Well, I am new enough around here not to know yet who is who...but I am less than comfortable with the choice of Kamala Harris...so, seeing someone else express doubts is nice...but our reasons are completely different.
My doubts about Harris center around her involvement in the case Norsworthy vs. Beard.
In this case, Kamala Harris, at the time, was AG of California. As she has portrayed herself as an ally of my transgender community, I believe she totally screwed the pooch on this case, and she has failed to totally own this mistake, or apologize for it. When called on it during her Presidential campaign, by some of my community, she claimed that the briefs with her name on them filed against Norsworthy in the case were in fact written by underlings in her office without her knowledge or consent. If that is so...then how does it recommend one for higher office...if underlings are doing things in your name without your knowledge or consent?
Now, as to the case itself, and why I have a problem with her actions...
Ms. Norsworthy was an inmate in the California Prison System. At the time she went in, she already identified as a trans woman, and was taking hormones. Now, if you know anything about hormone therapy...it places stress on the liver...even a healthy liver. Ms. Norsworthy, when she went into prison HAD a healthy liver.
And then she was raped in prison. The State of California failed to protect her...and, as a result, she acquired a case of Hepatitis. Because of this, a licensed medical practitioner prescribed gender-reassignment surgery for Ms. Norsworthy, with an eye towards Ms. Norsworthy being able to reduce the amount of hormones needed, thus easing stress on her now-damaged liver...which was damaged because the state failed to protect her.
Kamala Harris, in her role as AG, argued against this beneficial treatment, prescribed by a licensed physician, which was necessitated by the damage Ms. Norsworthy suffered as a direct result of the failure of the State of California to protect her. So, not only did the sate fail Ms. Norsworthy, leading to severe damage to her...they then argued against medical treatment meant to alleviate some of the suffering and damage brought about by that original failure. I find this vicious and uncalled for.
I do not care what your view may be on transgender people or gender reassignment, but, when you are an inmate in the custody of a state...and you are prescribed medical treatment by a licensed physician, it is my belief that it is incumbent on the state to provide that care, whether they agree with it or not. Particularly in this case, since the aforementioned care was necessitated by the state's original failure to protect Ms. Norsworthy.
Now, there are those who would say Ms. Harris was simply doing her job as AG....Kamala herself has used this as an excuse. To which I reply that my current Governor, Roy Cooper of North Carolina...when he was our AG...he refused to defend the State against the HB-2 lawsuit. Why couldn't Kamala have refused to defend the State of California in this case? I have my own issues with Governor Cooper, but credit where credit is due....he did the right thing in the HB-2 case, and Kamala did the wrong thing in the Norsworthy case.
Compounding this, in my eyes, is her refusal to totally own this...to apologize for her previous actions, and promise to do better going forward. She could have has "an Obama Moment" instead, she chooses to keep her options open...so that if and when it becomes politically expedient to abandon the LGB and trans community, she can do so...whereas a strong statement now would make her less able to abandon us later. We have been promised things and lied to...too many times, by too many people who wanted our votes. Including Governor Cooper, I might add.
Now...why this is important: Some of you may be aware of the recent SCOTUS ruling in the Aimee Stephens case. That case says that employers may not discriminate on the basis of transgender identity, under Title VII. Gorsuch, in his ruling, correctly noted that you can't talk about transgender without bringing sex into the question - e.g. if you would sanction a man for wearing a dress to work, but you would not sanction a woman for wearing a dress to work, then you are engaged in sex discrimination.
Fewer of you are probably aware of Trump's recent actions in removing Title VII protections from transgender people in healthcare access, by rewriting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. So, as it stands now, you can't fire me for being trans...but you can refuse me healthcare....even healthcare not related to transgender care....even life-saving care...just because I am transgender. And we are in the middle of a freaking pandemic!
Now, I don't have a problem with a doctor who wants to refuse to give me hormones, or refuse to participate in my actual gender reassignment. But no doctor should be able to refuse to treat my broken leg, my diabetes, my heart attack, or Goddess forbid, COVID...just because I am trans. The last time I checked, it was NOT illegal to be trans...yet, as things stand now, my trans status could be a death warrant...and a doctor can quite literally murder me with impunity by simply refusing to treat me for COVID...just because I am trans. And that is wrong.
So, what Kamala needs, right now, in MY eyes...is to make a strong statement concerning transgender people and our right to healthcare access....that no treatment should be denied us...if that treatment would be rendered to a cisgender person. I have no interest in forcing an unwilling doctor to participate in my gender reassignment...frankly, I do not want a doctor hostile to trans coming at me with a knife while I am unconscious!! But that same doctor has no right to murder me with impunity by refusing me treatment for COVID, because he has a moral problem with transgender people. If he would treat a cisgender person fro COVID, then he should also have to treat ME for COVID. I have as much right to live as anyone else.
In light of Kamala's actions in the Norsworthy case, I have real reason to fear she will not be a strong advocate, such as my community needs, to make sure we are not murdered in cold blood by doctors who are supposed to try to save us. And she needs to make a strong statement to that effect. As things stand now, i do not trust her.
It's not a deal-breaker, I am still voting for Joe, because Donald Trump is far worse...but I feel disappointed and betrayed by this pick. Frankly, I am tired of accepting Democrats being less than 100 percent allies of my community, just because the GOP is worse. Just because the GOP is worse, it does NOT excuse my Party for failing to be the BEST. Just "less bad than the GOP" is not, in my view, acceptable.
Rant off.