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States In the News:

Equality Federation Leaders Meet in San Francisco:

http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3479

MassEquality’s Marc Solomon on the Inevitability of Marriage Equality:

http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=opinion&sc=guest_opinions&sc2=news&sc3=&id=83299

Election Updates from the States

The elimination of the right to marry for same-sex couples in California may have been the biggest election news for LGBT people because a majority has voted to take rights away from a minority, the passage of Proposition 8 was not the only news worth noting in our ongoing effort to achieve equality for LGBT people across the country.  We had other losses – but we also had a significant number of wins.

Most notably, marriage equality is now the law in the state of Connecticut, where voters rejected attempts to call a constitutional convention that could have overturned the recent state supreme court ruling that the state’s constitution requires equality – specifically, an equal right to marry for same-sex couples.  Marriages began in Connecticut on November 12, just over a week after the election.

In addition to California’s new anti-equality amendment, two other states – Arizona and Florida – also passed constitutional amendments banning marriage equality for same-sex couples.  Although the right to marry had yet to be extended in either state, many hoped that these amendments would be defeated.  In Florida, 60% of voters must approve a constitutional amendment, and despite a hard-fought battle, a majority of Floridians voted for discrimination.  In Arizona, voters two years ago rejected a constitutional amendment that would have denied not only marriage equality for same-sex couples but also relationship protections for both gay and straight couples.  Unfortunately, when anti-gay bigots came back to the ballot, the 2009 measure zeroed in on same-sex couples only – and again, voters chose discrimination over fairness.

One of the most troubling losses for the LGBT community – and for unmarried straight people – occurred in Arkansas but has received very little attention.  Voters in Arkansas approved Act 1, a measure whose ultimate victims are children – by banning unmarried couples, gay or straight, from providing loving homes to children who are wards of the state.  Driven by bigotry against gay people, this new Arkansas law elevates prejudice above the best interests of children – despite strong arguments by social workers and judges that the best interest standard should be the guide for ensuring that abandoned children have access to loving homes.  A number of Federation leaders have expressed concern that this bigotry will begin to spread to other states, threatening the well-being of children everywhere.

Despite the focus on ballot measures in the LGBT community, one of the biggest stories of this election was the number of fair-minded legislators elected to local and state offices across the country.  Victory Fund reports that 70% of LGBT candidates for office were elected, including the nation’s first known transgender mayor in Washington state.  State leaders across the country also report significant legislative changes in their states – at least partly as a result of increased donors and volunteers from the LGBT communities in each state, we will see more fair-minded legislators in our state and local governments for years to come.  And more fair-minded legislators means that we will have more opportunities to pass laws that protect LGBT people from discrimination.

Equality Federation salutes all the local and state heroes who made a difference in this election.  Together, we will achieve our Equality Agenda.

Following are highlights from many of the state races around the country.  This list will continue to be updated over the coming weeks.

Arizona

Voters approved Proposition 102, a constitutional amendment specifically denying the right to marry to same sex couples.  Equality Arizona has launched a petition drive to Take Back Arizona and will host a community Town Hall meeting on December 6^th to discuss ongoing efforts to achieve full equality in the state.

Arkansas

Voters approved Act 1, a measure that bans all unmarried couples – gay or straight – from serving as foster or adoptive parents in Arkansas.  Federation member group Center for Artistic Revolution is already at work to organize and educate fair-minded Arkansans about the true victims of this new law:  the children of Arkansas.

California
Voters amended the state’s constitution to take away the right of same-sex couples to marry by passing Proposition 8.  Equality California has already joined with allies to file litigation challenging the new law, which creates an exception to the state’s constitutional guarantee of equal protection.  Despite the heartbreaking ballot measure loss, Equality California’s PAC was extremely successful, helping protect the seats of pro-equality incumbents and electing new pro-equality supporters for a state legislature that is solidly supportive of LGBT equality across the board.

Connecticut

In the final weeks before Election Day, Connecticut’s state supreme court issued a ruling requiring that marriage equality be extended to same-sex couples in Connecticut.  On Election Day, Love Makes a Family helped defeat a ballot measure calling for a constitutional convention, which would have given anti-gay bigots an opportunity to try to overturn that decision.  This was the LGBT movement’s one big ballot measure win this year.  On November 12, same-sex couples began marrying in Connecticut.  In candidate news, Connecticut also re-elected its first openly-gay African American state representative, Jason Bartlett, in a closely fought race.

Florida

Despite a hard-fought contest, voters in Florida approved Amendment 2, ensuring that their state constitution would ban marriage equality for same-sex couples.  But not all the news from Florida was disappointing: Equality Florida elected 80% of candidates endorsed by its PAC.  Two counties elected their first openly lgbt County Commissioners. An openly gay mayor and two openly gay city commissioners were elected in Broward County. 

Massachusetts

MassEquality continues to protect the right of same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts, by working to ensure that pro-equality legislators are elected and re-elected.  During this election, pro-equality votes increased in the State House from 151 to 158 (out of 200).  Nearly 80% of the entire legislature is in support of marriage equality. Every legislator who has cast a vote in favor of marriage equality was re-elected.  Plans pass hate crime legislation and anti-discrimination laws to protect transgender citizens are now in place.

MassEquality also played a key role in supporting election work around the country, working with Equality Ohio to bring volunteers from Massachusetts to Ohio on the “Not-So-Straight Talk Express,” a critical effort to get out the vote for Obama in Ohio.  MassEquality also organized hundreds of volunteers to phone bank to defeat Prop 8 in California and sent staff and volunteers to California to play a key role in the No On 8 campaign.

Minnesota
OutFront Minnesota saw an 84% success rate in the 64 candidates it endorsed.  The Minnesota House kept an equality-friendly majority and for the next two years there will be a generally lgbt friendly environment for legislation. 

New York

With the leadership of New York’s Empire State Pride Agenda, the state is now poised to pass marriage equality legislation in the next session.  In the Assembly, three Republicans targeted by the right-wing for their votes in support of marriage equality were re-elected, and the Senate flipped to Democratic control.

North Carolina
North Carolina moved closer to equality on November 4^th with a record fifty of fifty-nine endorsements by Equality North Carolina winning their races. New Governor-elect Betty Perdue is a supporter of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Tarheels.  Equality Incumbents held their seats, including openly gay Senator Julia Boseman.  Unfortunately, anti-equality incumbents also held on despite strong challenges in three races.  North Carolina is poised to pass the School Violence Prevention Act and hold back anti-equality constitutional amendments.

Ohio

Ohio turned blue, thanks at least in part to the work of LGBT volunteers across the state. Over the course of the election, Equality Ohio worked with its allies on an unprecedented effort to get out the vote.  Equality Ohio members and volunteers donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, knocked on nearly 200,000 doors, phone banked and canvassed for two solid months, and worked to get out the vote in 87 of 88 Ohio counties.  Equality Ohio also supported a record number of fair-minded candidates running for state and local offices, racking up an 88% win rate for endorsed candidates.

Tennessee

In a stark reminder of the need for organizing and education work in every state, Tennessee Transgender PAC and Tennessee Equality Project report that Duanna Johnson, a transgender woman, was murdered less than a week after the election.  That election saw the Republican takeover of both houses of the state legislature, making ongoing efforts to pass hate crimes legislation in the state even more difficult.

Utah

Equality Utah helped elect 51% of its endorsed candidates to office, continuing to increase the number of fair-minded legislators in that state. Equality Utah also operated one of the largest out-of-state phone banks in an effort to defeat Proposition 8 in California, which was heavily funded by the Mormon Church.  Equality Utah is now seeking to open a dialogue with the Mormon Church, which is based in Utah, to seek support for anti-discrimination legislation that would protect the LGBT citizens of Utah.