Dear Friends,

LGBT Americans and our allies have so much to rejoice about today! Without further delay, here is an analysis of yesterday's election:

50 of 51 EQUALITY MARYLAND ENDORSED CANDIDATES FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION APPPEAR TO HAVE WON THEIR RACES

Most important to our community is the defeat of anti-gay incumbent Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., who vetoed the Medical Decision Making Act, vocally supported a constitutional amendment banning equal marriage rights, and supported a measure in Congress to prohibit gay adoptions in the District of Columbia.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley is a friend to the LGBT community who opposes a constitutional amendment and supports a number of measures pivotally important to the LGBT community, including a transgender anti-discrimination bill and domestic partner benefits for state employees.

The election of Congressman Ben Cardin over Lt. Governor Michael Steele as our next U.S. Senator is another major cause for celebration. Congressman Cardin has opposed a Federal Marriage Amendment and amendment to the Maryland Constitution and has cosponsored bills to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and grant domestic partner benefits to Federal employees.

Congratulations to Mayor O'Malley, Congressman Cardin, and all of us who believe in fairness and justice for the LGBT community!

THE NEW "LGBT CAUCUS" IN THE MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Tim Quinn, an openly gay candidate on the Eastern Shore, was not successful in unseating the two Republican incumbents. He ran an impressive race, and Equality Maryland congratulates him on his efforts.

Del. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County) will be the firstly openly gay Maryland Senator next January. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County) will join Dels. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) and Anne Kaiser (D-Montgomery County) as openly lesbian members of the House of Delegates. These four individuals are leaders for our community, standing up for equality for all Marylanders where it most counts - behind the scenes in Annapolis. We could not possibly be better represented as LGBT Marylanders than by these exceptional legislators.

ARIZONA REJECTS BALLOT MEASURE BANNING MARRIAGE EQUALITY

Arizonans have said no to discrimination in their state constitution by a vote of 52% to 48%. This is more than a victory; it is a sea change in the debate about marriage equality in our country.

Not all news can be good. Voters in Colorado, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin passed amendments in their state. However, all four states failed to get more than 60% of the vote in favor. While it is little consolation to the pro-equality communities in those states, it speaks to a remarkable change in attitudes in the past two years in our direction. Just imagine: almost one million Virginians said no to putting discrimination into their state constitution! And the vote in South Dakota was 52% to 48%.

Sadly, amendments passed by wide margins in Idaho, Tennessee and South Carolina. All eyes in the country, however, will be on Arizona, the state that represents a sign of the future.

ANTI-GAY LEGISLATORS DEFEATED NATIONALLY AND AT HOME

LGBT Americans are rejoicing from California to Maine over the defeat of homophobic Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). Also significant is the defeat of Congressman John Hostettler (R-IN), whose campaign ads warned against the "homosexual agenda."

But to those of us in Maryland, the defeat of Del. Don Dwyer (R-Anne Arundel), a homophobic zealot of the first degree, would be the most significant. Dwyer made anti-gay rhetoric his number one agenda item, to the extent that he failed to pass one bill as a delegate in four years! His anti-gay posturing and attempts to write discrimination into the Maryland Constitution turned off voters, who may have sent him packing. With 93.3% of the precincts reporting, Dwyer is several hundred votes behind Republican Nicholas Kipke, who will claim his seat if the current trend remains.

Senator Alex Mooney (R-Frederick County) is another legislator who has built a career on anti-gay rhetoric. While he was not defeated by Democrat Candy Greenway, she presented a very serious challenge to his campaign, which was neck and neck to the end, showing that his ultra-conservative posturing is rapidly falling out of favor with a large portion of his constituency.

Pastor Rick Bowers, the "brains" behind Defend Maryland Marriage, an anti-gay organization, failed in his bid to claim a seat as a Republican delegate from Howard County.

Many other legislators with anti-gay voting records were defeated in Maryland. They include:

• Del. Herb McMillan (R-Anne Arundel County), who vacated his seat in an unsuccessful bid for the State Senate. He will likely be replaced by Democrat Barbara Samorajczyk.

• Del. Patrick Hogan (R-Frederick County), who lost his seat to former Delegate Sue Hecht, a Democrat.

• Dels. John Cluster (R-Baltimore County) and Joseph Boteler (R-Baltimore County), who lost their seats to Democrats Ruth Baisden and Todd Schuler.

• Del. Daniel Mayer (R-Charles County), who lost his seat to Democrat Peter Murphy.

• Del. Sheryl Davis Kohn (R-Harford & Cecil Counties), who lost her seat to Democrat B. Daniel Riley.

• Del. William Frank (R-Baltimore County), who appears to have lost his seat to Equality Maryland-endorsed candidate Tracey Miller, a Democrat, by just 7 votes! A seat vacated by a retiring Republican went to another Democrat, Stephen Lafferty.

• Del. Terry Gilleland (R-Anne Arundel), who lost his seat to Democrat Pamela Beidle.

Several individuals who were targeted for defeat and have voted in support of LGBT measures like the Hate Crimes Penalties Act and the Medical Decision Making Act won re-election, including Del. Sue Kullen (D-Calvert), Del. Eric Bromwell (D-Baltimore County), and Sen. Jim Brochin (D-Baltimore County).

Two Republican legislators with generally positive records on LGBT issues, Senator Sandra Schrader of Howard County and Del. Jean Cryor of Montgomery County, lost their seats to Democratic challengers. Both Sen. Schrader and Del. Cryor supported the Medical Decision Making Act and Hate Crimes Penalties Act, though each had also supported Republican-led efforts to pull anti-gay constitutional amendments out of committees that had rejected them. Sen. Schrader will be replaced by Howard County Executive Jim Robey, a Democrat, who put into place domestic partner benefits for County employees. Del. Cryor is replaced by Democrat Craig Rice.

NEW PRO-MARRIAGE EQUALITY ELECTED OFFICIALS IN STATEWIDE OFFICE

A number of elected officials who are supportive of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples won pivotal races, both in other states and here in Maryland. They include:

• Peter Franchot
  Maryland Comptroller

• Doug Gansler
  Maryland Attorney General

• John Sarbanes
  Maryland Congressman

• Deval Patrick
  Massachusetts Governor

• Elliot Spitzer
  New York Governor

• California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
  Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

EQUALITY MARYLAND FILES COMPLAINT REGARDING ANTI-GAY ELECTIONEERING IN BALTIMORE COUNTY

Republican Andrew Harris, a staunch anti-gay vote in the Maryland Senate, is implicated in political gay-baiting with a spate of robo calls made to constituents in his district, some in the middle of the night. The calls, made on behalf of "Heidi, with the Gay and Lesbian Push," urged constituents in this conservative district to support his challenger, Democrat Pat Foerster, because she supports civil unions and other gay rights. The Gay and Lesbian Push, of course, is a fictitious organization, and Pat Foerster did not seek endorsement by Equality Maryland.

Equality Maryland has filed a formal complaint with the Maryland Elections Commission, citing a number of ways the messages violated Maryland and Federal Election laws.

Pat Foerster lost the Senate race to Harris, whose political reputation should be sullied by the unscrupulous campaign tactics employed on his behalf. So far, attempts to trace the calls have been unsuccessful.

GOODBYE TO THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT

With Democrats regaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives, it looks like the Republican-led efforts to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment may have gone up in smoke.

Equality Maryland looks forward to advocating on behalf of LGBT Marylanders and our families in a new climate with increased possibilities.

In partnership and equality,

Dan Furmansky
Executive Director