A gay man's poignant letter , written in hopes of swaying his conservative father from voting for Mitt Romney, is circulating through the blogosphere.
At the core of the author's argument is, of course, Romney's conservative stance on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, including marriage equality. Reddit user Francophile, who uploaded the letter in its entirety to the site, writes:
"Since coming out to you and mom nineteen years ago, I’ve watched you vote for the Republican candidates in every major race. Save for the occasional mealtime argument or sarcastic Fox News barb, I’ve held my tongue, despite the hurt and anger that came from watching you vote for a party that has made a sport out of demonizing gay and lesbian people, like me, for political gain. I did so because I never had a solid enough argument that the Democratic Party was wholly different. They often stopped short of institutionalizing discrimination of gays, but were sadly lax on standing on principle and advocating for its eradication. Until now."
Describing himself as a nearly 40-year-old man, Francophile -- who insists he'd "stay quiet" in any other election, continues:
"This election presents a clear choice between two people whose policy beliefs directly affect the course of my life. Let me be clear: A vote for Mitt Romney is a vote against me. There is no argument to counter that fact.
You might want to argue that you’re not a single-issue voter, but when the single-issue is your own son’s equality under the law, I wouldn’t recommend that argument. ... Because it might be nice to one day have my father stand up at my wedding, realizing he helped make it happen."
Good news for Francophile, though -- he quotes his dad has having replied in part, "I will honor your request because you are my son and I love you. I do support the democratic position on gay marriage."
It's the second time this week that Reddit has hosted a controversial parent-child conversation pertaining to LGBT rights. Earlier this week, a shocking letter penned by a man who disowned his gay son shortly after he came out also went viral via the website.
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