Ryan Short, a married gay man living in Seattle, ended his 80-year-old father’s support for Republican political candidates after sending a mass email to the family demanding they stop voting for conservatives.
RELATED: Florida Man Arrested For Relentlessly Harassing Gay Neighbors For Months
According to Insider, the entire saga began on March 14 when Richard Short, who is a retired war veteran living in Dallas, was speaking to his son Ryan on the phone. At one point in the conversation, which Ryan described as one of their “random catch-ups,” he said his father “just casually said, ‘I’m still Republican.'” Ryan said he then asked his father if his support for the party was still strong despite its recent rhetoric against LGBTQ people, to which Richard responded “yes.” Richard’s remarks prompted his son to write an email, which he sent to dozens of their family members, asking them to stop voting for the GOP in support of him and his other queer family members.
In his address, Ryan took a stern and serious tone with his family members as he wrote, “Hear me clearly — you cannot vote for the GOP and continue to have a relationship with me.” Short’s email continues, “No exceptions. I am inviting no dialogue, and I have no interest in nuance. Attacks in the USA by conservatives and literal Nazis against LGBTQ+ communities are growing in legislative bodies, online, and in public spaces.” Ryan went on to detail how politics relates to municipal issues rather than the “safety and peace,” of he and his husband, who have already planned their escape route to a Canadian city due to their fear of the possibility of genocide in the United States. He also firmly posed the question, “Will you commit to not voting for the GOP ever again?”
My letter. Sent with prideful power. https://t.co/sCwJDXP7Y3 pic.twitter.com/mdd3bHrPLf
— Ryan 👨🏻 (@CRShort81) March 15, 2023
After Ryan sent the email out on March 15, he shared screenshots of the message to his personal Twitter account — and the tweets subsequently went viral. The screenshot of his email along with a picture of his text conversation with his father after sending the message has garnered more than four million views and nearly 18,000 likes. Ryan’s father says he initially responded to the message “quickly, without thinking,” with resistance. However, after Richard’s wife and another family friend explained Ryan’s email to him, he said he agreed to stop backing Republican candidates and he and his son reconciled. Richard also confirmed he has resigned from the Republican Club he belongs to in Collin County, Texas after his son’s message.
“Family is family,” Richard Short said. “Being a hard head, I’m a little bit hard to get through to. “But then I’m one of these people, I’ll sit back, reflect and think on what I said, and I’m very quick to apologize.”
Richard also said he is “sincerely and truthfully,” happy to be in agreeance with his son’s request.
RELATED: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Slams NCAA & Says Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Was Not ‘Rightful Winner’
Ryan’s email message to his family quickly drew support from thousands of Twitter users, including LA-based actress Sarah Greyson, who replied. “I’m sorry you had to say it, but it needed to be said!”
In the end, Ryan said his email was intended to be “a boundary,” and “not a persuasion,” and said he is proud to have sent that message because of how it is helping people like him in similar situations.
“I came quickly to a place of feeling very proud for putting that message out there,” Ryan said. “Especially once people said they wanted to copy and paste this to help their situation.”