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Increased majority
Nov. 4th, 2009 08:08 amWell, you wouldn't know it from this morning's news coverage, but the Dems increased their majority in the House in yesterday's elections. Good luck finding anything about it on any of the regular news channels. The only news anywhere seems to be that the GOP won two new governor positions.
The Maine news is sad, but we should note that the gap in actual voting as well as opinion polls continues to close. Twenty years ago if such a vote could even have happened, the margin would have been 30% or more. Much of that change is due to the fact that we are more out to straight people. It's hard to vote for intolerance when you personally know someone who will be affected. I manage to mention being gay in most business meetings - it just sort of comes up. (Like this: I was giving a product demonstration to a department on campus last week, and a woman in the audience said - "You look good in that pink shirt - I wish more men were comfortable wearing pink"; to which my reply was "It's easy when you're gay, we're allowed!")
My hope for change is with the current high-school generation. They have friends who are out, or who have two fathers/mothers; and they are much more comfortable with that than my own generation were. The work done by many groups such as PFLAG is helping to change their attitudes. Our visibility in the media, in entertainment, and in all walks of life means that those young people, when they come of age, will be reluctant to vote down our civil rights.
As to Maine - good luck with your continued efforts to win back the rights that were taken away yesterday.
The Maine news is sad, but we should note that the gap in actual voting as well as opinion polls continues to close. Twenty years ago if such a vote could even have happened, the margin would have been 30% or more. Much of that change is due to the fact that we are more out to straight people. It's hard to vote for intolerance when you personally know someone who will be affected. I manage to mention being gay in most business meetings - it just sort of comes up. (Like this: I was giving a product demonstration to a department on campus last week, and a woman in the audience said - "You look good in that pink shirt - I wish more men were comfortable wearing pink"; to which my reply was "It's easy when you're gay, we're allowed!")
My hope for change is with the current high-school generation. They have friends who are out, or who have two fathers/mothers; and they are much more comfortable with that than my own generation were. The work done by many groups such as PFLAG is helping to change their attitudes. Our visibility in the media, in entertainment, and in all walks of life means that those young people, when they come of age, will be reluctant to vote down our civil rights.
As to Maine - good luck with your continued efforts to win back the rights that were taken away yesterday.
