Victory in Houston for the LGBT Community

On December 12^th 2009, Annise Parker became Houston’s first openly gay mayor despite anti-gay attacks from fellow Democrat opponent Gene Locke's endorsed ads. Houston, the fourth largest city in the country, has become the biggest city to elect an openly gay mayor. As a result, many major gay-rights groups including The Victory Fund, a national organization dedicated to increasing the number of openly gay officials in office, and The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT lobby group, have found this to be a major victory in the fight for LGBT equality. Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese stated, “Houston…sent a positive message to the nation, that it chose the best person for the job based on her experience and qualifications.”

Parker defeated Locke 53 percent to 47 percent. This is an unprecedented event in a predominately conservative state where voters have outlawed gay marriage and denied benefits to same-sex partners of city government employees. Parker encountered difficulties when she began receiving anti-gay attacks from black pastors who organized groups to pass out fliers calling attention to her relationship with her partner and support from gay-rights lobby groups. Locke denied having any involvement in the attacks, but two members of his finance committee donated $40,000 to help finance these attacks against Parker.

Louis Menand, a literature professor at Harvard University, implied in his article, “Did the Voters Send a Message,” that voters, during the 2004 election, were more apt to select the candidate that provided the most safety and stability. Voters were shown to select Bush solely on the protection they felt he provided from terrorists. Issues regarding moral values became less important in the 2004 election, while providing protection and stability after the 9/11 attacks were the voters' primary concern. In the wake of the financial crisis, Annise Parker, the previous City Comptroller, appeared to be the best selection for Mayor of Houston, regardless of her sexual orientation, because she was more qualified to manage the city’s financial affairs. Parker and Locke's views did not differ greatly; however, the voters of Houston simply valued financial stability over Locke's promise to reduce crime.