FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2016
[email protected]
Seven members of congress, 18 state elected officials join NARAL to call out Trump for misogyny and unpresidential temperament
NARAL Pro-Choice America today released an open letter signed by 29 Men for Choice to the fathers, brothers, and husbands of America explaining why they will not be voting for Donald Trump this November. As families across the country celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, the signers write that Donald Trump, who has called women “bimbos,” “dogs,” and “pigs,” is a misogynist, an inadequate role model, and unfit to be the President of the United States.
From the letter: “As a society, we cannot reward a misogynist with a vote for president. When our leaders treat women as less than equal and enact policies that perpetuate gender inequality, that hurts all of us. We need a president who will fight for reproductive freedom so our entire families can get ahead. We need a president who will fight for paid family leave and against pregnancy discrimination. We don’t need someone like Donald Trump who refuses to support policies that help women and families succeed, and behaves more like a schoolyard bully than President of the United States.”
The letter is available as a public petition online for pro-choice men to sign on in support. The link to the petition can be found here.
NARAL’s Men for Choice program provides a platform for our fathers, brothers, sons, husbands, and other male allies who recognize that women’s rights are human rights. The original co-signers of this Men for Choice letter include:
Candidates for U.S. Senate:
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut)
U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy (Florida)
U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen (Maryland)
Former Governor Ted Strickland (Ohio)
Secretary of State Jason Kander (Missouri)
Candidates for U.S. Congress:
U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (MN-05)
U.S. Representative Tim Ryan, (OH-13)
U.S. Representative Adam Smith (WA-09)
U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer, (WA-06)
State Rep. Bill Otto, Candidate for Congress (MO-02)
State Rep. Steve Santarsiero, Candidate for Congress
(PA-08)Raja Krishnamoorthi, Candidate for Congress (IL-08)
Additional signatories:
State Sen. Martin Quezada, Arizona
State Sen. Curtis Hertel, Michigan
State Sen. Jim Ananich, Michigan
State Sen. Richard “Tick” Segerblom, Nevada
State Sen. Adam Ebbin, Virginia
State Sen. Chris Larson, Wisconsin
State Rep. Virgil Fludd, Georgia
State Rep. Michael Butler, Missouri
State Rep. Randy Dunn, Missouri
State Rep. Nicholas J. Celebrezze, Ohio
State Rep. Dan Frankel, Pennsylvania
State Rep. James E. Smith, Jr., South Carolina
State Rep. Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin
Etan Fraser, NARAL Pro-Choice America Board
Steve Kerrigan, NARAL Pro-Choice America Board
Sachin K. Chheda, NARAL Pro-Choice America Board
The full text of the Men for Choice letter is below:
Being a good dad is hard work. As fathers and men who have kids in our lives, we work hard to make sure the kids we love have strong values and that they treat others the way they would like to be treated—with compassion, dignity, and respect. We want our kids to live in a world where men and women are truly equal and are treated as such. We try to set that example for them, and when we think of who is teaching our kids at school, who is representing them in Congress, or serving as their president, we want more than anything for these individuals to be role models. They should have good judgment, integrity, and temperament so they can also set an example of what it means to be a good person. And of course, they should support gender equality.
That’s why as Men for Choice, we won’t vote for Donald Trump this fall.
Donald Trump is a bully who has made it his job to demean and belittle women at every turn. He calls women “bimbos”, “dogs”, and “pigs.” He said that a woman who exercises her constitutional right to control her own life should be punished. He has told women they wouldn’t have a job if they weren’t “beautiful.” And who can forget when he attacked Megyn Kelly when he said she had “blood coming out of her ‘wherever’.” It’s awful.
As a society, we cannot reward a misogynist with a vote for president. When our leaders treat women as less than equal and enact policies that perpetuate gender inequality, that hurts all of us. We need a president who will fight for reproductive freedom so our entire families can get ahead. We need a president who will fight for paid family leave and against pregnancy discrimination. We don’t need someone like Donald Trump who refuses to support policies that help women and families succeed, and behaves more like a schoolyard bully than President of the United States. His behavior and policies have no place in our country, especially not the White House. And like with the schoolyard bully, we all need to stand up to him.
As Men for Choice, we believe women should live in a world where they have the right to make their own decisions not only about health care, but their lives, without interference. We believe that women are full partners in society, and we support policies that will make our belief a reality in this society. Our leaders should do the same.
Donald Trump is not a statesman or a leader. He is a vulgar bully who is completely unfit to be President of the United States.
Our votes mean something to us and to our children’s future. We will not throw it away on someone so ill-suited to the presidency, but more than that, how could we look our kids in the eye and tell them we voted for Donald Trump. He is wrong for their future, and he is wrong for America. We won’t vote Trump, and we hope you’ll join us against him.
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