Voting for Pete Buttigieg

I am certainly happy that we have a secret ballot to avoid people getting threatened or bribed to vote a certain way, but I find elections difficult and appreciate learning how people I know are voting, so I am explaining my vote. And I certainly do not intend to threaten or bribe with this article ; )

I changed my voter registration to the democratic party (deadline is approaching) and plan to vote for Pete Buttigieg. Then, if he wins and depending on additional information I acquire, I would vote for him in the general election. Hopefully his moderate fiscal policies will even create some unity between some Democrats and Republicans, and perhaps the Iowa voters were aiming for that when they chose him--choosing someone that could get enough support to defeat the incumbent President Trump.

Choosing between Democrats and Republicans can be hard.

For me, his greatest advantage over President Trump, and likely over other Republicans, is that he supports helping refugees and others find belonging. His immigration page is entitled I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me.

His greatest advantage over other Democrats is that he acknowledges opportunity costs (the fact that spending money in one area limits other opportunities) and that he talks about religion. I agree that there should be a separation of church and state, but I think that means the government shouldn't sponsor one religion or force religion on people, and religious office shouldn't be a requirement for government leaders. Everybody in the United States should feel free to talk about scripture and love for God as motivating factors in the policies we promote. Jesus Christ's teachings are not somehow less appropriate in public discussions than, say, Socrates', just because religions have followed Jesus Christ.

I honestly do not fully understand what policies Pete Buttigieg will promote regarding the LGBTQ+ movement. I will be happy if upcoming policies promote respect and kindness towards all people, including people who identify as LGBTQ+. I hope they find excellent jobs and housing, and I could get behind some policies to that end.

Despite his religious references, Pete Buttigieg’s page on LGBTQ+ does promote stopping certain religious exemptions, with the intent to ensure freedom of religion is not freedom to discriminate. He wants Title IX, a piece of federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in schools, to be interpreted to accomodate transgender students. To some degree, some of this may make sense. However, I am uncomfortable with how it compares the situation to that of racial discrimination. The hateful racism that called for equality legislation is nothing like what drives me and those of my religion to support traditional marriage.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published a document, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” in 1995, which says that we are children "of heavenly parents," "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God," and that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." I have observed leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints carefully my entire life, and they sincerely love God and their brothers and sisters. I personally have been blessed by God’s commandments relating to family, and those commandments do not stop me from loving my LGBTQ+ friends.

Another troubling aspect of his campaign for me is that he wants fewer restrictions on abortion. This troubles me because I believe fetuses are precious life and will become sweet babies, and my testimony of this is growing stronger.

These issues are very important to me, and so it may seem odd that I am still planning to vote for Pete Buttigieg. I hope that he will at least promote religious views being talked about openly, and that will be helpful. I support religious freedom for all. If somebody’s deeply held views about what is right and good from an eternal perspective collide with what I think is ideal policy, I want to cooperate to respect those important views.

Respecting those who support traditional marriage because of their religion is of great spiritual importance, and limiting abortion really is a life and death situation. At the same time, allowing in immigrants who are persecuted because of their religion and other reasons is also of spiritual and of life and death importance. This vote is the best balance I can think of as I try to honor some of the values that are most important to me.