I am not a moron. I am not clueless about the issues facing our country. But, I am an undecided voter.
How is that possible? It’s pretty simple actually- my personal beliefs don’t fall nicely into either side of the aisle. And I bet there are a lot of people like me who are just too scared of the ridicule to admit they don’t fit into a pre-designed box either. SO, for all of them, I’m speaking up and putting myself out there on a couple of today’s hot button topics and I hope we can all agree to disagree when necessary.
I am in favor of both legalizing same sex marriage and of requiring proof of ID to vote. And I’m going to explain why.
I don’t believe legalizing same sex marriage has anything to do with anyone’s religious beliefs. It’s about giving all people equal rights. If you don’t want to be in a same sex relationship, don’t. But I don’t want anyone telling me who I can marry nor do I think I am so moral or wise that I should be able to dictate anyone else’s love life either.
I live in Iowa, where same sex marriage has been legal for a couple years now. After about the first month it’s been no big deal. The sun has continued to rise in the East every morning. No one has forced a religious leader to officiate at a wedding they didn’t want to. No one has been asking us to legalizing polygamy or bestiality. And I don’t know of anyone in a hetero marriage who feels their own union has been lessened because their lesbian neighbors got hitched. Nor should they.
Moving on to ID to vote. I honestly thought this was already a law. In the recent past I have personally used or witnessed someone using their photo ID to: check into a hotel, gain entrance to a casino, write a check, cash a check, pick up tickets at a will call window, pick up a narcotic prescription, buy alcohol, buy cigarettes, use a debit card, apply for nursing home assistance, apply for social security,donate plasma, and apply for a store credit card.
Most people in the USA drive cars or have driven at some point in their lives. If you don’t live in a large metro area it’s almost impossible to function without a car. A driver’s license is required to drive a car in all 50 states. Not to mention that ALL United States employers are required to verify proof of work eligibility and one of the items they require for that is- you guessed it- a photo ID.
I simply do not believe there are these hordes of people in this country who have never driven, held a job, gone to a bar, or cashed a check but yet earn to cast a vote. I just don’t.
There are many other reasons why I’m torn on who to vote for for President, but I think I’ll stop here while I still have few friends left.
