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Upcoming Elections
Australia has a federal election coming up in May. There are also other state and local elections happening so the place is wall to wall politics at the moment.
For 40 years I have voted for the party I thought would do best for the country as a whole and for the most disadvantaged, even if it meant I would not benefit from their policies or would actually lose from them personally. I always voted for who I thought would do the right thing over all. But not this time.
I have decided that this election I will ignore all other policies each party and candidate has and instead focus solely on how the parties treat women's rights. I would normally want to save the environment but if a politician says he will keep men out of women's prisons I will vote for him - even if he also wants to log native forests. If a candidate promises to keep women's sports solely for women I will vote for her - even if she also wants to make hunting homeless cats our national sport.
The politicians who support women's rights are not doing so to be popular and win votes. It can ruin their careers to openly go against the trans lobby in this way. Some of their policies on other issues may be there to garner votes but they are in the fight for our rights because they believe in it as much as we do.They aren't going to change their minds or back down once elected because their stance on this issue is as steadfast (and as unpopular) as ours.
By the time the next election rolls around in 3 years time this whole trans business should be done and dusted in our favour. Detrasitioners will be everywhere and courts will have decided contentious cases and settled compensation on at least some of the victims. Once the pendulum has swung sufficiently back towards sanity I will return to voting the way I used to.
These seasoned politicians and new candidates all take a huge risk in supporting women's rights to equality, safety, privacy, and dignity. I'm willing to take a one time risk and vote for them.