A Vote for Trump is a Vote for My Assaulter: A Letter from My Wife

My wife doesn’t write, and she’s significantly less political than me. But after hearing the terrible remarks from Donald Trump in the recently surfaced video, she felt compelled to speak out.

Before I get to her post, I just want to say that Lindsay is the strongest, bravest, most incredible woman I have ever known. It is because of her that I became Catholic in the first place. I am a better person because of her, and I love her with every bit of my heart. This is her story, and you all need to hear it.

I don’t blog. That’s not really my thing [see my husband for all that jazz] but I’ve got something to say so here’s my shot at it.

Let me lay this out first: A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for my sexual assaulter.

Seven years ago I experienced something I would never wish upon anyone.  Something that I have kept mostly to myself. Only a handful of people know the whole story, but sharing that is not my intention right now.

That night still haunts me. For years I believed that I brought it upon myself, that it was my fault. I couldn’t help but think, “Well, I put myself in that situation so maybe that’s what I deserved.” However no one, (let me say that a little louder for the people in the back) NO ONE deserves to be sexually assaulted.

Donald Trump would obviously disagree. “You can do anything,” he states on his video. Since my assaulter wanted something, he took it. Even after he was not given consent and specifically told “no”. Multiple times. “I don’t even wait,” says Trump. Well, my assaulter did. He waited until I was asleep.

Let’s all remember that “sexual assault” isn’t solely about sex, it also refers to behaviors, specifically without explicit consent of the victim. What Donald Trump “said” was sexual assault against ALL women. “Locker room banter” is not an excuse. If anything, that angers me even more. This is simply not acceptable of someone who claims he wants to lead our country to make it “great again”.

Should I even get started on the lame excuse for an apology? It was literally a campaign ad. “Sorry, but [points finger] he did it, too! And, and, and, she sucks!”

I’m [not] sorry, but apology not accepted.

There are so many people in this country who have worked incredibly hard to bring justice to victims of sexual assaults. Electing Donald Trump as President of the United States will undo all of the tremendous efforts people have tirelessly worked for.

So I say again, a vote for Donald Trump is a vote for my sexual assaulter. A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for rape culture.

She’s my hero.