Again he ran as a candidate who happened to be gay rather than as a gay candidate. However, he did not back away from gay issues. He included a section on glbtq rights on his official campaign website, where he declared "Ending discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community remains one of the most important civil rights issues of our time."

Sponsor Message.

Not only did he pledge to support a gender-inclusive non-discrimination bill and the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but he also unambiguously endorsed marriage equality. Moreover, in August 2010, when Judge Vaughn Walker issued his decision declaring California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, Cicilline hailed the decision as an important step toward equal rights.

Even before his victory in that campaign, Cicilline commented to Steve Peoples of Roll Call, "to the extent that qualified good candidates who happen to be gay or lesbian are elected to positions of responsibility in government, and do a good job, I think that it is good not only for them and the LGBT community, but good for society because good, qualified people are in office, and . . . any time that happens, it is one more step toward equality."

As the 2012 general election approached, Cicilline found himself in a contested primary battle in September. He prevailed over challenger Anthony Gemma, but the cost of that contest left him with fewer funds for the November race against his Republican opponent, Brendan Doherty, and with depressed approval ratings in the polls.

The campaign became what Michelle R. Smith described as "one of the ugliest races in Rhode Island in years." Attack ads put out by the Republicans included ones that called attention to some of the more unsavory clients that Cicilline had represented in his years as a criminal defense attorney.

On November 1, 2012, polls showed the race to be "a statistical dead heat" according to Randal Edgar of the Providence Journal. The Republicans, thinking that they might be able to pick up a Congressional seat from a heavily Democratic state rush more money into the state to finance more attack ads.

With support from the national Democratic Party, including a radio ad in which former President Bill Clinton stated his support for Cicilline, the congressman worked to counter the negative ads, and on election day he succeeded in retaining his seat in the House, defeating Doherty by an impressive margin of 53 to 41%.

"Domestic partnership" is the generic term for a variety of forms of legal and institutional recognition of same-sex couples that fall short of same-sex marriage.

In the United States, glbtq candidates have achieved some significant successes at the ballot box in the last three decades, running for and winning local, state, and national elections.

Portland, Oregon is home to a thriving and increasingly visible queer community that has provided leadership for Oregon glbtq activism since the 1960s.

The first out lesbian elected to the United States Congress, Democratic legislator Tammy Baldwin has been a strong supporter of glbtq rights, but she is far from a one-issue politician.

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, in effect from 1993 until 2011, was a compromise intended to end discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the U. S. military, but it failed to halt discharges based solely on sexual orientation.

Openly gay U. S. congressman Barney Frank has been a leader not only in the cause of gay and lesbian rights but also on issues including fair housing, consumer rights, banking, and immigration.

Long a champion of glbtq and progressive causes, Sean Patrick Maloney was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2012 to become the first openly gay U.S. Representative from New York state.

In 2009, after a dozen years in elective office in Houston, Texas, Annise Parker won election to the mayoralty of the fourth-largest city in the United States, becoming the first open lesbian to lead a major American city.

A former seven-term member of the Wisconsin Assembly, Mark Pocan easily won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012.

Businessman and philanthropist Jared Polis became one of only three openly gay members in Congress, and the first openly gay man elected to Congress as a freshman, when he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008.

Proposition 8, also known as the California Marriage Protection Act, is the ballot proposition that amended the California state constitution to ban same-sex marriage; it is the subject of ongoing litigation that may restore marriage equality to California.

After serving several terms in the Arizona state legislature, Kyrsten Sinema ran successfully for the United States House of Representatives in 2012, becoming the first openly bisexual person elected to that body.

Representative Gerry Studs, a Democrat from Massachusetts, was the first member of the United States Congress to acknowledge that he was gay.

In 2012, Mark Takano, a Japanese American from Riverside, California, became the first openly gay person of color to be elected to the United States House of Representatives.