Freedom to Marry, the six-year-old civil rights group that invites both straight and gay people to work for marriage equality released a study yesterday that reviewed all the votes made by state legislators for marriage equality and then looked to see whether they stayed in office or not.
The conclusion?
The results are shockingly uniform. Every politician who voted for marriage equality, against gay discrimination and even those who switched sides from opposing such laws to supporting them has wound up reelected.
The study summarizes the findings by saying:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“A review of all of these votes from 2005 to the present shows that legislators who vote to end
marriage discrimination for same-sex couples are consistently re-elected. The success of more than
1,100 state legislators who voted to support the freedom to marry stands in bold contrast to the
commonly held belief that supporting marriage equality ends political campaigns and careers. In
fact, these legislators are re-elected no matter what party they represent or if they changed their
vote from opposing to supporting marriage equality. Even better, legislators who run for higher
office win after voting in favor of marriage for same-sex couples.”
You can download the full study at the Freedom to Marry site.
Aaron
Correlation is not reason for causation. These politicians are most likely, across the board progressive and are voting in favor of the public interest on other issues as well which could be the reason for them being reelected.
But, still good to debunk the stigma that voting in favor of gay rights and marriage equality will lose you votes.
Bruno
This goes to show you that the reason the issue loses at the ballot box most every time is because of organization. Churches have become political drive units, and the IRS should really take note.