AS
PRIDE
MONTH
comes
to
a
close,
it
is
important
for
our
community
to
reflect
on
how
far
we’ve
come
in
the
past
year
and
why.
In
2006,
President
Bush
kicked
off
Pride
month
by
using
the
Rose
Garden
to
launch
a
campaign
for
a
divisive
and
discriminatory
federal
marriage
amendment.
By
June
7,
then-Republican
Majority
Leader
Bill
Frist
had
forced
a
vote
in
the
Senate,
with
Republican
leaders
in
the
House
following
suit
a
few
weeks
later.
But
this
year
is
different.
After
last
year’s
victories,
Democrats
now
control
both
houses
of
Congress,
won
majorities
in
10
new
state
legislatures
and
control
a
majority
of
America’s
governorships.
At
every
level
of
government,
Democratic-elected
officials
across
America
are
protecting
the
rights
and
dignity
of
every
American.
Together,
their
record
shows
that
the
best
way
to
stand
up
for
our
community
is
to
elect
Democrats.
From
Iowa
to
Oregon,
Massachusetts
to
Colorado,
newly
elected
Democrats
have
fought
for
these
values
by
defeating
discriminatory
ballot
measures,
ending
workplace
discrimination
and
adopting
new
protections
for
all
of
our
families.
IN
IOWA,
GOV.
Chet
Culver
signed
a
state
Employment
Nondiscrimination
Act.
Gov.
Bill
Ritter
in
Colorado
signed
a
second
parent
adoption
bill
and
is
expected
to
sign
a
state
ENDA
soon.
Ohio
Gov.
Ted
Strickland
signed
an
executive
order
banning
discrimination
against
state
employees
based
on
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identity.
And
Gov.
Deval
Patrick
in
Massachusetts
led
the
successful
effort
to
keep
an
anti-marriage
amendment
off
the
ballot.
His
leadership
stands
in
stark
contrast
to
his
Republican
predecessor
Mitt
Romney,
for
whom
scapegoating
our
community
is
just
another
part
of
his
White
House
run.
The
same
pattern
holds
true
in
state
houses
around
the
country,
as
new
Democratic
legislatures
are
passing
new
protections.
Oregon
Democrats
took
control
of
the
state
House
and
passed
domestic
partnership
and
state
ENDA
bills.
A
new
Democratic
majority
in
Indiana
defeated
a
proposed
constitutional
amendment
barring
same-sex
marriage.
New
Hampshire
Democrats
took
both
houses
of
the
legislature
—
including
taking
the
state
House
for
the
first
time
since
the
Civil
War
—
and
promptly
passed
a
civil
unions
bill.
In
Washington,
instead
of
debating
divisive
constitutional
amendments,
the
Democratic
Congress
has
passed
the
Matthew
Shepard
Hate
Crimes
Act,
introduced
a
federal
ENDA,
and
is
considering
the
Military
Readiness
Enhancement
Act
to
repeal
the
military’s
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
policy.
Every
one
of
the
Democratic
presidential
candidates
supports
ending
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
something
not
a
single
Republican
candidate
is
willing
to
do.
THE
DRAMATIC
IMPROVEMENT
in
our
community’s
fortunes
is
a
result
of
one
thing:
the
dramatic
victories
by
Democrats
across
the
country
last
year.
And
let
there
be
no
mistake:
those
victories
would
not
have
been
possible
without
the
Democratic
National
Committee’s
50
State
Strategy.
Because
Democrats
organized
and
took
their
message
to
voters
in
every
part
of
every
state,
we
won
in
places
no
one
thought
possible.
Of
the
new
Democratic
seats
in
Congress,
22
were
from
non-traditionally
Democratic
districts,
including
places
like
Kansas,
Indiana,
Kentucky
—
even
a
rural
district
in
my
home
state
of
Minnesota.
DNC
programs
in
states
like
Montana,
Minnesota
and
Virginia
helped
win
close
Senate
races,
giving
Democrats
a
majority
in
both
houses
of
Congress
for
the
first
time
since
1994.
But
the
DNC
is
not
stopping
there.
Under
Dean’s
leadership,
the
party
adopted
new
inclusion
rules
that
will
help
empower
our
community,
including
new
rules
governing
the
election
of
delegates
to
the
convention.
This
summer,
45
states
submitted
plans
that
set
specific
goals
outlining
a
certain
number
of
openly
LGBT
delegates,
something
just
16
states
did
in
2004.
The
DNC
has
also
sponsored
first
of
its
kind
delegate
selection
trainings
to
educate
members
of
our
community
on
how
to
be
a
convention
delegate.
Together,
these
changes
mean
that,
when
our
country’s
next
president
is
nominated
at
the
2008
Democratic
Convention
in
Denver,
the
delegates
nominating
him
or
her
will
look
more
like
America
than
ever
before.
Our
task
is
by
no
means
complete.
But
what
a
difference
a
year
makes.
