San Francisco LGBT Community Hails Gay Marriage Wins In Maine, Maryland
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - San Francisco's gay and lesbian community cheered Tuesday night as voters in several states passed mandates approving same-sex marriage.
"They see that it works successfully in one state, and that it doesn't create chaos," said Ryan Escobar, who was celebrating President Obama's victory in the Castro District and saw gay marriage victories in four states as icing on the cake.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
Maine and Maryland became the first states where the electorate voted to allow gay men and lesbians to marry. Votes are still being counted on a referendum to allow same-sex marriage in Washington.
The six other states that already allow gay marriage do so as a result of legislative or court action.
While more than 30 states have passed either statutes or constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, Minnesota overturned a constitutional amendment to define sex as between one man and one woman.
This new support for same-sex marriage suggests that what was not so long ago viewed as unthinkable in middle America is on the way to becoming mainstream, said Anna Abramson.
"I really care about LGBT rights, but not as some sort of fringe issue or separate issue, but as an American issue," she said.
Besides the marriage victories, Abramson was also celebrating the election of Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first out lesbian to serve in the upper chamber.
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