Letter to the Editor: Progress 4 Peekskill Candidates Best Align With My Values
I came out in 1981, when I was 16. At 18, I registered to vote and I voted for Democrats in virtually every election since. I saw their platform as more closely aligned with my values – equality, individual rights, liberty, opportunity and democracy. However, as a gay citizen I was often disappointed by the Democratic party’s defense of these values.
Decision after decision fell short. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” “Defense of Marriage” Act, Obama’s refusal to put “gay” and “marriage” in the same sentence, all felt like slaps in the face, but juxtaposed against the Republican policies, what choice did I have? I got used to turning the other cheek.
It took 36 years between when I came out as gay and the Supreme Court decision of 2020 that finally declared LGBTQ+ people deserving of equal protections under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. During those years, we lost thousands of gay lives to teen suicide and anti-gay and anti-trans violence.
The price of glacial, politically calculated change is very, very high and rarely discussed. At this moment, we face many issues that put the lives and well-being of Peekskillians at-risk: housing insecurity, food insecurity, health impacts due to environmental racism, climate change and inequitable access to health care, including COVID vaccines and treatment. We don’t have decades to act! We need to create affordable housing options for a range of wage earners; we need to upgrade our infrastructure; we need to modernize our zoning; we need to listen to all stakeholders.
The Democrats currently in power want me to be happy with the minimal actions they have taken to address these serious issues, but I have no more cheeks left to turn. I’m voting for the full Progress4Peekskill slate so I won’t be 92 when we finally take action against gentrification, racism and climate change.
Janine Melillo
Peekskill
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