The Hiller Instinct: From Pride to Power

Gay and lesbian leaders may have been off key, but they were definitely on target at the state house this week when they celebrated a decade of political progress.

Ten years ago, there were cheers on beacon hill when former governor Michael Dukakis made Massachusetts the second state in the nation to sign the gay rights bill--prohibiting discrimination in housing, credit and employment.

Today that bill is changing the lives of gays and lesbians

J.W. Londergran,
Gay and Lesbian Labor Activist
"I was able to (a) come out of the closet, (b) have a commitment ceremony with my partner, (c) have a joint mortgage with my house, be out in my job, she can be out in her job and no one can fire us for it."

In the last decade, in addition to the gay rights bill, Massachusetts has given gays and lesbians adoption and foster care rights, outlawed hate crimes, made HIV tests confidential, and passed a safe schools bill aimed at eliminating anti-gay violence.

Arlene Isaacson,
Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus
"We're their neighbors, and their colleagues, and their family members."

A leading Beacon Hill lobbyist says all those bills passed because straight legislators are more tolerant.

Issacson
"They now know that we're not monsters; we're not beasts; we don't have horns on our heads… and that makes them much more comfortable with us even if they still don't like, or approve, of what we are."

Another activist has another reason:

Sue Hyde,
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
"Candidates for every office in this state from governor right on down to school committee come before groups of gay and lesbian people seeking endorsement, support and votes… Because you do vote, we do vote."

And, traditionally, for democrats like Barney Frank…

Rep. Barney Frank, (D) Massachusetts
"Where the parties started in the same place, the democrats are now pretty good (far from perfect), and the republicans are just awful."

Not all of them, Barney...

Sue Hyde
"Bill Weld did such wonderful things as governor that he was called a hetero-hero by a national gay magazine."

So...

Charles Robinson, Boston Pride Committee
"A lot of groups are evolving republican, independents, and so forth like that. So I think that we're in a new process."

The next key battleground: defeating anti-same sex marriage laws. Another top priority is a domestic partners bill for public employees.

Isaacson
"We just want what other citizens in the commonwealth have. When we get that we'll be happy to close up shop."

Add it all up, and… surprise! For a decade, the gay and lesbian lobby has been one of the most successful at the State House. So, pride is justified--there's a lot of political muscle behind those parades.