Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidortez/">David Ortez</a> (<a href="http://www.creativecommons.org" target="_blank">Creative Commons</a>).
Last week, three openly gay people rose to positions of public prominence. A quick rundown:
1. Houston (yes, the one in Texas) became the largest city in the US to elect an openly gay mayor. Annise Parker defeated Gene Locke with 53 percent of the vote. I wrote a blog about their runoff, which featured a bit of anti-gay fuss from pastors and social conservatives.
2. In Los Angeles, Rev. Mary Glasspool became the second openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church and the world Anglican fellowship. Her ascendancy follows Episcopal leaders’ decision to lift a de facto ban on the ordination of gay bishops in July. The first openly gay bishop was Gene Robinson, whose 2003 election in New Hampshire caused a rift in the church. More talk of a split has come up around the decision to ordain Glasspool.
3. Last but not least, the California Assembly picked its first openly gay speaker, John Pérez, on Thursday. Assembly Democrats unanimously backed Pérez, who was elected to the Assembly last year and also happens to be a cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
So what do you think, MoJo readers? Does it matter? Will all of this make any difference next year, when landmark decisions about gay marriage and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are supposed to be made? While you’re thinking, help yourself to a selection of related video clips below.
AP news clip on the election of Annise Parker:
Bishops Suffragan Mary Glasspool and Diana Bruce:
John Pérez responds to support from Assembly Democrats:
