Conventional
wisdom has long posited that if a politician supports gay
rights, he or she will face a tough reelection battle. But
according to a new study, officeholders who
support same-sex marriage and oppose homophobic bills
often keep their jobs.
The marriage
equality group Freedom to Marry sponsored the study, which
included election results from 21 states since 2005. A
review of all these votes shows that politicians
supporting marriage equality and opposing
constitutional amendments banning gay marriage are often
reelected.
Freedom to Marry
says more than 1,100 state legislators who voted to
support the freedom to marry were reelected, regardless of
their political party or if they changed their vote
from opposing to supporting marriage equality.
"The American
people deserve leaders who aren't afraid to lead,"
Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry's executive director, said in
a release. "For politicians, standing up for marriage
equality is not touching a third rail; rather, it is a
track to reelection -- and, happily, the path toward
inclusion that America is traveling."
Wolfson said this
study should prove to legislators that they need
not back down on supporting the freedom to marry and
opposing antigay measures like California's
Proposition 8. (Neal Broverman, Advocate.com)
