ST. PETERSBURG –– The rows of rainbow…
ST. PETERSBURG –– The rows of rainbow flags, feather boas and glitter-streaked men dressed as Hollywood starlets made for an unusual campaign backdrop.
But there they were, a handful of St. Petersburg mayoral and City Council candidates, passing out campaign literature, posing for pictures and introducing themselves to potential voters amid Saturday’s St. Pete Pride festivities.
In a sign of St. Petersburg’s changing politics, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is harnessing its collective voice, forcing candidates to take notice.
After years of tension between the group and conservative Mayor Rick Baker, it’s seizing the coming leadership change as a chance to make inroads and get its issues addressed.
“It is a matter of get-out-the-vote,” said Rick Boylan, founder of the Pinellas Stonewall Democrats. “If we can mobilize the community and inform them of which candidates support issues and which candidates are pro-equality and get them to participate, we can definitely have an impact on who is elected.”
See St. Petersburg’s gay community seeks to become key voting bloc in …
Tampabay.com
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/st.html…
DC gay marriage debate moves issue to black community
(Washington) In the District of Columbia, where African-Americans are the majority and black congregations dominate, the recent vote to recognize same-sex marriages may signal the gay rights movement is making inroads among groups traditionally opposed to it.
With this month’s vote, Washington became the first place in the U.S. with a …
Tags: Congregations, District Of Columbia, Gay Black, Gay Marriage Debate, Gay Rights Movement, Groups, Inroads, marriage, Same Sex Marriages, Vote
