Guest Author
Primaries are tough. They often devolve into a messy family fight where everyone rushes to a corner in hopes that the temporary rift blows over quickly.
There’s been a lot said in this election cycle about our Democratic candidates and I appreciate that campaigns must pivot to draw a contrast or difference with their opponents. However, recent remarks by some Democratic candidates about Vice President Joe Biden representing the failures of a Washington establishment is not only nonsense, it’s offensive to the many families like mine whose lives were changed because leaders like Biden challenged the establishment.
It’s easy to march. It’s easy to rally. It’s easy to call for change. Where the real change comes though, is when people like Biden are willing to step out and act. Biden did that in 2012 in what is now seen as a defining moment in the gay rights movement. He called for swift recognition of marriage equality with all the federal rights that come with it.
For many, the notion that gay Americans were denied more than 1,000 federal rights was lost because they are nuanced and often are not felt in our daily lives.
Sadly, that was not the case for Carlos and me.
While we were engaged, we could not legally marry in Florida and though we could have traveled to another state, it would have mattered very little since the federal government would still deny us those federal rights.
But then came Vice President Biden. It was an electrifying moment with goose bumps and all when he shared with the world his call for marriage equality. It was an unforgettable moment because I knew then that with Biden stepping out boldly, as a proud practicing Catholic American, he would take the first wrecking ball to the walls of inequality and injustice that denied families like mine the opportunity to have full federal benefits as a married couple.
That was the beginning of a new journey for LGBT families for one simple reason- change was on the horizon.
Biden paved the way for President Barack Obama to be the first sitting president of the United States of America to call for laws to change so LGBT Americans could be treated equally and justly. This moment- this very moment where our Washington, D.C. leaders acted boldly is why I take offense to those who characterize Biden as part of the failed Washington establishment of yesterday.
You may not appreciate his leadership style of empathy and compassion, or you may disagree with some of his past votes, but Biden embodies what is right with many of our political leaders and why Florida Democrats should proudly cast their vote for him in our primary.
Biden changed public opinion, which then resulted in our court system taking the final whack on those walls of inequality. On June 23, 2013, the world changed forever for LGBT families, including mine. Six weeks later, Carlos and I were married in Washington, D.C. and returned to Florida knowing that the full weight of our federal government had our back because the fight for marriage equality in our home state was only starting.
Just like Biden felt compelled to see the change our country so desperately yearned for in May 2012, I knew that we too had to step out boldly like Biden to realize our change in Florida. Carlos and I immediately joined seven other couples, the ACLU and SAVE in filing a lawsuit to challenge Florida’s constitutional amendment that denied marriage equality in Florida.
Sixteen months later, we celebrated another victory when we won that case and Jan. 6, 2015, Florida held its first LGBT marriages.
It is very fitting that Carlos gets to celebrate his first year as a U.S. citizen by casting his first ballot in our democratic process for Biden as a leading choice. He forever changed our world for the better and I pray every day that he is blessed with the opportunity to change many more, because that is the person who Biden is at his core. A compassionate and empathetic person who leads with his heart to achieve the most good he can for as many people as he can.
This is why I feel it’s my humble duty to remind those who seek to score political points during a contentious race that Biden has been and will always be a leading voice for positive change, no matter who you are or who you love.
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Christian Ulvert is a Florida-based Democratic strategist and former chair of SAVE, South Florida’s LGBT rights organization. Along with his husband, Carlos Andrade, they live in Miami Shores and are proud Hispanic Americans.
