I'm in Detroit now, and I tell you this is incredible and should not be taken lightly. An openly gay man wins a city council position in Detroit, and not just any council member, COUNCIL PRESIDENT. wow, Detroit of all places, 80% black, religious....goes to say a lot about African-Americans and how they are absolutely not as anti-gay as some of you think.
Well, I guess that's nice, but at the rate my old hometown is going there may soon be more members of the City Council than there are residents altogether.
Southeast Michigan has a long tradition of electing openly gay politicians. In fact, the first ever openly gay politician was elected in Ann Arbor and another shortly thereafter in East Lansing. (West of there... you're in religious right territory.)
I'm no expert, but my feel is that while Detroit is somewhat religious, it's lefty-religious, including within the (majority) African American community.
One other note: I think religious people have progressed to the point where they distinguish between ENDA and Gay Marriage. So I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people who voted for an openly gay candidate nonetheless voted to ban gay marriage in the state a few years back. (I don't remember how good/bad the showing was in Detroit vs. the rest of SE Michigan vs. the rest of the state.)
I was proud of Detroit for voting Charles Pugh as its city council president and not just that he is openly gay. It was a newcomer that got the most votes in a city with a political machine that usually keeps the same people in power for sometimes decades. Last year when it looked like its unpopular Democratic U.S.congresswoman was going to lose to her Democratic rival, the Democratic party introduced a third candidate to divide the opposition vote and insure the congresswoman could keep her job. But this year Detroit embraced change and some new Democrats. It is a very Democratic city and since no Republican can win in Detroit, November is really a runoff of the top vote getters from the Democratic primary.
