Taking Stock

In today's Times, James McKinley takes a look at why gay candidates -- like Annise Parker, Houston's new mayor, above -- are making traction in American politics in ways that our causes are not.

McKinley reports:

Some political scientists say the rise in openly gay candidates’ winning public office is a better barometer of societal attitudes than are the high-profile fights over same-sex marriage.

“Gay marriage ballot measures are not the best measure,” said Patrick J. Egan, a political scientist at New York University who studies issues surrounding gay politicians. “They happen to be about the one issue the public is most uncomfortable with. In a sense, they don’t give us a real good picture of the opinion trend over the last 30 years.”