THE GAY & LESBIAN VICTORY FUND was established in 1991 to increase the number of openly gay and lesbian officeholders in the United States. At the time of its founding, there were fewer than fifty such individuals serving in public office. That number has grown dramatically in the interim: today there are over 275 openly gay and lesbian officials serving in public office. These community leaders and high-profile role models serve at all levels of government, from school boards and city councils, up to and including the U.S. Congress. Many of these officials reached public office with the training and support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute.
The Victory Fund has invested over twelve million dollars in GLBT leadership over the years, resulting in thousands of electoral victories across the nation. Openly gay and lesbian legislators, such as those in California, Massachusetts, and Vermont, have successfully educated and influenced peers, helping to produce numerous pro-gay policies and protections for the GLBT community. Through daily interaction and communication with their fellow lawmakers, these officeholders are able to convey the needs of this community in a compelling, experience-based way that non-gay officeholders can never quite match. When openly gay and lesbian members of a legislative body are at the policy-making table, the bullies often back down and the naïve find enlightenment. The Victory Fund is leveraging its success to tackle the anti-gay U.S. Constitutional marriage amendment, which we will need to fight in statehouses nationwide, as well as similar amendments to state constitutions. The strongest advocates for our community are openly gay and lesbian policy-makers. At present, 24 state legislatures have openly gay members—which leaves more than half that still do not have gay or lesbian representation. Recent legislative events demonstrate the need for immediate action in the electoral arena. In May 2003, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colorado) introduced the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would write the following discriminatory language into the U.S. Constitution: “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman…” This amendment not only discriminates against same-sex couples, but also denies the states the right to make laws protecting our families, and specifically prohibits civil union measures as an alternative to full marriage. This issue is not just about the symbolic nature of marriage but also about the rights and responsibilities that come with civil marriage. There are over 1,000 protections, benefits, and responsibilities shared between legally married couples, all of which would almost permanently be denied to gay and lesbian couples if the FMA is passed. These rights include allowing hospital visitation, making decisions in a medical emergency, and inheriting property in the absence of a will. Some of these rights can be secured through costly legal processes, but these can be challenged. Gay and lesbian couples are also denied family leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, cannot collect Social Security survivor benefits upon the death of their partner, and are required to pay excessive taxes on any inheritance left to them by their partner. The FMA will not only infringe upon the rights of gay and lesbian couples, but will also place upon them a significant financial burden. Throughout its 215-year history, the Constitution has only been amended seventeen times after the original Bill of Rights. These amendments have provided for greater, more inclusive freedoms, which have given women, citizens over the age of eighteen, and African-Americans the right to vote, as well as abolished slavery. Never has an amendment taken away the rights of any group of citizens, as the Federal Marriage Amendment would do. In a 2001 Omaha World-Herald article, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) stated, “I don’t think the Constitution was ever written and set up for those kinds of amendments. I think those kinds of issues are better left to the states.” Supporters of the FMA claim that gay civil marriage is an attack on traditional American values. On Fox News Sunday last year, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said that “marriage is not about affirming somebody’s love for somebody else. It’s about uniting together to be open to children, to further civilization in our society.” This befuddling statement is a revealing look at our adversaries. In a letter to their colleagues on the Hill, openly gay Representatives Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona), Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) attempted to dissuade their peers from supporting the FMA. In their letter, they quoted Vice President Dick Cheney, who stated during the 2000 Presidential debate that he did not “think there should … be a federal policy in this area.” The Representatives reminded their colleagues that “those who share the Vice President’s commitment to federalism should refrain from sponsoring [this]Constitutional amendment.” On the floor of the U.S. House in 1996, Congressman Frank eloquently spoke out against another anti-gay measure, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), saying “people talk about their marriages being threatened. I find it implausible that two men deciding to commit themselves to each other threatens the marriage of people a couple of blocks away.” Unfortunately, this bill, which amounts to a rambling tirade of assaults on gay and lesbian civil rights, was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton. Despite the efforts of Baldwin, Frank, and Kolbe, the Federal Marriage Amendment enjoys the co-sponsorship of 136 members of the House of Representatives, while the fight to protect the rights of GLBT families is also taking place in statehouses across the country. In late January, the state of Ohio passed a resolution which made same-sex marriages illegal. This resolution also denied the domestic partners of state employees the right to receive any sort of benefits. Ohio is one of the 26 states that still does not have any openly gay or lesbian members in its legislature. At the same time, in Arizona, Jim Kolbe’s home state, similar anti-gay legislation was pushed aside by supporters of GLBT families, including openly gay State Rep. Robert Meza, as well as three Victory Fund endorsees, Rep. Wally Straughn, Rep. Jack Jackson, and State Senator Kenneth Cheuvront. This is a stark comparison to what took place in Ohio and underscores the need for a strong gay voice at policy-making tables. The Victory Fund is currently focusing on thirteen “Horizon States,” which at this time lack openly gay officials at any local, city, county or state level. Well into the 2004 election cycle, the Victory Fund is aggressively targeting these states. In 2003, we were able to win first-ever GLBT victories in Mississippi, Wyoming, and South Dakota. This year the Victory Fund has three strong candidates running in Horizon States. Michael Schaefer is running for Vanderburgh County Council in Evansville, Indiana. Schaefer is a volunteer firefighter and very active within his community, and he is ready to become Indiana’s first openly gay elected official. The Victory Fund is also supporting two candidates for the State Legislatures in Horizon States. Charlie Smith is making a bid for the South Carolina Statehouse, and Nicole LeFavour is running for the Statehouse in Idaho. LeFavour has already won her primary and stands poised to be Idaho’s first openly gay or lesbian official. The Victory Fund will not be satisfied until the gay and lesbian community is represented in every public policy-making arena. Financial support and participation from the GLBT community, our families, and friends will fuel this fight for true equality. The success of the Victory Fund relies upon the bundling of small contributions from thousands of donors. By combining these small contributions, even the smallest donation submitted online at the Victory Fund website (www.victoryfund.org) can make the difference in a local race. Leadership Institute training, education, and leadership development programs also rely on the support of individual donors and are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. There are currently 511,039 elective offices in the United States, from the U.S. President to local town council members. Openly gay officials hold only 275 of these offices, which is only one in every 1,858 or well under one half of one percent. While we have made tremendous strides over the past several years, the journey to full equality is far from over. While we honor our openly gay and lesbian leaders in public office, we also recognize our duty as a community to send reinforcements to serve along with them. Rusty Trump is communications associate for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute.
