© Linda Demer
When he turned 18, Greg Demer lost his right to vote because of his autism, joining thousands of other people with mental disabilities who were stripped of the right during guardianship proceedings. More than a decade later, a different judge returned to him the right to vote.
Like many people with autism, Greg Demer is bright but has difficulty communicating. He has a passion for the history of military aircraft, but he can't quite keep up a conversation with new people. When he meets someone, he'll quote from movies or ask them about their favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
His mother, Linda Demer, worried that he wouldn't be able to make complicated decisions about his finances and health care once he turned 18. So, in 2005, a judge in Los Angeles, where they live, granted her conservatorship over Greg.
"I wanted to protect him," she said of her son, who is now 31.
But in the conservatorship process, the judge also stripped away Greg's right to vote.
He was not only unfit to make decisions about his health care and finances, the judge ruled, but he also was unfit to participate in the democratic process.
In being declared "mentally incapacitated," he joined tens of thousands of Americans with disabilities who every year lose their right to vote during guardianship proceedings, according to the California-based Spectrum Institute, an advocacy group for people with disabilities.
Comment: Draq queens are a caricature. In years past they would present provocative acts as a means of entertaining a subculture. Today, the LGBT movement has utilized such measures as a means of demanding acceptance by the larger society. It shouldn't be difficult to understand, but demanding acceptance of provocation is a pretty futile battle.