Positive news from the election on gay rights

[racaulk]

There is no question about it, last night sucked to be a Democrat. It especially sucked to be a GLBTQI Democrat. With the loss of the Supreme Court justices in Iowa, a possible upcoming marriage equality amendment in North Carolina (as dsc predicted here, and I think he's right), the loss of some of our advocates in Congress, and the even bleaker outlook for repealing DADT in the Senate thanks to Mark Kirk's victory in Illinois, there is much to be worried, anxious, and depressed about in terms of gay rights.

However, we did have a number of victories last night that have been scantly reported by the M$M and that can easily get lost in the noise here at DU. To counter all of the negativity that surrounds us today, I would like to take a moment to list and celebrate those victories.

Rhode Island: David Cicilline (D) was victorious in his bid to win the House seat for Rhode Island's first district. He will now join Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, and Jared Polis (who all won their reelection bids) as the fourth openly gay member of Congress.

California: Meg Whitman (R) was defeated in her bid for Governor. If elected, Whitman had vowed that she would attempt to intervene on behalf of the state in the appeal of Perry v. Schwarzenegger and would work to see Prop 8 continue to be enforced indefinitely.

New Hampshire: John Lynch (D), the Governor that signed that state's marriage equality bill (after forcing a compromise bill out of the state legislature), won his bid for reelection.

Rhode Island, Maryland, and New York: All three states elected pro-gay Governors (Lincoln Chafee, Martin O'Malley, and Andrew Cuomo, respectively) last night, and all have promised to sign a marriage equality bill should one reach their desk. Given the partisan makeup of their respective state legislatures, it looks promising for Rhode Island and Maryland to adopt marriage equality bills in the near future. New York, as we all know, will require a bit of work in the state Senate.

Lexington, Kentucky: Jim Gray defeated incumbent Jim Newberry to become that city's first openly gay Mayor.

U.S. Senate: A number of virulently anti-gay candidates were defeated in their bids for the Senate last night, including Sharron Angle, Carly Fiorina, and Christine O'Donnell.

Governorships: Likewise, a number of anti-gay candidates were defeated in their bids for Governor, including Meg Whitman, Carl Paladino and Tom Tancredo.

Marriage Amendments: 2010 was the first election year in a long time (I'm not even sure how long) in which no state had a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on its ballot. While not a victory per se, it sure was a nice change. :)

Am I missing anything? Any other news you would like to share?

Please feel free to add to this list, but please keep this thread positive.

:hi: