Reminder: Before Kirsten Gillibrand became the Liberal Senator from New York, she was a Democratic member of Congress faithfully representing a Republican-leaning district upstate.
In that role, she took a Republican-leaning approach on some issues, like immigration, expressed in her outspoken opposition to then-governor Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow undocumented residents to get driver’s licenses. She also was outspoken in her support of gun-ownership rights, earning her an A rating from the National Rifle Association. And she was notably not outspoken during her time in the House on gay-rights issues, even when some of her Democratic colleagues were starting to push hard for same-sex marriage rights and repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, before she came around to a more gay-rights-friendly point of view.
