Finding the Silver Lining in Defeat

Three weeks ago, like many LGBT Americans, I woke up with, to say the least, mixed feelings. The euphoria of Barack Obama’s election and the expansion of the pro-LGBT majority in Congress was tempered by sadness and anger at our devastating losses in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, and, of course, California. The silver lining of these defeats has been a renewed focus nationwide on the issue of marriage equality and an invigorated grassroots energy that has sent tens of thousands of LGBT people and our allies into the streets since the election.

These protests demonstrate that, despite the blow our community has been dealt, the struggle for marriage equality goes on. We anxiously wait to see if the California supreme court will again stand up for the principles of the California constitution and the equality of LGBT people by invalidating Proposition 8, a discriminatory referendum on our fundamental rights that should never have been put to a popular vote.

Regardless of the outcome of this case, we will remain focused on moving marriage equality forward in California and across the country. With this month’s election of greater numbers of fair-minded legislators, we have a real opportunity to pass a marriage equality bill in New York. There is also promise in several other states, including New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. And we will continue to look for opportunities to utilize the tremendous energy generated by our losses on November 4 to advance the cause of marriage equality on every front.

Our community must not lose sight, however, of the tremendous potential that the elections of Barack Obama and an increasingly fair-minded Congress offer for moving our nation, including LGBT people, forward. We are inspired that, in Barack Obama and Joe Biden, we have elected the most pro-LGBT leadership in our nation’s history.

Even as he prepares to take office, President-elect Obama has demonstrated that the commitment he showed to the LGBT community throughout his historic campaign will continue during the Obama administration. Within days of its inception, his Transition Project instituted a fully inclusive nondiscrimination policy for those applying for positions within the new administration. In addition, a number of openly gay people have been selected to contribute their considerable expertise to the transition.

But our community can expect much more than just fairness in hiring practices from the Obama administration. Last week, the Obama Transition Project published an extensive agenda for the next four years, including a section on key policies for LGBT people and families, on its website. The Obama-Biden plan reiterates strong support for inclusive hate-crimes and employment discrimination protections, repeal of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and a stronger and more strategic response to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Never before have we had such ambitious leadership on LGBT issues in the White House. But none of these important goals can be accomplished without the support, participation, and vigilance of LGBT people and our allies. President Obama and our partners in Congress cannot win legislative victories without the active engagement of our community. Not every Democratic member of Congress is an ally, and not every Republican is an opponent. We must work with the Obama administration to utilize our community’s renewed energy -- both the excitement about our triumphs and the anger over our defeats -- to win a majority of votes in Congress on our priorities. 

I hope you will join me in working to ensure that the energy generated by our mixed emotions on the morning of November 5 drives the task at hand: making equality a reality for all of us.  

- Joe Solmonese is the president of the Human Rights Campaign.