Women: Vote for President Barack Obama!
The one issue widening the wedge between Democrats and Republicans in this presidential election is that of women’s rights. As the gap expands, we are subjected to increasingly more ignorant remarks about rape and abortion, the funding of contraception, and the need for special counseling and testing for pregnant girls and women weighing whether or not to have an abortion. Also divisive is the blocking of legislation addressing violence against women as well as equal pay, which fosters a virulent form of sexism in this country. On the basis of these current indicators, we can only predict that the situation for women would worsen under a Romney Administration.
Would an elected Mitt Romney uphold our democratic values of equality and inclusivity or would we expect a further erosion of women’s rights and opportunities? Particularly problematic for women, especially those of us who are single, lesbian, widowed, or divorced, is our expected role in the U.S. as spelled out by the 2012 Republican Party Platform: “The institution of marriage is the foundation of civil society. Its success as an institution will determine our success as a nation. . . . we believe that marriage, the union of one man and one woman must be upheld as the national standard, a goal to stand for, encourage, and promote through laws governing marriage.”
Another alarming belief centers on the role of women in the Mormon faith. Added to the Republican’s national standard promoting marriage is the Mormon tenet that the most important goal for a girl is "to marry the right person, in the right place, by the right authority." Mormon girls also must be chaste until marriage, thereby making them worth marrying. Being married and bearing many children are the noblest of endeavors for girls. Of all U.S. states, Utah has the highest percentage of children less than 18 years of age, 31.5%. Because Utahan girls marry young, the lowest median age in the country, and do not complete a college education, the wage gap in Utah is the largest in the nation, with women earning 55 cents for every dollar a man makes (American Community Survey in Slate.com). Although Mormon marriages are sealed in heaven to last an eternity, divorces do occur, but obtaining a church divorce is a complicated pursuit. After appealing to male church authorities, a couple may be granted a church divorce, which would break the sealed celestial marriage and free the couple.
The LDS Church and the Mormon family are patriarchal and hierarchal institutions, placing women in a subordinate position to men. Only boys and men can become priests; male bishops and stake presidents lead the local churches, which were positions held by Mitt Romney when he lived in Massachusetts.
What role would single, lesbian, widowed, or divorced women have in the U.S. under a Romney Administration? Would we anomalies be ostracized or considered unworthy of respect and dignity? Women are to marry and have children, leaving the work place to men. For the sake of all girls and women, vote for President Barack Obama.
Anne Hoiberg
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Point Loma Democratic Club of which she is a member.