LGBTQ Support
Question
I am part of the LGBT community, and recent years have not been easy for us, something many of us expect to be worse going into the 2024 election season. The recent shooting in Maine has only worsened these fears, as the accused shooter was found to have been fervently anti-LGBT. To be blunt, we are scared. In the short time I have been here I have come to love Dover and people here, who are far more welcoming than my home town. Do you support the LGBT community and how might you work with the council to ensure Dover remains a welcoming and safe place for us?
Answer
I believe everyone should feel welcome in Dover, and that includes the LGBTQIA+ community. Everyone has the right to their identity; to be their true selves.
As a guiding principle, it is not anyone’s place to make others’ lives more difficult for disapproval of their lifestyle. Interceding in the lives of others is a knife that cuts both ways, and one’s perception of the knife’s benefits is always favorable when they are the one wielding it. This truth is so fundamental that the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence declare our “unalienable” rights.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all…are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
— Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
While the Declaration of Independence originally specified only men, today its meaning is more broadly interpreted to include everyone. That is certainly where I stand.
Book Bans and Drag Bans
The above reasoning extends to my views on book bans and drag bans, which are further supported by the First Amendment. In the United States, we have the freedom to express our opinions, regardless of whether others disagree with them.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
— U.S. Constitution, 1st Amendment
New Hampshire’s motto is on everyone’s license plate, “Live Free or Die.” It is not the freedom to take freedom away from others.
How Will I Work with Council
I will advocate on behalf, uphold, and defend the civil liberties of every Dover resident.
Resources
Want to dig deeper? Read some of the linked documents to learn more.
Subscribe for Updates
Receive campaign updates, and get notified about new content.