Equality Wins Big On Election Day

People who don't believe in equal rights for all Americans have had a string of electoral victories when it comes to extending those rights to those in the LGBT community -- especially when it comes to same-sex marriage. The matter has been voted on in the individual states at least 32 or 33 times, and equal rights lost every time. But Tuesday night, that string of defeats was broken in a big way.

It started in Maine, where the voters approved a ballot initiative that would legalize same-sex marriages in the state. It had to be done by ballot initiative, because the right-wing Republican governor of that state had made it clear he would veto any bill coming out of the legislature approving same-sex marriage. But on Tuesday night, the voters of Maine made it clear they stand for equal rights for everyone -- regardless of what their governor wants.

It was a little different in Maryland, where their legislature passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage and their governor signed it into law. The right-wingers there thought they could overturn that law by taking it to a vote of the people. They lost that bid to reinstate inequality. The people of Maryland voted to uphold the law, putting their stamp of approval on equal rights for everyone.

The right-wing in Minnesota took an alternate route. They decided to make sure that same-sex marriage could not be approved in their state by putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would have defined marriage as only between persons of the opposite sex. That didn't work either. The voters in Minnesota soundly defeated the amendment, opening the door to a law approving same-sex marriage possibly being passed in the future in that state. It was another victory for equal rights.

Then the state of Wisconsin made their own statement in support of equal rights. They didn't have a same-sex marriage proposal on the ballot, but they did elect Tammy Baldwin to the United States Senate. She is the first openly lesbian/gay person to be elected to the Senate. I think we can chalk this up as another vote for equal rights.

And finally, we come to the state of Washington. The legislature and governor of that state had also passed a law allowing same-sex marriage, and like in Maryland, the right-wingers tried to overturn that law with a ballot initiative. That initiative has not yet been officially defeated, but it is trailing and looks like it will probably be defeated.

Buthowever the initiative in Washington turns out, this election was a clear victory for the forces of equality. Polls had been telling us for months now that this nation was changing. Tuesday night verified that in a big way. Thanks to the voters of these five states, the United States has taken a few more steps to living up to our constitution and granting equal rights to all citizens.