Driving home yesterday from the airport I saw a billboard which kind of made me chuckle and now makes me wonder. The billboard I saw was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike around mile marker 350 and it stated: “Obama supports Gay Marriage and Abortion…Vote Republican”. That of course is a great talking point if all the voter cares about is two wedge issues and nothing else; however, it has brought to my attention something that has troubled me. Why isn’t anyone asking the right question when Republicans try to rely on these issues?
How can you stand up for individual liberty when you don’t believe that individual liberty that you have to marry can be extended to another part of the population? I mean is it only your liberty to decide what is or is not acceptable the liberty you stand for, I just don’t understand. If it is from a Christian or another religious perspective I still don’t understand how two men or women marrying affect your marriage. As a Christian I personally believe that nothing another person will do affects my marriage, for God united my wife and I and if the state or another church would unite a same-sex couple it makes no impact what so ever on my marriage.
As far as abortion, I am not pro-abortion; I personally doubt anyone is. I just personally don’t believe that is a decision the Government or you should make for another citizen. Especially in the cases of rape and incest, how can you or the State seriously make that choice for another family? And if it is about the sanctity of life, where does that sanctity go after the birth since those Republicans that the billboard wants you to vote for want to cut SNAP benefits that will help at risk children and other vital social programs that help the 470,000 children in Pennsylvania according to the Childrensdefense.org whose family rely on these programs. Are you willing to pay the taxes, or require the wealthiest Americans to contribute more, or do you only care the child is born and then they are on their own?
Furthermore on the sanctity of life issue how about the 30,000 Americans who will die from gun violence, yet no one has the courage to address that issue. Or the 45,000 Americans who die annually from lack of health care according to a 2009 Harvard study and the main talking point of these Republicans is to repeal ObamaCares which expands health care to 34 million more Americans and according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 236,000 Pennsylvanians who now have access to affordable health care.
When I see these Gay Marriage and Abortion billboards I am forced to question the ability of those who make these pleas to win on the issues. How do any of these two issues fix the economy, create job or lower the deficit. Gay Marriage and Abortion are two issues that should be left to the responsibility of those who have to make the decision and that is not me, not you and definitely not the State.
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