I'm a lesbian, but I'm not a one-issue voter. I've supported Obama from the beginning, for a number of reasons, and I still do. I certainly don't support everything he's done -- have frankly been appalled by a couple of things -- but I strongly believe that everything he has done has been in the service of this country. His formal declaration of support for marriage equality may have been forced, but his history of support for the gay community speaks for itself, as does his support for women, the middle class, the poor, the elderly, immigrants, students, veterans and the environment, i.e., everyone and everything that Republican policy would sacrifice for the benefit of a handful of rich white guys.
Although I would vote for Obama even if the policies and the ideology of the Repubs were not so repugnant, the fact that they are makes it all the more urgent that he be re-elected. Romney has shown time and time again that he will cave to any pressure from the radical, fundamentalist faction that seems to have hijacked -- actually, infested is more accurate -- the Republican party, and honestly, they scare the hell out of me. What's particularly frightening is fact that this group will almost certainly seat at least one new Supreme Court Justice -- Ginsburg is 79 -- and quite possible two -- Kennedy, often the swing vote in cases of conservative / progressive deadlock, is 76. If that were to happen, overturning Roe vs. Wade will be the least of our problems. Although I certainly understand the impulse to cast a symbolic vote or to sit this one out altogether, I would urge you to reconsider if for no other reason than to prevent this scenario from occurring.