LGBTQ+ ‘rainbow wave’ brings US midterms boost but battles ahead
A “rainbow wave” that lifted record numbers of LGBTQ+ candidates to victory in the US midterms is a promising sign of growing acceptance, but tough legislative fights still lie ahead in many Republican-controlled states, rights campaigners said.
Even as Republicans gained a slim majority in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the absence of the predicted “red wave” could act as a buffer against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the new Congress that will be sworn in on Jan.
3. “The Democrats in the House and Senate have been our firewall,” said Zeke Stokes, a political consultant and the former chief programs officer at the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD.
On Wednesday, the Senate advanced a bill protecting same-sex marriage with a 62 to 37 procedural vote, including all Democrats and 12 Republicans — two more than needed for its ultimate passage.
