Marriage Equality wins!
For the first time in history, marriage equality won on ballots in four states. Voters in Washington, Maine and Maryland passed same-sex marriage initiatives and Minnesota voters rejected a ballot measure that would have created a constitutional ban on marriage equality in the state. The wins bolstered the marriage equality movement and set up similar initiatives in other states for 2013. Nine states and the District of Columbia now recognize marriage equality and the Defense of Marriage Act is facing several lawsuits claiming it is unconstitutional.
Baldwin becomes first out lesbian congresswoman
In Wisconsin, voters elected Democratic House member Tammy Baldwin to the United States Senate, making her the first openly gay person ever elected to the chamber. The seven-term Democratic congresswoman edged past former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson in a win that advocacy groups hailed as a significant stride toward bringing diversity to the Senate.
Baldwin said she ran “to make a difference” and not to make history. But she said she hopes the Senate will be more reflective of America and the “life experience” of women.
Conversion therapy outlawed in California
This fall, California enacted legislation that outlawed the practice of so-called “conversion therapy,” used to “treat” homosexual men and women who want to suppress their sexuality. While the medical community and LGBT advocates cheered the law, a small contingent of right-wing therapists continue to challenge the ruling, saying it limits the options available to patients wishing to find the opposite sex desireable.
Obama endorses marriage equality
Saying his views had “evolved,” President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to openly support marriage equality in the United States. His views were expressed on ABC News, just a week after Vice President Joe Biden offered his support for same-sex couples getting a chance to wed. The endorsement by the president is credited with shifting popular opinion on marriage equality in 2012, which now has a slim majority in public polls. Political experts also suggest that his endorsement energized the LGBT community in November, and helped re-elect Obama to the presidency.
Chick-Fil-A ignites controversy
Never before has chicken made such a statement. But thanks to the off-cuff remarks by Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy, saying that the company is “guilty as charged” for supporting the “biblical definition” of family, the fast-food chain became a political lightening rod. LGBT activists, who have long boycotted the chain for its anti-marriage-equality stance and its donations to anti-gay groups, called for a boycott of the Atlanta-based chain. FOX News commentator and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee countered, asking for a Chick-fil-A appreciation day in August, which created long lines at the restaurants throughout the country. Eventually the company said it would no longer voice an opinion on social issues.
