For the first time in nearly 50 years, a Republican will hold the seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Senior Senator Ted Kennedy.  Kennedy (pictured), one of the most powerful U.S. Senators in U.S. history, was a strong ally to the gay community.

Republican Scott Brown won the special election to fill Kennedy’s empty seat.  Republicans in Washington, D.C. and around the country said Scott Brown’s victorious U.S. Senate campaign in Massachusetts is a harbinger of a broader party surge, calling it a repudiation of President Obama’s agenda that gives them renewed confidence for the 2010 midterm elections.

“If Democrats can’t sell their agenda in the bluest state in the country, they can’t sell it anywhere,” said Paul Lindsay, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, referring to Massachusetts. “To that end, it will have a significant ripple effect on campaigns across the country.”

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was the first to legalize same-sex marriage.

Today, Massachusetts Equality (MassEquality) also conceded victory to Republican Scott Brown, who will join the U.S. Senate as a junior member.

This evening, Scott Brown was declared the victor in the U.S. Senate special election to fill the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat.

MassEquality congratulates our candidate, Attorney General Martha Coakley, on her hard-fought fight for the Senate seat.  She is, and will continue to be, our champion in the struggle for equal rights.

Going forward, MassEquality will endeavor to ensure that all citizens of the Commonwealth are represented in Washington by both of our senators.  We will not let anyone forget that equal marriage began here, and that the Commonwealth’s LGBT community deserves equal representation.

If this close election has taught us anything, it taught us this: Every voter, every supporter, and every volunteer counts. None of us can afford to sit back and assume “someone else” will do the job. None of us can afford to be apolitical. Our success hinges on each and every one of us. In the next three years, issues such as the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and even a potential new move to pass an anti-marriage equality constitutional amendment may be coming to the floor of the Senate for a vote.  MassEquality will need your voice to advocate for our community to our new Senator.

Regardless of today’s outcome, I am proud that MassEquality played our part, and played it well.  We will be there in the upcoming Massachusetts legislative races as an electoral force.  We will be there to educate, advocate, and activate in the coming year.  We hope that you will continue to be there with us.

Sincerely,

Scott D. Gortikov
Executive Director

In 2009, the long time executive director of MassEquality, Marc Solomon resigned to join Equality California as their “Marriage Director” after they failed to stop Prop 8. The failure to stop Prop 8 sparked widespread outrage in California’s LGBT community. The measure passed even though a huge coalition was formed to stop it, including the Human Rights Campaign, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Equality California, Marriage Equality USA, and about 25 others.

After the failure to stop Prop 8, over 10 new organizations formed around the state, stating they had lost faith in the existing ones.