After 32 states rejecting marriage equality, voters in both Maine and Maryland approved same-sex marriage. While six states and Washington D.C. have legalized gay marriage through judicial or legislative decision, Maine and Maryland are the first to legalize it via the ballot box.
The ultimate reasoning seems to be a basic shift in not only the public perception of gay relationships as “legitimate” ones, but an increasingly disapproving eye on the tactics proffered by groups against same-sex marriage, particularly the National Organization for Marriage and the Roman Catholic Church. Each group not only spent hoards of money to create a barrage of advertising in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington, their telephone campaigns would inform voters about the violation of religious ideals and the forced “teaching” of gay marriage in schools.
Members of rights groups, particularly the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), continually refer to such tactics as ill-grounded—and it seems the public is beginning to agree on a fundamental level.
“The tide has turned,” said Torey Carrick, member of the HRC Board of Governors. “It is becoming increasingy apparent that if you are not on the side of LGBT equality, you are on the wrong side of history.”
In what is being hailed as an historic night for gay rights, other states also took steps forward in the LGBT rights movement: Minnesota rejected a proposal to amend its constitution to explicitly define marriage as between a man and a woman though a law barring same-sex marriage remains enacted. This, in turn, means a challenge to the legislature or courts is not far away or improbable.
In Iowa, an attempt by conservatives to unseat David. S Wiggins—one the State Supreme Court justices who ruled unanimously for same-sex marriage in 2009—ultimately failed in a reversal of what happened just two years ago, when three justices from the same ruling were ultimately ousted.
Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin—following an embittered, expensive fight with popular Governor Tommy Thompson to the tune of $65 million—scored double points in history, becoming not only the state’s first women senator, but the U.S.’ first openly gay senator. “Now, I am well aware that I will have the honor of being Wisconsin’s first woman senator,” she stated during her victory speech. “And I am well aware that I will be the first openly gay member. But I didn’t run to make history—I ran to make a difference.”
The impact of such decisions were felt here in Long Beach.
Vice Mayor Robert Garcia told the Post, “Tuesday was an historic night for America. We elected the first openly gay United States Senator, we won marriage equality in four states [sic], and increased the number of LGBT members in Congress. We are moving forward.”