail? One, it asks for Romney to   
   get a Federal Marriage Amendment enshrining discrimination in our   
   constitution. Two, it asks for Romney to appoint anti-gay federal judges to   
   make sure that LGBT people do not get equal protection under the law. Three,   
   defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court, which is already failing under   
   the house Republicans defense. Four, establish a presidential commission on   
   religious liberty to make sure the side advocating for discrimination gets   
   extra protections under the law. Lastly, make sure that residents of District   
   of Columbia can have the ability to vote on repealing equal marriage in their   
   state.   
      
   I find it delusional that people like American Foundation for Equal Rights   
   attorney Ted Olson, part of the bipartisan legal duo fighting Proposition 8 is   
   supporting Romney. Fine, I can respect that he may be great on the majority of   
   issues Ted believes in, but Romney will create more obstacles in Teds case. It   
   would be like running a marathon with both shoes tied together. It would have   
   been better for homo conservatives and their straight allies to support Gary   
   Johnson instead of Romney in states such as California and Illinois so we can   
   teach the Republican Party a lesson that they need someone that supports   
   equality in 2016.   
      
   Romney used to be great on equality; it helped him in his campaign for US   
   Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994. Many of us thought he would have been a   
   great ally on our side, but now he became our opponent. People thought Senator   
   Kerry was a flip flopper, but Mitt Romney knows how to flip flop better than a   
   figure skater on many issues not just LGBT equality such as how he used to   
   advocate for abortion rights and even invested in a firm that processed the   
   aborted unborn from abortions.   
      
   It might be a great advancement for Mitt Romney to possibly support reforms   
   such as the Employment Non Discrimination Act, but the rhetoric used in his   
   campaign makes me very uneasy for me to trust him. If Romney wants to   
   overturnthe Obama executive order allowing for hospital visitation for same   
   sex couples, the magic 8-ball will likely state NOT LIKELY when it deals with   
   other equality reforms being considered in a future congressional session or   
   Romney's executive office. Even if Romney sincerely wants to support the   
   Employment Non Discrimination Act, he is not likely to do so because he does   
   not want to depress his discrimination supporting base voters.  Also, it is   
   very difficult for any rational person to trust Mitt Romney.   
      
   I may not have rose colored glasses that the Log Cabin Republicans have about   
   Romney. I do understand that they want to retain their clout in the Republican   
   Party no matter how minimal it may be, but I am honestly scared about the   
   possibility of either major candidate becoming president where Romney is the   
   one I am most worried about. I am not encouraging people to vote for Obama,   
   instead I want people to LIVE FREE and vote for Gary Johnson for President.   
      
      
      
   Matt   
      
      
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