Research by Freedom to Marry Executive Director Evan Wolfson has revealed that state legislators who vote for same-sex marriage or against banning same-sex marriage are always re-elected. Photo by Rex Wockner.

Voting for same-sex marriage or against an attempt to ban same-sex marriage is a safe move for politicians, a new study by the group Freedom to Marry has found. A review of such votes in 21 states by more than 1,100 legislators found that the legislators were consistently re-elected. The report revealed:

* Legislators who voted to end marriage discrimination in California, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts had a 100 percent re-election rate in all 499 instances in three consecutive elections.

* Legislators who changed their position from opposing to supporting same-sex marriage had a 100 percent re-election rate in consecutive elections.

* Legislators who voted for marriage equality in their state’s lower house and then sought higher office all won.

* None of 664 legislators from 17 states lost re-election after voting against a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

“For politicians, standing up for marriage equality is not touching a third-rail; rather, it is a track to re-election,” said Freedom to Marry Executive Director Evan Wolfson. “Legislators should take the findings of this report as proof that there’s no reason to back down from supporting the freedom to marry and opposing anti-gay measures. And those of us outside the legislature should not be afraid to ask our representatives to do the right thing.”

Log Cabin Republicans Are Broke
The gay group Log Cabin Republicans is broke and $100,000 in debt, according to the Washington Blade.

LCR President Patrick Sammon said the troubled U.S. economy has impacted donations to the organization.

The group currently has two full-time employees and one part-time employee, three fewer than a year ago.

Prop 8 Supporters Sue To Block Access To Donor Records
Supporters of Proposition 8, the ballot measure that amended the California Constitution to re-ban same-sex marriage, have sued to remove their donor rolls from the public record. Protect Marriage and the National Organization for Marriage California claim that their donors have been targeted with harassment, boycotts, death threats, envelopes of white powder, and nasty phone calls, e-mails, postcards and fliers.

Ironically, the California law that makes such donor lists a public record was itself passed by a ballot initiative, in 1974.

Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors called the lawsuit “hypocritical.”

“During the Proposition 8 campaign, the very same groups who filed this legal challenge sent menacing letters to Equality California’s donors, as well as corporations, labor unions and individuals who stood up to discrimination and supported the NO on 8 Campaign,” Kors said. “Now they are calling themselves the victims.”

“What’s more,” Kors continued, “these groups are arguing on the one hand that voter initiatives like Prop 8 should never be overturned by courts. On the other, they are asking a federal court to void a campaign reform law that was passed by voter initiative in California. They are asking that donations to Yes on 8 and only Yes on 8, even if illegal, be hidden from the public. This leads us to wonder what they have to hide?”

Larry Craig Abandons Toilet-Case Appeals
Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has ended his appeals aimed at reversing his guilty plea in the case where he was arrested by an undercover cop in a Minneapolis airport men’s room. Craig’s lawyer said a further appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court would be futile.

Craig has claimed he isn’t gay and wasn’t cruising, while the police report says Craig engaged in common cruising moves, such as peering through a stall-door crack, moving his foot in a precise manner used by cruisers, and repeatedly sliding his hand under a stall divider in a specific way.

Craig has maintained he was just looking for an open stall, adjusting his position on the commode, and dealing with a piece of toilet paper that was underneath or had gotten stuck to his shoe. He has said police Sgt. Dave Karsnia misinterpreted his actions.

At one point in the saga, which began in 2007, The Idaho Statesman newspaper published the stories of several men who claimed they’d had sex with Craig or experienced sexual come-ons from him.

-assistance: Bill Kelley