Today at an LGBTQ-focused get-out-the-vote rally held at the home of openly gay Sen. Jeremy Moss, Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow came together alongside other elected officials to deliver a resounding message: vote.
"This is the election our community has been waiting for. You're going to make a huge difference if you vote. If you've already voted, got to vote today still, going to vote tomorrow, this is the election that we've been waiting for. We know as a community what it's like to be excluded. We know as a community what it's like to be left out of the spotlight," Moss said. "… We know what's on the line: our rights are on the line."
Watch the full video here:
He then went on to mention the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barret — who has a track record of conservative ruling and who will hear an LGBTQ-rights case days after the election — and impress upon voters the importance of gaining protections for sexual orientation and gender identity via legal protections in the Equality Act.
"We never enshrined those protections into law, so the second the Supreme Court reverses any of those decisions, we revert back to second-class status here in the state of Michigan. So, in Michigan, we must vote," he said. "In Michigan, our votes must count."
Sen. Debbie Stabenow echoed Moss's statements saying, "We have to do everything we possibly can right now." Sen. Gary Peters then spoke, emphasizing that in 2016, Donald Trump won by a small margin of "two votes a precinct." He then encouraged everyone who still had not done so to vote and to encourage others to do so as well.
"The election is not over. We can still talk to that neighbor next door, we can still make those calls, we can still reach out, because we've got to put everything on the field and put all of our energy into these next few hours," Peters said.
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter then took the stage. He called attention to the strides made for LGBTQ equality in the county when he took office as the successor to L. Brooks Patterson — a Republican who held the office for over 25 years — as not only a progressive Democrat but an openly gay man. Coulter then encouraged anyone invested in maintaining LGBTQ equality to vote not only for presidential candidates but to look all the way down the ballot.
"Your power is your vote," he said. "Use it. Get your friends to use it. And let's get our country back."
Gov. Whitmer then addressed the crowd. She started by saying that whether we're candidates or not, "every one of us is on the ballot."
"I'm proud to be from Michigan, because Michiganders have grit. Michiganders are not to be bullied. Michiganders stand up for one another and show up for our community. Michiganders get stuff done. And you know what? Donald Trump was here in Michigan yesterday and we all laughed at the irony that he was complaining about the snowflakes," Whitmer said. "We are going to restore integrity to this country. We are going to make sure that we elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris so that we've got people that care about the Americans that they are supposed to be serving, who can get their arms around COVID-19, who can get us back to work and will fight for every single one of us."
For those who are interested in voting but do not know which candidates to choose, visit mivoterguide.com for a full breakdown of progressive candidates in Michigan. Click here to learn where your polling place is.
