Election results mixed for nation’s gay people

Tuesday's election was a mixed bag for gay people nationwide. Chapel Hill, N.C., elected its first openly gay mayor. Voters in Kalamazoo, Mich., overwhelmingly adopted an ordinance extending anti-discrimination laws to gay people (becoming the 16th Michigan city to do so).

But the big story was that Maine residents voted down same-sex marriage by a narrow margin, 53 percent to 47 percent. National anti-gay groups will now turn their focus to Iowa, air offensive TV commercials, and some Iowa politicians will attempt to turn scare tactics into votes.

I agree with former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who said on CNN, “You can't put a civil rights issue on the ballot and let the people decide. You have to have elected officials who have the courage to make the right decision. If you left it up to the people, we'd have slavery, depending on how you worded it.”

When you think about it, though, it is good that people are actually having conversations about whether or not same-sex couples should have the right to marry. This topic would have never been discussed 35 years ago. Progress is being made. A lot of minds have definitely changed. The cause will continue to advance because it is just.

Dorothy Sandbrook

Marion