An Increasing Number of Openly Gay Politicians...In the South?

by Michael Jones · 2009-12-18 10:33:00 UTC
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U.S. Southern StatesMike Huckabee. Newt Gingrich. Ron Paul. Jim DeMint. Bobby Jindal. All are southern politicians who have taken a wide range of anti-LGBT positions -- from blasting gay marriage as a threat to the family, to saying that gay people are ill-suited to be parents, to even suggesting that HIV-positive people should be locked up. But while these faces have long been the face of Southern politics, there's a new crew in town that is reframing and reshaping the political fabric in the south.

And it's a whole bunch of queer folk.

Specifically, openly LGBT politicians who have increased their numbers steadily in the South in some of the most conservative environments the United States has to offer. From Annise Parker, the newly-minted lesbian mayor of Houston, to Mark Kleinschmidt, the next mayor of Chapel Hill, there are folks breaking new ground in the world of LGBT politics.

The Southern Political Report notes that over the past decade, the number of openly gay politicians in the South has more than doubled. From just 31 folks in 2001 to close to 80 now, that's quite the jump. And while the South as a whole only accounts for 11 percent of the country's openly gay political roster, it's clear there's been some real progress in the past ten years.

Or, in other words, move over Mike Huckabee.

"Gay political power has been especially evident in Southern city governments. While Parker’s election in Houston is certainly the most noteworthy example -- nationally, not just in the South -- gays have made their presence felt in other Southern urban centers as well," says the Southern Political Report. They also note that in the South, LGBT organizing had a dramatic impact on a federal level in 2008, helping propel Obama in places like North Carolina, Virginia and Florida.

Even more stark is looking at the table of southern states that had absolutely no LGBT representation in 2001, but have now seen elected LGBT office holders. States like Kentucky have gone from a big fat zero to eight elected LGBT politicians, while Texas, Florida and North Carolina have all seen huge gains.

The only state missing? Mississippi. Yes, it may be one of the most fun states to spell, but so far it gets a goose egg for electing openly gay politicians -- statewide, citywide or anything-wide.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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