Much has been written on the rights and responsibilities of voters. Above all, American citizens have a responsibility to exercise their right to vote. It is also the responsibility of a voter to be informed and to educate themselves about the candidate or issue that you are asked to decide. How does being gay play into these rights and responsibilities? What is the responsibility of a gay voter?

Many have sacrificed their lives for your right to vote. On a smaller scale, our brothers and sisters have sacrificed their lives for the limited civil rights our community has been able to gain. We have a responsibility to them to continue that fight at every opportunity. This is especially important at the ballot box.

We have an unprecedented opportunity in America as gays and lesbians to capture the middle ground in American politics. We are no longer on the fringes of America. Gay and lesbians are no more Republican or Democrat than the communities in which they live. Those who are out and open about their sexuality are not just those on the fringes. They are everyday Americans, from all walks of life.

Somewhere along the way though, our vote was sold to the Democratic Party. We were told that we have to remain on the fringes of American politics in order to gain anything. That may have been true in the past. Now though, we have the opportunity to make candidates from both sides of the aisle earn our vote. We have the chance to gain the middle ground by making America come to us.

They ask us to support candidates just because they are Democrats without even approaching moderate Republicans, independents and third parties and bringing them to our side. Gay civil rights groups endorse only Democrats and perpetually pimp our vote to those who rarely live up to their word. We were asked to support a president who passed the Federal Defense of Marriage Act and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We are asked to support a presidential candidate who applauds constitutional amendments banning gay marriage in several states. Locally we are asked to support a city council candidate who votes against us and even refused to fill out a questionnaire from gay Democrats.

It’s not like there is always a better alternative. Their opponents were often worse than they were. This is mostly because we didn’t approach them and bring them to our table. Yet we still give our vote to those who don’t earn it. We give those who don’t support us a mandate to work against us. After all, where else are we going to turn?

What if instead of casting a blanket vote for Democrats, or following those who have sold our vote to the highest bidder, we ask all candidates to support our issues? What if we didn’t have to identify with fringe issues to gain equal rights? What if we don’t give our vote to those who don’t earn it? What if our vote actually meant something?

Groups like Log Cabin Republicans are trying to bring others to our issues. They believe that we can take the middle ground. Yet they are castigated by Democrats since they threaten to take voters out of the fringe in politics and into the mainstream. They bring Republicans to the table and win them over on our issues. They create the opportunity for us to capture the center in American politics. They allow us to win over the rest of America, that doesn’t live on the fringes.

Unfortunately, many in our community enjoy the fringes. It’s comfortable there. We don’t have to think about how to vote, we are told. After all, they have our best interests at heart; they are our brothers and sisters. We can blindly follow and everything will be OK.

When will we expect everyone to come to our table? When will we expect proper treatment from everyone? When will we stop being a special interest group and realize that what affects us affects all Americans? The result is a mandate for candidates who continually use us and abuse us. We vote as a block for those our vote has been sold to.

The only resolution is for gay voters to start thinking. We must reward those who support us, and not support those who take advantage of us. We must withhold our vote when it is not earned. We must make our vote mean something. It is the only thing that will honor not only those Americans who gave their lives for our vote, but those gay Americans who gave their lives for our rights.