Kirsten Gillibrand is the junior United States senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. Formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives from the generally conservative 20th congressional district, she was appointed to the Senate in 2009, representing a generally liberal state. In the House, she was known as a conservative Democrat or centrist, serving at the will of a highly conservative electorate. She was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of conservative Democrats. In the Senate, she is known as one of the more liberal Senators, as she represents a heavily Democratic state. At the time of her appointment to the Senate, a Salon editorial said that her reputation in the House characterized her as "a hybrid politician who has remained conservative enough to keep her seat while appearing progressive enough to raise money downstate." Domestic policy Social issues LGBT While running for New York's 20th congressional district in 2006, Gillibrand said in an interview she favors legalizing civil unions across the country and leaving the issue of same-sex marriage up the states to decide. As senator, Gillibrand said in 2010 that she supported the legalization of same-sex marriage in the State of New York. The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group, gave Gillibrand a score of 80 out of 100 for the 110th Congress (when Gillibrand was in the House), and perfect scores of 100 out of 100 for the 111th, 112th, and 113th Congresses (when Gillibrand was in the Senate). While in the House of Representatives, she voted for both the Sexual Orientation Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) and Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007. Following her appointment to the Senate, Gillibrand became the first New York Senator to support same-sex marriage. On the morning of her appointment to the Senate, she called the Empire State Pride Agenda to reiterate her full support for same-sex marriage. Gillibrand also supported the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In April 2009, Gillibrand endorsed Governor Paterson's proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. In July 2009, Gillibrand announced she was considering introducing an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would impose an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays serving in the military. She decided against introducing the amendment, as she could not amass the 60