So, Election Day was a big win for the Democrats, the 47%,
and for women. But it was also a big day for the LGBT community. We saw marriage
equality become a reality in Maine, Maryland, and Washington, and we witnessed
the people of Minnesota saying they do not want discrimination written into
their state Constitution.
It was a good day, a beautiful
day.
But, perhaps overshadowed by
those wins, were the wins for more than 110 LGBT candidates at state and local
levels around the country. According to Denis Dison, of the Gay &
Lesbian Victory Fund, the number of state legislatures with no out LGBT members
went from 17 to 10; like West Virginia elected its first out state lawmaker,
ever, in Stephen Skinner.
Up in New Hampshire, Democrat
Stacie Laughton became that state’s first out transgender legislator. In fact,
Laughton's win not only made history in the state, but she becomes the first
out trans person ever elected to a seat in a state legislature.
"We are people, too, who still have talents and ideas. And I hope that people won't be afraid to get into politics, or any other position, for that matter. I want the community to feel inspired." Stacie Laughton
In Colorado, Mark Ferrandino
brought LGBT leadership to new levels in the state. After the election, his
fellow Democrats nominated him for speaker of the House, marking the
first time an out gay person has presided over the chamber. Colorado now
joins California and Rhode Island as one of the three states to have an out
speaker.
Also in Colorado--which banned
same-sex marriage in 2006--openly gay state Senator Pat Steadman is expected to
run for President of the Colorado Senate. If Steadman is successful, as many
suspect he will be, it would mark the first time both chambers of a state
legislature have gay leaders.
In Oregon, control of the
House of Representatives flipped from Republican to Democrat, and Democratic
Leader Tina Kotek is expected to become speaker of the House and the first
lesbian speaker in American history.
Ohio Republican Tim Brown also
won election on Tuesday to the state House of Representatives, becoming the
only out Republican state legislator in the nation.
A younger generation of LGBT
leaders also won their races, including Craig Cassey, who won election to
Washington D.C.'s Advisory Neighborhood Commission [ANC]. At 20-years-old,
Cassey is the youngest out gay person ever elected to office. And up in
Maine, 21-year-old Justin Chenette was elected to Maine's House of
Representatives, becoming the youngest state legislator in the nation.
I remember waking up the
morning after North Carolina voted to add anti-LGBT discrimination to their
state Constitution and wondering what was wrong with this country.
This week I woke up after Election
Day realizing that, in many parts of the country, it didn't matter if you were
L, G, B, or T, all that mattered as that you could do the job.
And we can.
This news is nothing less than breathtaking.
ReplyDeletethe more gay, women, hispanic candidates that run AND are voted in will make it harder for others to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that "these people" do not exist.
ReplyDeletethanks for providing this list; truly impressive and wonderful!
Never consider somone unworthy because of the way they are categorised. It's who you are, not what you are, that counts.
ReplyDelete:-)
ReplyDeleteWith every local, state and federal election, our governing bodies are at long last beginning to reflect what american actually looks like. Every shade of skin under the sun, every religion, every sexuality, every gender, any age.
ReplyDeleteWith each of these "minorities" voted into office, it becomes a little harder to legislate hate.
We had an openly gay candidate run for mayor of San Diego. Carl DeMaio lost, but not because he's gay. He lost because he's an asshat that accepted money from Prop H8 funder Doug Manchester and gives shade to the local LGBTQ community.
ReplyDeleteKarl Rove may have funded his campaign as well, but not sure.