Gay votes ‘can make a difference’

By Rosalind Bentley

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thousands of gays and lesbians are gathered in the nation’s capitol for National Equality Weekend, a rally meant to demand congressional action on a number of issues. It’s just the latest example of the power wielded by a voting bloc that didn’t even exist a few decades ago. In Atlanta, the gay vote has been courted by all of the major mayoral candidates. But to what end? Jeff Graham is executive director of Georgia Equality, one of the largest gay advocacy and lobbying groups in the state. Here, he talks about clout, patience and coming out.

Q: We’ve written a few stories recently of the influence of the gay community in the upcoming Atlanta mayoral election. And I’ve seen where local advocates have claimed that one in seven Atlantans is gay. How do you know that? Where did you get the number from?

A: That’s information from the Williams Institute. They are an LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] research and policy group based out of UCLA. They’ve looked at census data to come up with these estimates and they are only estimates.

Q: But the Census doesn’t track sexual orientation.

A: These are estimates.

Q: Well, you’re using those numbers to say here’s our clout; here’s our power; listen to us. But if we can’t put both feet down on those numbers, when you make your case to local politicians, how can you back up your claim about the power of the gay vote in Atlanta?

A: I think we’ve certainly seen, in the 20 years that I’ve lived here, there have been a number of close elections in runoff scenarios when both the winners and the losers have conceded that strength of the LGBT vote was a deciding factor in those races. When you have a voting history that goes back 20 years or more, the political establishment begins to realize that it actually is a vote that can make a difference.

Q: I’d imagine that your counterpart in New York or Detroit or San Diego or Seattle has an easier job than you do here in Georgia.

A: (Laughs) It may be easier to do this work in a different political climate, but I see no place where it is more important to do this work than right here.

Q: OK, 31 states and D.C. have hate-crimes laws on the books that include sexual orientation; 21 states have protections against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation; 14 states have laws that address anti-gay bullying in schools; and six states allow same-sex marriages or civil unions. Georgia isn’t in any of those numbers. How can you not get discouraged?

A: Part of it is life experience. I know from living my life day in and day out how dramatically things have changed in the 20 years that I’ve been here.

Q: In your lifetime, which of these initiatives do you think you will see passed by the Georgia legislature: employment non-discrimination or an inclusive hate-crimes law?

A: All.

Q: You do?

A: With no hesitation or doubt, here in Georgia, within my lifetime.

Q: Which one first?

A: I would say that the likelihood of us having inclusive hate-crimes legislation, within the next three to five years, is very good. And there’s an extremely good chance that we’ll have federal employment non-discrimination legislation passed within the next two to three years. Once that happens, I think that there’s a relatively good chance that we’d see employment non-discrimination passed statewide. We’ve just done some polling [of the general population] on this in Savannah, Macon and Cobb County and, frankly, I’ve been shocked at the overwhelming support there is for employment non-discrimination.

Q: You’ve asked all the Atlanta mayoral candidates whether they support gay marriage or civil unions. While knowing their positions is nice, realistically what difference does it make in the end when we’ve got a constitutional amendment on the books that prohibits both?

A: It’s important to realize that no [gays and lesbians] had marriage equality in the country five years ago. Now we have six states with solid marriage equality. This is a dialogue and conversation that is moving very quickly throughout the country. It’s important to understand where these candidates stand on this issue today so that we know who will be our strongest champions when those conversations come back to Georgia in the future.

Q: A person can say one thing to your face yet harbor a different agenda.

A: You always take the promises of a candidate on the face value. You make your decisions based on who you trust the most to actually follow up on those promises.

Q: Tomorrow will be 11 years since Matthew Shepard died. As you know, he was the gay Wyoming college student who was beaten by two men, tied to a remote fence post and left for dead. Many regard his death as hate crime. For a decade, his family has been pushing to get a federal hate-crimes law passed that includes sexual orientation. Do you see that happening?

A: Politics can move painfully slowly. There are some people who believe that the whole concept of hate crimes is flawed, but members of the LGBT community, racial minorities, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, people with disabilities—any of us who are different from mainstream society — know that the hate that can be directed toward us in verbal and physical violence is very real.

Q: This is national coming out day, and I haven’t even asked you what you think about people coming out now as early as middle school, let alone middle age.

A: That’s one of the things that shocks and surprises me, how young people feel comfortable coming out these days. I have many nieces, but I have one who came out three years ago at the age of 15 and I thought it was quaint, because she was so earnest when she said to me and my partner that she couldn’t believe how many years she wasted by being in the closet.

Q: You don’t even really have any years at the age of 15.

A: (Laughs) Right.