Seattle Elects Openly Gay (Married) Mayor

Openly gay Washington state senator Ed Murray has been elected Mayor of Seattle. Murray, 58, is the first openly gay person to be elected to run Washington's largest city and the 22nd largest city in the United States.

Washington votes by mail so results are not final but the current tally has Murray ahead of the incumbent mayor, Mike McGinn, 56 to 43 percent.

SEATTLE MAYORMike McGinn 43 percentEd Murray 56 percent

Murray is well-known as one of the architects of marriage equality in the Evergreen state and is himself married to a man, Michael Shiosaki, who appeared in his husband's television ads.

Congratulations, Seattle!

LOOK: Openly Gay Man Running for Mayor of Seattle

Openly gay state senator Ed Murray is running to become the next mayor of the great city of Seattle, Washington. Watch his first ad, which features his husband and also includes him taking credit for writing "Washington's marriage equality law."

You know things are going our way when politicians are using winning battles for gay rights to help get them elected to higher office!

Saturday Politics: 5 State Houses Have LGBT Heads

Tina Kotek, 46, will become the first lesbian to head a
 state legislative body in the United States

As a result of the elections in blue states in which Democrats made significant gains, opportunities have opened up for openly LGBT people in state legislatures to assume historic leaderships positions. Before the election, Gordon Fox of Rhode Island and John Perez of California were the only openly LGBT heads of state legislative bodies.

Since then Mark Ferrandino of Colorado, Tina Kotek of Oregon and Ed Murray of Washington have all been selected by their peers to lead the respective caucuses of their state legislative bodies. Ferrandino was selected to become the first openly gay Speaker of the Colorado House, Murray was selected to become the first openly gay Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate and Kotek became the first lesbian to head a legislative body, the Oregon house.

Local television station KATU reports:

Kotek said she didn't set out to break barriers but is honored to represent the gay community. It's important for the gay community to have role models in leadership positions, she said.

"We all look for people out there who look like us," she said.

"I have had emails and text messages from people who are very excited," Kotek said. "I think any time you have a 'first' it's an important thing for the community."

Kotek has represented a liberal district in the heart of Portland since 2007. She became the No. 2 leader in the Oregon House in 2011 after convincing her Democratic colleagues to oust her predecessor following a legislative session that left many of them frustrated by Republican successes. She oversaw campaign efforts that helped her party pick up four House seats and grab the majority last week.

Kotek ran unopposed for speaker, and her colleagues selected her for the job in a closed-door meeting Thursday evening. She won't formally take over as speaker until the new Legislature convenes in January.

"Now the real work begins," Kotek said in a statement after the vote. "Oregon continues to face many serious challenges, and the public is counting on us to tackle them head on." 

More LGBT history made in 2012!

WA: Marriage Equality Bill Introduced 2 Votes Short

Good news! In Washington state, a marriage equality bill (SB 6239) has been introduced in the legislature. The organization Washington United for Marriage issued a press release commending the decision:

OLYMPIA – Washington United for Marriage, a broad statewide coalition of organizations, congregations, unions and business associations that will work to obtain civil marriage for lesbian and gay couples in Washington State in 2012, today applauded the introduction of SB 6239, an act relating to providing equal protection for all families in Washington by creating equality in civil marriage and changing the domestic partnership laws, while protecting religious freedom.  The bill needs 25 votes in the senate for passage and was introduced with 23 sponsors.

“Today we take the next step towards making the promise of equality a reality in Washington State,” said Zach Silk, Campaign Manager for Washington United for Marriage.  “The introduction of this bill not only recognizes the value that lesbian and gay families in Washington make to our united community, but also upholds the longstanding tradition of the separation of church and state in this country.  Marriage is about dignity, commitment, love and respect – it is the ultimate expression of a pro-family society.  The foundation of marriage helps us build stable families, and now is the time to recognize the importance of treating all families in Washington State equally.”

At this time, six states plus the District of Columbia recognize marriage for same-sex couples under state law: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.  Nine states—California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington—provide same-sex couples with access to the state level benefits and responsibilities of marriage, through either civil unions or domestic partnerships.  Same-sex couples do not receive federal rights and benefits in any state.

You can read the full text of the marriage equality bill. It is currently lacking two votes needed to pass in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 27-22 edge, since there are 23 co-sponsors. The Governor, Christine Gregoire, has already announced her strong support for marriage equality.