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Alabama House of representatives passes Don't-Say-Gay, drag ban, Pride flag ban, pronouns ban, and Ten Commandments bills...

Republicans approved bills, which included an expansion of the state's "Don't Say Gay" law to encompass grades K-12, a ban on drag performances in some public spaces, an LGBTQ Pride flag ban in public schools, a ban against school employees using students' preferred names and pronouns, and a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displaced in all public education institutions — even colleges. The bills now head to the state Senate.

The bill prohibits classroom instruction in public school pre-kindergarten through the twelfth grade related to gender identity or sexual orientation; to prohibit education employees from displaying certain flags and insignia in public preK-12 schools; and to prohibit education employees from referring to a student by pronouns inconsistent with the student's biological sex. The "certain flags" text refers to employees being forbidden from displaying are flags "relating to or representing sexual orientation or gender identity in a classroom of a public preK-12 school," singling out the LGBTQ Pride flag.

Alabama House Passes Don't Say Gay, Drag Ban, and Ten Commandments Bills

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Ala House Passes Expansion of Don't Say Gay Law for Alabama Public Schools
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The bill prohibits public K-12 schools and public libraries from knowingly presenting or sponsoring drag performances in the presence of a minor without the consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian. "Drag is defined as "a performance in which a performer exhibits a sex identity that is different from the sex assigned to the performer at birth using clothing, makeup, or other physical markers," leaving uncertainty as to how it will impact transgender people.

The bill also requires that each local board of education and the governing body of each public institution of higher education to display the Ten Commandments and a context statement in a common area of each school under its jurisdiction.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama said in a statement in response to the bill's introduction that mandating the Ten Commandments in public schools is "unconstitutional, plain and simple."

[Source: Ryan Adamczeski, Advocate Magazine, April 2025]
 

First Out Gay US President? Pete Buttigieg Leads Poll of Democrats to be Next Nominee
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Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the first Senate-confirmed gay Cabinet member, shares a warm remembrance of former President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100...

"President Jimmy Carter’s leadership, intellect, and moral example ennobled our country, during and ever since his presidency," Buttigieg said.

“President and Mrs. Carter were also extraordinarily gracious and kind to Chasten and me, receiving us warmly at their home and making us feel like friends even as we sat amazed by their presence and grace,” he added, referring to his husband, Chasten Buttigieg. Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter’s wife, died in November 2023, aged 96.

“There will not be another like President Carter, but his life and example will continue to make America and the world a better place for generations to come,” Pete Buttigieg’s concluded.

Buttigieg Poll: Could an Openly Gay Man Be President?

Carter, a Democrat who had been governor of Georgia, served a single term as president, from 1977 to 1981. He lost the 1980 election to Republican Ronald Reagan amid economic problems and the Iran hostage crisis. With his work in international diplomacy and his volunteer efforts for Habitat for Humanity and others, Carter became known as the nation’s greatest ex-president.

He was an LGBTQ ally, becoming more so over the course of his life. When he was president, the White House hosted its first official meeting with gay and lesbian rights activists, with representatives of what was then called the National Gay Task Force talking with members of the administration.

Carter was a devout Christian but not a homophobic one. In 2005, he said Jesus Christ would approve of marriage equality, although Carter still said the issue should be decided state by state. By 2015, however, he was an outspoken supporter of national marriage equality. He also denounced anti-LGBTQ policies such as the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

[Source: Trudy Ring, Advocate, Dec 2024]

First Out Gay US President? Pete Buttigieg Leads Poll of Democrats to be Next Nominee

Say No to Trump and the Republicans

Tim Walz is an Ally for LGBTQ Rights

Jon Stewart: Violence and Republican Hypocrisy
Donald Trump's Anti-LGBTQ Cabinet

Lesbians Who Have Made US Political History
New LGBTQ Elected Lawmakers Join 119th Congress
Incoming LGBTQ Members of Congress Celebrate
History-Making Sarah McBride Sworn in as First Out Transgender Member of Congress

Post Election Blues

Reflections on a major political loss

Jon Stewart: Violence and Republican Hypocrisy

If you're scared, you're not alone...

"With the new administration and Republican-controlled Congress, we expect unprecedented attacks on our civil rights."
-Human Rights Campaign

-Malika Saint Laurent

And if you're angry, it's justified...

Meta Disables Far-Right Republican's Instagram After Months of Antigay Slurs

“It is unfortunate that it took Meta months, and multiple high-profile posts with anti-LGBTQ slurs and hate, to finally make good on fully enforcing its own hate speech policies for accounts like this,” GLAAD’s Sarah Kate Ellis said, responding to Valentina Gomez's account being disabled.

Meta has disabled the Instagram account of Valentina Gomez, a far-right former Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State, after months of posting antigay slurs, hate speech, and violent rhetoric. Gomez’s account, which had amassed around 90,000 followers, was taken down in Sept 2024 following repeated reports from advocacy organizations like GLAAD.  The suspension came after a series of videos in which Gomez repeatedly used an antigay slur. “I can confirm that, due to frequent and repeated violations of Meta’s hate speech policies, we have disabled this account,” a Meta spokesperson announced.

Meta Disables Far-Right Republican's Instagram After Months of Antigay Slurs
GOP Candidate Who Torched LGBTQ-Inclusive Books Loses in Missouri Primary
Missouri Republican Candidate Burns LGBTQ Books with Flamethrower and Posts Video Online
 

Gomez had been flagged numerous times for violating Meta’s hate speech policies. Between August and September, she posted at least 14 videos and comments containing slurs and inflammatory remarks against the LGBTQ community. Despite these clear violations, Meta had been slow to act, allowing her content to remain live for extended periods. Her suspension follows pressure from LGBTQ advocates and her growing reputation for using social media as a platform to spread hateful rhetoric.

Gomez’s posts frequently targeted the LGBTQ community, transgender people, WNBA star Brittney Griner, and other pro-LGBTQ public figures. In one widely condemned video, she burned LGBTQ-themed books with a flamethrower, declaring that such books should be destroyed to “protect children from groomers.” This language mirrors a baseless and harmful conspiracy theory that extremists often use to target the LGBTQ community.

In another video, she said, “Don’t be weak and gay.”  Her incendiary language also included slurs against LGBTQ athletes. In a recent video, she advocated for the creation of a separate “faggot category” in Olympic sports, disparaging transgender athletes in the process. In another post, Gomez referred to herself as “one of the most feared, respected, and loved women in American politics,” adding, “I put the fear of God in pedophiles, groomers, and corrupt politicians.”

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis criticized Meta for delayed action. “As part of our work to actively monitor accounts that spread anti-LGBTQ hate and misinformation, GLAAD has been urging Meta to address Valentina Gomez’s constant posting of hate, slurs, and threats of violence for months,” Ellis said. She added that platforms like X, Squarespace, and WordPress had previously taken steps to suspend or demonetize Gomez’s accounts, yet Meta had only now begun enforcing its hate speech policies. “Slow action, or at times no action at all, emboldens anti-LGBTQ activists to post increasingly extreme violent and dehumanizing content with the intent of inciting violence and hatred against our community,” Ellis warned.

“It is unfortunate that it took Meta months, and multiple high-profile posts with anti-LGBTQ slurs and hate, to finally make good on fully enforcing its own hate speech policies for accounts like this,” Ellis said. “Hopefully this latest action is a sign that Meta will prioritize enforcing its policies when it comes to disgusting lies, slurs, and calls for violence against our community.”

[Source: Christopher Wiggins, Advocate Magazine, Sept 2024]

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GOP Candidate Who Torched LGBTQ-Inclusive Books Loses in Missouri Primary

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Tim Walz Joins the Harris Ticket

Governor Tim Walz Chosen for the 2024 Democratic VP Running Rate

Kamala Harris officially announced her Vice Presidential Running Mate for her 2024 Presidential Campaign. Her choice is Tim Walz. Congratulations to Governor Walz! He brings a lot of impressive credentials to the table:

--Governor of Minnesota (Since 2019)
--Member of US House of Representatives (12 years) and Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee (2 years)
--Former Schoolteacher and High School Football Coach and Faculty Advisor for Gay-Straight Alliance
--Retired US Army National Guard (24 years), deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom, Army Commendation Medal
--Bachelor degree in Social Science Education and Master degree in Educational Leadership

He was a high school geography teacher and football coach.  He led his team to its first state championship. He was also the faculty advisor for the first Gay-Straight Alliance at the school.

As Governor, Walz pushed for and signed a wide range of legislation that included tax modifications, free school meals, bolstering state infrastructure, gun background checks, codifying abortion rights and free college tuition for low-income families.

In Congress, Walz backed legislation that ranged from moderate to liberal.  He supports labor unions and workers' rights. In his first week as a legislator, Walz cosponsored a bill to raise the minimum wage, voted for stem cell research, voted to allow Medicare to negotiate pharmaceutical prices, and voiced support for pay-as-you-go budget rules, requiring that new spending or tax changes not add to the federal deficit. He was the highest-ranking retired enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress. In his first month in Congress, Walz was appointed to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. That same year he was appointed to the Armed Services Committee.

Walz received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and from the National Organization for Women.

Walz supports LGBTQ rights, including federal anti-discrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation. He called for an end to the Don't ask, don't tell policy. Walz voted in favor of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Sexual Orientation Employment Nondiscrimination Act.  He received a 90% grade from the Human Rights Campaign. Walz supported the Respect for Marriage Act.  As governor, Walz has signed a number of bills that support the LGBTQ community. He signed a bill that banned the practice of conversion therapy and another that protected gender-affirming care in Minnesota.
 

Missouri Republican Candidate Burns LGBTQ Books with Flamethrower and Posts Video Online

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If You Think Project 2025 is Scary, Take a Look at Donald Trump's Agenda 47
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Number of LGBTQ Elected Officials Jumps Nearly 200% Since 2017, Report Finds

How Pro-LGBTQ is Kamala Harris?

Answer: Very

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to be the Democratic presidential nominee now that President Joe Biden has exited the race and has endorsed her. She brings a long and strong record of support for LGBTQ equality, reproductive freedom, and other progressive causes.

If she wins in November, Harris will make history as both the first woman to be president and first woman of color in the nation’s highest office — the first Black woman and the first one of South Asian heritage. She'd also most likely be the most pro-LGBTQ president.

Harris was born October 20, 1964, in Oakland, Calif., and grew up in Berkeley and the surrounding East San Francisco Bay Area, along with spending a few years in Montreal. She is the daughter of two immigrants — her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in India, and her father, Donald Harris, in Jamaica. Gopalan was a research scientist and Harris an economist. Her parents were active in the civil rights movement and took young Kamala to marches in a stroller. She is a graduate of Howard University, one of the nation’s preeminent historically Black universities, and earned a law degree from the University of Hastings College of Law. In 2014, she married Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer. They have two children, Ella and Cole.

"I have taken on perpetrators of all kinds...

Predators who abused women... fraudsters who ripped off consumers...

cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain.

So, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.”

-Kamala Harris

Harris began her law career in 1990 in the district attorney’s office in Alameda County, Calif. There, she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. In 2003, she was elected district attorney for San Francisco City and County. The following year, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declared same-sex marriage legal in the city, Harris conducted marriages for same-sex couples. “One of the most joyful moments of my career was performing the marriages in 2004. Truly joyful,” Harris said. “I’ll never forget pulling up to see all the families of every configuration and just pure joy, pure happiness,” she said on the call. “It was such a special moment, and it was all about love.”

She established a hate-crimes unit in the DA’s office as well as an environmental justice unit. She also created a program to give first-time drug offenders the opportunity to earn a high school degree and find employment. The US Department of Justice called it a national model of innovation for law enforcement.

In 2010, she was elected California attorney general, overseeing the largest state-level justice department in the nation. As AG, she played a key role in restoring marriage equality in the Golden State. One of the signature issues in her campaign was her opposition to Proposition 8, the voter-approved ballot initiative that revoked marriage equality in California in 2008, undoing the state Supreme Court decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry. Both she and Jerry Brown, who was elected governor in 2010, said they would not defend Prop. 8 in court, and Brown’s predecessor as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, had done the same. If Steve Cooley, Harris’s opponent in the AG race, who had pledged to defend Prop. 8, had won, it might have changed the ballot measure’s fate.
 

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As it was, the proposition’s supporters had to defend it against court challenges, and courts all the way up to the US Supreme Court agreed they didn’t have legal standing to do so, and because of that Prop. 8 was struck down. After Prop. 8 bit the dust in 2013, she officiated the first post-Prop. 8 same-sex marriage in California, between Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, who had been part of the court case.

As AG, she went on to lead efforts to abolish gay and transgender “panic” defenses in criminal trials. She received some criticism for a position she took as AG, backing the state of California when it sought to deny gender-affirmation surgery to a trans prisoner. But Harris has pointed out that when she was attorney general, the state’s Department of Corrections was a client of hers, and she had to represent its interests — but she worked behind the scenes to get the policy changed so that any inmate requiring such procedures could receive them.

Also as AG, she won a $20 billion settlement for state residents who had lost their homes to foreclosure and a $1.1 billion settlement for those who were cheated by a for-profit education company. She defended the Affordable Care Act in court and enforced environmental laws.

She was elected to the US Senate in 2016. She received perfect 100 scores on the Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard, which measures support for LGBTQ equality, before leaving the Senate to become vice president. Her record likewise includes perfect ratings from reproductive rights groups such as Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America (now known as Reproductive Freedom for All), and NARAL Pro-Choice California.

How Pro-LGBTQ is Kamala Harris?

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As a senator, she introduced a bill to mandate insurance coverage of pre-exposure prophylaxis, the HIV prevention method, and she notably stumped Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh with a question on marriage equality during his confirmation hearings. Further, “she championed legislation to fight hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care, expand access to capital for small businesses, revitalize America’s infrastructure, and combat the climate crisis,” according to her official White House biography.

Her advocacy for progressive causes has continued during her vice presidency. She has spoken out against the rash of anti-LGBTQ legislation in conservative states around the country, such as “don’t say gay” laws affecting education and bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. “I hate bullies,” she told The Advocate in the 2023 interview. She noted that the politicians attacking LGBTQ people and reproductive rights are usually the same. “The intersection on the issue of reproductive care and trans care, and the ability of families to be able to have care for their children and their families, is really, again, an intersection around attacks that are on an identity,” she said.

She has hosted Pride Month receptions and visited New York City’s Stonewall Inn, where an uprising against police harassment of gay bars in 1969 jump-started the modern LGBTQ rights movement. She met with WNBA star Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner, before Brittney’s first game after her release from captivity in Russia.

President Biden honored her work on marriage equality by gifting her with the pen he used to sign the Respect for Marriage Act in December 2022. The act wrote marriage equality into federal law, protecting it against future negative Supreme Court action.

The possibility of that action became top of mind with the high court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established abortion rights nationwide, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. States are now free to ban or severely restrict the procedure, and about half of them have. While Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion, said it shouldn’t be read as opening attacks on other precedents, both he and fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas have said they’d like to see the court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling overturned. Thomas also called for overturning decisions that struck down sodomy laws and state bans on contraception. That would take a case on any of the issues coming to the Supreme Court, but that’s possible.

Since the Dobbs ruling, Harris has talked extensively about the importance of reproductive freedom. She and Biden have called on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe. Americans need to send a message to anti-choice politicians that their actions are not acceptable, she said at a reproductive rights rally this year in Virginia.

She has remained equally outspoken on LGBTQ rights. “The fight for equal rights is patriotic,” she said at a 2023 Pride reception. “We believe in the foundational principles of our country; we believe in the promise of freedom and equality and justice. And so the fight for equal rights is an expression of our love of our country.”

[Source: Trudy Ring, Advocate Magazine, July 2024]

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Even in Red States, Vast Majority of Americans Support LGBTQ Protection Law

The majority of Americans support nondiscrimination laws for LGBTQ people...

even those who are religious or live in red states

Most Americans support nondiscrimination laws and other protections, and a large number of them intend to vote based on it. However, those numbers are on the decline according to a new survey.

While support for LGBTQ rights differs by state, it remains strong among most Americans. More than 75 percent support nondiscrimination laws, including 71 percent of red state residents, 75 percent in battleground states, and 79 percent in blue states, according to a new survey of more than 22,000 American adults by the Public Religion Research Institute.

This was also found across religions, as "strong majorities" of Americans (including most people of faith) support LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment, and accommodation.

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The majority of those in red states (54 percent) are also opposed to religious refusals, compared to 58 percent in battleground states and 66 percent in blue states. By political alignment, a majority of Independents (59 percent) and most Democrats (82 percent) oppose allowing small business owners to refuse service to LGBTQ people based on their religious beliefs, compared to 40 percent of Republicans.

Majorities across all states also support marriage equality, with some variation. In states where marriage equality would continue if the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision were overturned, 72 percent of people favored allowing same-sex couples to marry, compared to 64 percent of those in states where marriage equality would no longer be legal if Obergefell were overturned.

While support for LGBTQ protections remains high, it has declined slightly in the last year. Support for marriage equality decreased from 69 percent to 67 percent between 2022 and 2023, and support for nondiscrimination laws also dipped from 80 percent to 76 percent. Religious refusal opposition dropped from 65 percent to 60 percent.

However, a large number of Americans (38 percent) say that LGBTQ rights is one of the factors they will consider in upcoming elections, with 38 percent of Democrats and young voters (ages 18-29) saying they would only vote for a candidate who shares their views on the issue.

[Source: Ryan Adamczeski, Advocate, March 2024]

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Mauree Turner: Oklahoma Lawmaker

Black, Queer, Muslim, and Nonbinary

In March 2024, Mauree Turner fought back tears as they addressed a crowd of mourners gathered in protest on the steps of the Oklahoma State Capitol. “I can’t stress enough that our liberation will not come from policy in this building,” the legislator said, to cheers and applause. “Our community care and preservation will not come from policy in this building.”

The day prior, the state medical examiner’s office had ruled that trans teenager Nex Benedict, who passed away one day after allegedly being beaten by three classmates in a school bathroom, died by suicide. The 16-year-old’s February 2024 passing prompted national outcry, drawing attention to the deadly impacts of the discriminatory legislation and hateful rhetoric touted by right-wing government officials like Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters, who not only enacted a slate of anti-trans policies in office, but also repeatedly misgendered Benedict in a Fox News op-ed. At an already precarious moment for LGBTQ rights in the United States, Oklahoma was suddenly thrust into the national spotlight, a position Turner has been in before.

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In 2020, they became the first Muslim elected official in Oklahoma, the first Black person to represent District 88, and the first nonbinary state lawmaker in the country. Four years later, struggling as we all were to process Benedict’s death, they made the remarkable choice to call out the limitations of their own office to create transformative change. “We build that in community with each other every day,” Turner continued that day, their voice breaking, “even on the days where it’s hard to wake up and get out of bed.”
 

“I am Black, queer, Muslim and trans in the buckle of the Bible Belt,” they tell me in a May interview. “A lot of people had to survive for me to be here, and a lot of people had to fight for me to be able to do that.” Turner generally avoids touching on the emotional impact of their time in office but they will admit, carefully, “It is lonely to do something like that.”

Since being elected to the state House of Representatives in 2020, Turner has made countless headlines, and not just for the precedents they have set. Last March, after the House passed a bill targeting access to gender-affirming care, they were censured by state Republicans for allegedly preventing state troopers from questioning a trans protester during a demonstration against the proposed legislation.

In April, Turner announced that they wouldn’t be seeking reelection when their term is up in November, citing health issues and familial needs. (Turner became the legal guardian of their four-year-old nephew Anthony in 2022, which made the regular harassment and death threats they receive that much more panic-inducing.) When I ask whether the decision was also informed by a loss of faith in electoral politics as a strategy, Turner hesitates for a moment before answering. “I am not sure I can continue to play a role in the system,” they begin to say. “I’m not sure that being representation is… I am not sure if I can handle it, right? I also want to consistently engage in something that’s creating resources for communities, and not just taking away.”

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Turner is comparatively eager to talk about their personal life, the nuances of which have been flattened by a press that tends to focus on their identities rather than who they are as a person. They are a Capricorn and in introvert. Loves animals. They have recently started doing yoga therapy. They adore their nephew. They also recently marked their one-year anniversary with their partner, MJ, who has a strange penchant for Kid Rock— his music, not his politics.

As a child, Turner was close with their mother, who now helps co-parent the four-year-old Anthony. A self-described “latchkey kid,” Turner spent afternoons at the local library, where they eventually started volunteering, handing out popcorn and lemonade during movie screenings. “I thought it was so cool to walk into your public library and the librarians know you by name,” they say, adding with a laugh, “and I don’t know how no one knew that I was queer.”

In middle school, Turner decided that they wanted to be a veterinarian. They left home in 2011 to study animal science at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, a three-hour drive away. After their freshman year, they got involved with The Big Event, an annual day of community service at colleges around America. Participating in The Big Event reminded Turner of those formative volunteering experiences at the library, and how fulfilling they could be. They went on to “join everything,” as they put it: They signed up for OSU’s chapter of the NAACP, the Student Government Association, the off-campus housing organization, and the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), where they got an internship — an early milestone in what would become a busy organizing career.

After college, Turner applied to the ACLU’s Smart Justice 50-State Blueprints project, which works to end mass incarceration, and “just kind of hit the ground running,” becoming the project’s regional field director in 2018. Cindy Nguyen, now the policy director at the ACLU of Oklahoma, first met Turner when they were speaking on a panel about how the criminal legal system impacted their family. “One of the things about working with Mauree is that they are not afraid to be the sole voice in a room, and a sole voice even in their own party when it comes to a lot of issues,” Nguyen tells me in a phone interview. “So it’s been just fantastic watching people realize how brilliant they really are.”
 

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As Turner met more of their community through their ACLU work, educating them about issues like the voting rights of formerly incarcerated people, they heard a recurring refrain: “You should run for office.” Nicole McAfee, who worked alongside Turner at the ACLU for two years, and who later went door to door talking to voters for them during their campaign, recalls the communal joy of Turner’s primary win in June 2020. A group of queer and trans people gathered in the parking lot of the Diversity Center of Oklahoma to celebrate the moment.

“It became clear pretty quickly after that, even as they still had a general election ahead of them, how impactful it was for folks to be able to see someone nonbinary in this role,” McAfee says over the phone. Turner’s candidacy also meant that local journalists had to learn how to use they/them pronouns and acknowledge the candidate as nonbinary in media coverage, which made a huge difference to queer and trans Oklahomans. In fact, this newfound visibility gave McAfee more space to explore their gender identity; they later came out as nonbinary themself.

“Every time I see GSA students up at the Capitol and they get to meet Mauree, it’s a little bit like they’re getting to meet a celebrity,” McAfee says, “just because they’re so excited that there is someone who is nonbinary and queer in office and who is fighting for them, even if they don’t live in their district.”

But those more wholesome scenes have been offset by the desperation of American life in the 2020s. Between the pandemic, the beginnings of another nationwide wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, and the threat of another four years of a Trump presidency, Turner’s tenure in office has taken place amid an arguable nadir for national politics. When they were elected, along with a historic number of LGBTQ candidates running for office, advocates and journalists declared the trend a “rainbow wave.” Hundreds of discriminatory bills later, and at the tail end of a Democratic presidency that has done little to intervene, it is almost heartbreaking to think back to the optimism of that moment.
 

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Working in an already deep-red state during a regressive period of retrenchment, Turner was never able to get their own authored legislation to the governor’s desk. They had just gotten a bill heard for the first time, on HIV decriminalization, a month prior to their 2023 censure. But Turner, an organizer at heart, never stopped trying to serve their constituents in District 88. In the absence of funding for interim studies — educational sessions for legislatures centered on select issues — they worked with McAfee, now the executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, to conduct their own community-facing teach-in on HIV. Turner kept writing bills: legislation that would ban the Oklahoma government from requiring proof of surgery in order to change one’s gender marker, that would make the legal name change process easier, and that would require the government to notify formerly incarcerated people of their voting rights. No, those bills never made it out of committee. But just as discriminatory legislation negatively impacts the mental health of many trans people even when it doesn’t pass, the fact that Turner introduced these bills in a legislature with a Republican supermajority was meaningful in itself.

When it comes to Turner’s time in office, two things can be true at once: the ways in which they have been held back by the electoral establishment prove that visibility and representation alone were never going to be enough to effect real change. But their time in office has also had an unquantifiable impact.

Oklahoma may be a difficult home for marginalized people, but Turner has no intention of leaving. They love their state and they love their family, which now includes the constituents of 88. “I love that I go walk around my neighborhood and that we talk to each other,” they say. “It’s nice to just exist here.” When they travel elsewhere, Turner says, they feel “shockingly queer” all of a sudden.

Turner doesn’t know what’s coming next once they leave office in January, but they tell me they hope to continue to build “community webs of care” wherever life takes them. “The hope is that I always get to engage in work like that, whether or not I’m in office.”

Even through all the challenges of being a lawmaker like them — Black, queer, Muslim, trans, and progressive — when asked about the hardships they’ve faced, they say, “I think the only regret I have is that I probably could have done more work. Yes, it’s been hard, it’s been isolating, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

[Source: James Factora, Them Magazine, June 2024]

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Another Anti-LGBTQ GOP Wacko for Jesus!

GOP candidate Drenda Keesee compares LGBTQ activists to Hitler and says demons are turning kids trans...
She is running unopposed in Ohio and has dedicated her career as a pastor to protecting kids from liberals trying to brainwash them...

Drenda Keesee, a pastor, right-wing extremist, and full-fledged conspiracy theorist running uncontested for a commissioner seat in Knox County, Ohio, has spent her career spreading dangerous anti-LGBTQ propaganda. She’s even claimed that LGBTQ rights activists have taken a page from Hitler’s playbook in the way they are “indoctrinating” youth.

“You can do all kinds of surgeries on the outside but it cannot change what God created,” Keesee said. “They’re either XX female or they’re XY male.”   She then claimed children are being targeted by an evil agenda and are “being brainwashed” all day long: “These children’s souls are at stake, their bodies are at stake… demonic spirits are attacking them, and satanic hordes are infiltrating them and even possessing their bodies.”

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She also decried so-called critical race theory being taught in schools and claimed schools are pushing pornography on kids. (Porn is often used by the right as a thinly veiled code word for LGBTQ content.) She said kids “could be taken for life by these alien entities called demons” and added that trophies and scholarships are being taken from young girl athletes, no doubt implying trans girls should not be allowed to participate in girls’ sports.

Keesee claims she doesn’t hate anyone before declaring that Hell is real, there is a devil, and gay relationships are “abominations” that Satan created to confuse people into rejecting God. It is also an abomination, she added, when people “experiment with bodies and change them from what God designed them to create — he created male and female.” People like LGBTQ folks who follow Satan, she said, will suffer “eternal hell” in the “lake of fire.”

She claimed kids are “being bombarded constantly with messaging that makes them question whether they’re male or female… Because just like Hitler, they know if you’re going to mold a child, you mold them at the youngest age you can before they have a developed consciousness of what is right and wrong.” She said kids are being exposed and indoctrinated to “transgender ideology” and the “rainbow movement” everywhere they go.

Keesee also proclaims that “LGBTQ agendas” are part of a plot to destroy America and that Satan is the architect behind LGBTQ inclusion.


[Source: Molly Sprayregen, LGBTQ Nation, April 2024]
 

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Mark Robinson: Anti-LGBTQ NC Governor Candidate

GOP Candidate for Governor Calls Teachers Demons for Teaching About Filthy LGBTQ People...

He also likened being trans to insanity

A 2021 video shows staunchly anti-LGBTQ GOP candidate Mark Robinson referring to LGBTQ people as “filthy” and calling teachers who speak to students about LGBTQ issues “demons.”

Robinson – the Republican nominee for North Carolina governor and the state’s current lieutenant governor – was reportedly speaking at a 2021 Independence Day event held by Conservative Coalition North Carolina. “I’m a little more concerned with what’s going on in our classrooms when you have these demons in there trying to teach our children about all this filthy homosexuality and transgenderism, trying to force it down their throats,” Robinson said, adding that kids are also being taught to “hate America.”

He also made the contradictory statement that “you have the right to be transgender, but you cannot transcend God’s creation and you are not playing on the girl’s team if you’re a man.”

“When did freedom become insanity?” he asked, emphasizing his belief that there are two genders: “Two. Count them. Two. There’s two sets of DNA, male and female. That’s it.” In the same speech, he blasted the notion that racism is a problem in America.

He also repeatedly praised Donald Trump and said America needs to “wake up” and “tell those socialist bastards who want to destroy this nation, ‘You will not do it on my watch, you will not do it now, you will not do it ever.”

Donald Trump recently endorsed Robinson, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids.” This is despite the fact that Robinson once called the Civil Rights Movement a communist plot to “subvert capitalism” and “to subvert free choice.” He was speaking on a podcast in 2018 and said Black protestors and white allies who had protested racist laws by eating at a racially segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter during a July 1960 protest in Greensboro, North Carolina were “ridiculous” and wrongly trying to pull “the rug out from underneath capitalism and free choice and the free market.”

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As the November election looms closer, a spotlight has been cast on Robinson’s long history of inflammatory comments.

In March 2023, Robinson declared that God created him to battle against LGBTQ rights and added, “Makes me sick every time I see a church that flies that rainbow flag, which is a direct spit in the face of God almighty.”

In 2017, he wrote on Facebook, “You CAN NOT love God and support the homosexual agenda.”

In 2021, Robinson compared LGBTQ people to cow dung and claimed straight people are superior to gay people due to their ability to procreate. In the same sermon, he declared there are only two genders and disparaged trans people’s bodies: “I don’t care how much you cut yourself up, drug yourself up and dress yourself up, you still either one of two things — you either a man or a woman.”

He also said people who support events like Drag Queen Story Hour do so because they desire to molest children.

He has previously proclaimed that being gay is a step before pedophilia, that former First Lady Michelle Obama is secretly a trans woman, and that trans-affirming people are “devil-worshipping child molesters.” He also condemned gay people as an “abominable sin” in response to the 2016 Pulse massacre.

Robinson created an education task force to investigate and remove LGBTQ literature from public schools, as well as report instances of LGBTQ inclusion in schools. Teachers’ names, employers, and information were released unredacted in the report, yet many of the complaints weren’t verified or even authenticated.

Also, in 2021, he refused to heed calls for his resignation after he declared that homosexuality and “transgenderism” are “filth.” He has also called the trans equality movement “demonic” and “full of the spirit of Antichrist.”

In November of that year, he allegedly wagged his finger in the face of a state lawmaker who made a speech about supporting LGBTQ people.

He also called claims that millions of Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust “hogwash.”

[Source: Molly Sprayregen, LGBTQ Nation, March 2024]

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Mike Johnson: New Speaker of the House is Anti-LGBTQ
 

It's another perspective on the homosexual lifestyle, which many people believe is morally wrong and physically dangerous."

-Mike John, New Speaker of US House of Representatives

New Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is an election-denying extremist, with close ties to Trump, who is as anti-LGBTQ as they come. He introduced a federal Don't Say LGBTQ bill. He co-sponsored a gender-affirming care ban. He served as national spokesperson for an anti-LGBTQ hate group.  And this Republican representative, who has advanced extreme views as attorney and legislator, says "I am a Bible-believing Christian."

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As a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund (the precursor of the Alliance Defending Freedom), Johnson wrote editorials for his local paper that called homosexuality “inherently unnatural.” “Your race, creed, and sex are what you are, while homosexuality and cross-dressing are things you do,” he wrote. “This is a free country, but we don’t give special protections for every person’s bizarre choices.”

He is an ardent opponent of same-sex marriage. In the Louisiana House, he proposed the Marriage and Conscience Act, preventing adverse treatment by the state of anyone based on their views on marriage. The bill, in the view of critics, protects people who discriminate against same-sex couples. He defended Louisiana’s same-sex marriage ban before the Supreme Court in 2004 and again in 2014.

He recently led a hearing on limiting gender-affirming care. “Sex isn’t something you are assigned at birth. It is a prenatal development that occurs when every unborn child is in its mother’s womb. You can’t surgically free yourself, or someone else, from this fact of life,” he said in his opening statement. “Today, nearly one in four high school students identifies as LGBTQ. Whether it’s by scalpel or by social coercion from teachers, professors, administrators and left-wing media, it’s an attempt to transition the young people of our country. Something has gone terribly wrong."

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Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Johnson would be “the most anti-equality” speaker in US history. “This is a choice that will be a stain on the record of everyone who voted for him,” Robinson said. “Johnson is someone who doesn’t hesitate to express his disdain for the LGTBQ community from the rooftops and then introduces legislation that seeks to erase us from society.”

Even outspoken conservative Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had gripes with Johnson’s ascension to power. “So we just elected a raging homophobe to speaker? Way to break stereotypes and win over hearts and minds!”

Mike Johnson's hateful and ignorant remarks on LGBTQ issues are nothing short of disturbing:

“Homosexual marriage is the dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic.”

“There is clearly no right to sodomy in the Constitution, and the right of privacy of the home has never placed all activity within the home outside the bounds of the criminal law. What about drugs, prostitution and counterfeiting? Make no mistake, the Lawrence decision opens the door to the undermining of many important laws and is ultimately a strategic first shot for the homosexual lobby’s ultimate prize — the redefinition of marriage.”

“Homosexual relationships are inherently unnatural and, the studies clearly show, are ultimately harmful and costly for everyone. Society cannot give its stamp of approval to such a dangerous lifestyle. If we change marriage for this tiny, modern minority, we will have to do it for every deviant group. Polygamists, polyamorists, pedophiles, and others will be next in line to claim equal protection. They already are. There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet.”

AND... When confronted about his hateful attitude, Mike Johnson actually replied, "I can't be hateful. I'm a Christian."

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Laphonza Butler Makes History as First Out Person of Color in the Senate

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tapped lesbian Democratic strategist Laphonza Butler to fill the Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, who recently died.

Butler will now be the first LGBTQ person of color to serve in the US Senate. She will serve the remainder of Feinstein’s term, which ends next year. "I'm honored to accept Gov. Gavin Newsom's nomination to be US Senator for a state I have made my home and honored by his trust in me to serve the people of California and this great nation," Butler said. She added: "No one will ever measure up to the legacy of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, but I will do my best to honor her legacy and leadership by committing to work for women and girls, workers and unions, struggling parents, and all of California. I am ready to serve."

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Gavin Newsom Chooses Laphonza Butler to Fill Dianne Feinstein's Senate Seat
Gavin Newsom Picks Laphonza Butler to Fill Dianne Feinstein's Senate Post
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Chooses Laphonza Butler to Fill Senator Feinstein’s Seat

Butler leads EMILY’s List, a political group that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights. Before becoming president of EMILY’S List, Butler ran a labor union and served as an advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Butler’s selection is not only historic but it may cause even more complexity in the lead-up to the 2024 election. The outlet reports that Butler has deep connections across the Democratic political sphere in California and could very well fundraise enough to make her another top candidate to succeed Feinstein.

Equality California’s executive director Tony Hoang praised Newsom’s choice in selecting Butler. "Laphonza Butler is eminently qualified to represent California well in the United States Senate and we are thrilled to congratulate her,” Hoang said in a statement. “This historic appointment by Governor Newsom will give our LGBTQ community another voice in Congress at a time when our rights and freedoms are under attack across the country.”

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Other LGBTQ groups also lauded Newsom's choice. "Butler's appointment is so important for LGBTQ people, Black people, and women not only in California, but throughout the country," GLAAD's CEO and president Sarah Kate Ellis said. "Our freedoms are under attack to be ourselves, make our own health care decisions, and have our votes and voices secured."

The Human Rights campaign also celebrated the selection. "The appointment of Laphonza Butler to the Senate is a landmark moment in the fight for social, racial, and economic justice. As the first Black lesbian to represent California in the United States Senate, Laphonza brings a compelling voice for abortion rights, the labor movement, and civil rights into Congress. Her leadership is a testament to the legacy of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s strong record of pro-LGBTQ support,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “The threats to reproductive freedoms and LGBTQ families emanating from the Supreme Court and anti-equality politicians are twin crises that require immediate attention, and Laphonza Butler is an exceptional advocate on both of these issues."

[Source: Alex Cooper, Advocate, Oct 2023]
 

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Queer Politics

“If you help elect more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised a green light to move forward.”
-Harvey Milk

“Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.”
-Barbara Gittings

”We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.”
-Bayard Rustin

LGBTQ individuals in politics have made significant strides in recent years, breaking barriers and contributing to more inclusive governance. Their presence not only reflects the growing acceptance of diversity but also promotes equal representation in decision-making. However, challenges such as discrimination, prejudice, and obstacles to full inclusion still exist. As society continues to evolve, it is essential to support and advocate for LGBTQ politicians, ensuring they can contribute their unique perspectives to shape policies that benefit all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Progress has been made, but there is still work to be done to achieve full equality and inclusion for LGBTQ people in the political arena.

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White House Blasts Attacks on LGBTQ Community: Shameful, Hateful, Dangerous

The White House in March 2023 condemned what it called “shameful, hateful and dangerous” attacks on the LGBTQ community, and transgender people in particular, pointing to comments from a speaker at a major conservative conference last week and a barrage of bills introduced in GOP-led state legislatures.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke about the rhetoric and legislation targeting transgender people, pointing to a speech given at the Conservative Political Action Conference by Michael Knowles in which he said “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life.”
 

Out Democratic candidate Maura Healey has been elected the first out lesbian governor in the US, as well as the first woman to lead Massachusetts.

Democrat Maura Healey scored a decisive and historic victory in the 2022 midterm elections, becoming the first elected female governor in Massachusetts and the nation's first openly lesbian governor.

Healey, the state's Attorney General since 2014, overwhelmed her Republican opponent, former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, and put the governorship firmly back in Democratic hands after Republican Gov. Charlie Baker declined to seek a third term. Diehl was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in Massachusetts.

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Healey never trailed in the polls and held huge advantages in fundraising and name recognition. She campaigned on a long list of Democratic priorities, including expanding affordable housing, promoting green jobs, and improving public transportation.

"Let's put money back in people's pockets by cutting the costs of housing, energy and health care," Healey said last June, when she accepted her party's nomination.

As the state's attorney general, Healey initiated or joined dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration – from challenging his Muslim travel ban to protecting immigrant rights to suing the EPA for delaying or rolling back environmental regulations.

Healey's historic victory burnishes her profile as a leader in the LGBTQ community. "I'm proud of who I am," Healey said. She said she is especially moved when young people from that community tell her they feel comforted by her success.  "Kids need to understand and believe that they are loved, they are seen and that they can be whoever they are."

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Addressing her supporters at a victory rally in Boston, Healey dedicated her win to "every little girl and every young LGBTQ person out there."  "I hope tonight shows you that you can be whatever, whoever you want to be," she said to a roaring crowd. "And nothing and no one can ever get in your way except your own imagination, and that's not going to happen."

Annise Parker, the president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which helps queer candidates get elected to public office, said Healey’s historic win will help send a message that “LGBTQ people have a place in American society and can become respected public leaders. We are confident that under Maura’s leadership, Massachusetts will reach new heights as one of the most inclusive states in the country."

Healey will follow two other out LGBTQ Democrats who have been elected to lead their states: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who is bisexual, became the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected governor in 2015, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis became the first openly gay man to be elected governor in 2018. (Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey was not out when he was elected to office in 2001; he came out as gay in his 2004 resignation speech.)

[Source: Anthony Brooks, NPR News, Nov 2022]
 

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Kathy Kozachenkot: Fifty Years Later

It’s been 50 years since a 21-year-old University of Michigan college student became the first openly gay person elected to public office in the US. Kathy Kozachenko, now 71, served only a single term on the Ann Arbor City Council, but she opened a door to LGBTQ representation in politics when the community was rapidly gaining visibility in American society.

Even though she shattered a long-impenetrable lavender ceiling, Kozachenko is not a household name, unlike her contemporary Harvey Milk, who was elected to public office in California three years after her victory.

After Kozachenko’s historic feat, other openly gay lawmakers soon followed. In November 1974, seven months later, Elaine Noble won a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, becoming the first openly gay person elected to a state legislature. Three years later, in 1977, Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.  

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Kathy Kozachenko: First Out Elected Official in US to be Honored in Michigan

Even though she shattered a long-impenetrable lavender ceiling, Kozachenko is not a household name, unlike her contemporary Harvey Milk, who was elected to public office in California three years after her victory. But she has spent her decades out of elected office closely following politics, including the current rise in anti-LGBTQ state policies and rhetoric, which she called “more dangerous” than some of the challenges her generation overcame.

“It’s tragic that gains that we made 50 years ago we’re now seeing either under attack or being erased,” Kozachenko said from her home in Pittsburgh, where she has lived for over 45 years. “We have to do the work again.”

She cited book bans, restrictions on abortion and the targeting of transgender people as particular causes of concern.

Kozachenko was elected in April 1974 at another particularly polarizing time for the nation: The Vietnam War was not yet over, the Supreme Court had just handed down its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion decision, and the aftershocks of the 1969 Stonewall uprising were still being felt. They were among the turning points that contributed to a politically charged atmosphere for college-age students at the time, especially those who identified as gay and lesbian.

“That was kind of the tail end of a period that historians call the ‘gay liberation’ period of politics,’” said Tim Retzloff, an adjunct professor of history and LGBTQ studies at Michigan State University. “Before that, [activism] had been confined to kind of the largest cities, and what happened with gay liberation is it really kind of found its way all across the country.” 

[Source: Isabela Espadas Barros Leal, NBC News, April 2024]
 

Joe Biden Elected President

It took a few extra days to get there, but Joe Biden has now been elected president of the United States. The Democratic nominee went over the needed 270 votes in the Electoral College. For many Americans, including LGBTQ ones, it means the end of the long national nightmare of Donald Trump’s presidency — at least that the end will come with Biden’s inauguration January 20. Trump has sowed hatred against LGBTQ people, people of color, immigrants, and many other groups, while demeaning women and taking grossly insufficient action against the COVID-19 pandemic. It means a welcome return to normality, with relief from Trump’s Twitter tantrums and vitriol-filled rallies, and a chance to reverse the many harmful policies enacted by his administration.

It also means history has been made with the election of Kamala Harris as vice president. Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, is the first woman elected vice president as well as the first Black vice president and first one of South Asian descent. There has, of course, been one Black person in the top post, President Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as vice president.

Joe Biden Wins Presidency: LGBTQ Folks Can See the Sun Again

LGBTQ Leaders: Biden's Victory and Trump's Defeat

Joe Biden: First President Entering the White House Supporting Marriage Equality

What Vice President Kamala Harris Means to Marginalized People

Biden Wins Historic 2020 Election and Vanquishes Trump

Van Jones on CNN: Character Matters

Both Biden and Harris are longtime LGBTQ allies and ran the most pro-LGBTQ campaign in history. They have promised to lobby Congress for passage of the Equality Act, address the epidemic of violence against transgender Americans, appoint equality-minded judges, and more. On other issues, they support reproductive rights, expansion of the Affordable Care Act to make health insurance more widely available, environmental protections, and other progressive moves.

Biden was a US senator from Delaware from 1973 until becoming Obama's vice president in 2009. While he took some negative positions on LGBTQ rights at some points, such as voting for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, he became a strong supporter of LGBTQ equality. He notably came out for marriage equality as he and Obama were seeking reelection in 2012, a few days before Obama did the same. As vice president, he successfully pressed Congress to pass a hate-crimes law that covers crimes against LGBTQ people. As a senator, he supported the Equality Act's predecessor, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, although it never became law.

Harris is currently a US senator from California, having previously been the state's attorney general and, before that, San Francisco district attorney. As San Francisco DA, she established a hate-crimes unit, and as attorney general, she led efforts to abolish gay and trans "panic" defenses in criminal trials. In the latter position, she also refused to defend Proposition 8, the voter-passed measure that revoked marriage equality in California, and her position was key to it being struck down in court.

[Source: Trudy Ring, Advocate, Nov 2020]

Jared Polis: Being a Dad, Husband, and America's first Out Gay Governor
Kathy Kozachenko: First Out Elected Official in US to be Honored in Michigan

Number of Out LGBTQ Elected Officials Surpasses 1000
New LGBTQ State Lawmakers Who Won Their First Elections

LGBTQ Political Victories: Meet the 2020 Rainbow Wave

Andrea Jenkins Makes History as 1st Openly Transgender City Council President
Review of Mayor Pete Documentary: Inside Look at a Historic Campaign

Vote 'Em Out: Willie Nelson
Difficult to Threatening: LGBTQ Women Running for Office

Tracy Chapman on Seth Meyers Show: Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution

Rise in LGBTQ Political Representation

Pete Buttigieg Join's Joe Biden's White House Transition Team

Sarah McBride: Most Inspiring Elected Official in America

Democratic Platform Promises Bold Action for Racial and LGBTQ Equality

Joe Biden: Pro-LGBTQ Presidential Candidate

LGBTQ Republicans: Gay Voters for Trump?

More than 80% of LGBTQ voters say they were more motivated to vote this year, according to a poll by the LGBTQ organization GLAAD. Many say they feel like their lives depended on this vote.

However, as it turns out, the LGBTQ community is not a monolithic voting bloc. We've all heard of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of LGBTQ Republicans, which always seemed like a contradiction in terms. While it might be difficult to imagine, we are now learning that the number of LGBTQ people who voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 US presidential election more than double compared to four years ago, exit polls suggest. And according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool, the sturdy trend that LGBTQ people vote Democratic has remained, but more voted for Trump this time around than in 2016.

LGBTQ Republicans: What a Joke
LGBTQ Nation: Why Are Some LGBTQ People Republicans?
Stand-Up Comic: What's With Gay Republicans?
USA Today: Gay Voters for Trump

NPR: What is at Stake for LGBTQ Voters?

Discussion: Can You Be Gay and Republican?

NBC News: Gay Republicans Backing Trump

Pink News: Number of LGBTQ Voters for Trump Doubles

Log Cabin Republicans

A mere 14 per cent LGBTQ people voted for the Trump-Pence ticket in 2016, even despite the pair’s anti-LGBTQ track records. Come 2020, and that figure has doubled to 28 per cent who voted for the Trump-Pence ticket, even despite the absolute onslaught of anti-queer attacks by the administration.

Around 61 per cent of LGBTQ voters went for Biden at the ballots. The study found that of the 15,590 voters interviewed, around seven per cent were LGBTQ. The exit poll comes after survey-takers in September found around 45 per cent of queer men intended to vote Trump.

As much as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has netted an, albeit, slim majority of the queer male vote, securing 51 per cent, it signaled to pollsters how the president’s brand of bullish showmanship has roiled the political landscape. Indeed, the LGBTQ voting bloc has long been reliably Democratic. The poll conducted by queer dating app Hornet found that, overall among its users, around 66 per cent prefer Biden while 34 per cent support Trump.

 

But for queer Americans, pollsters said, the statistics were far tighter together. Just less than half of queer men said they do not support Trump, and a slim 11 per cent said they generally disagree with his stances.
 

Sam Brinton: Nuclear Engineer in US Energy Dept

President Biden has tapped a non-binary, LGBTQ activist, drag queen, and pup fetishist to be the deputy assistant secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Sam Brinton (they/them) has a dual Master’s degree in engineering systems and nuclear science and engineering from MIT.  Sam has worn their stilettos to Congress to advise legislators about nuclear policy and to the White House where they advised President Obama and Michelle Obama on LGBTQ issues.
 

Calling themselves a "radioactive nerd," they worked in the clean energy movement and has been in the forefront of numerous queer rights issues. And in February 2022, it was announced that Sam Brinton will be the deputy assistant secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Energy Department's Office of Nuclear Energy. "In this role," Brinton wrote, "I'll be doing what I always dreamed of doing, leading the effort to solve the nation's nuclear waste challenges."

Brinton was praised by colleagues: "Sam, you're exactly the right person for this job. I know you've been preparing diligently for just such a position for a decade or more. Besides, we need a courageous problem solver to address one of the few remaining obstacles to rapid growth in nuclear energy."

They see a connection between their two great advocacy passions. "I want to move the dial a little bit to leave the world in a better place by talking about a hard issue in a way that more people are able to access it," he said. "The challenge of coming out as LGBTQ sure gives you a lot of practice for coming out for nuclear energy."

Brinton has been passionate about these issues since they were an undergraduate at Kansas State University, where they helped found the state's first LGBTQ resource center while earning earned bachelor's degrees in mechanical and nuclear engineering and vocal music performance.

At MIT, they earned dual master's degrees through the Technology and Policy Program: one in engineering systems and the other in nuclear science and engineering. They served as president of the MIT Science Policy Initiative and co-founded two student groups: Stand with Science, which supports more federal research funding, and the National Science Policy Group, a nationwide network focusing on science and policy issues.

You might not expect a nuclear engineering graduate from MIT to be strolling through the White House in stilettos, but that is part of the reason Sam does it. Having a chat on preconceptions is right up their alley. Whether it's on technical topics or social issues like supporting LGBTQ survivors of conversion therapy, Sam is always willing to have the tough conversations with an open mind.

They are also a passionate advocate against conversion therapy. "Sam is an ardent activist against the dangerous and discredited practices of conversion therapy.
 

Brinton enjoys roleplaying as a “pup handler" in the "pup play" community.  Their drag queen alter ego is “Sister Ray Dee O’Active.”  And they are a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Sam Brinton: Biden's Non-Binary Energy Appointment
Andrea Jenkins Makes History as 1st Openly Transgender City Council President
Review of Mayor Pete Documentary: Inside Look at a Historic Campaign
Kimi Cole Aims to Be First Trans Politician to Win Statewide Race

Karine Jean-Pierre: 1st Gay Person to Lead White House Press Briefing
Difficult to Threatening: LGBTQ Women Running for Office
For the Trump Family, LGBTQ People Are Nothing but a Joke
Election 2020: Reasons to be Optimistic

Sarah McBride: Most Inspiring Elected Official in America

First LGBTQ Holders of US Political Offices

Pete Buttigieg Wins Iowa Caucus

In February 2020, Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg made history at the Iowa caucus. He is the first LGBTQ person to win delegates in any presidential contest. He hopes his success in that contest will provide some amount of comfort and inspiration to young people who feel marginalized in their families and communities.

“It validates for a kid, somewhere in a community, wondering if he belongs, or she belongs, or they belong in their own family, that if you believe in yourself and your country, there’s a lot backing up that belief,” he said. In the final days before the Iowa caucuses, Buttigieg had leaned on the historic nature of his candidacy. The 38-year-old would also be the youngest president, if elected. “So, are you ready to make history one more time?” he said to an estimated 2,000 people at his final rally in Des Moines.

Buttigieg reminded Iowans that he was in Iowa roughly 12 years ago to knock doors for Barack Obama when the nation’s first black president was making his bid for the White House. Buttigieg said he also remembered watching from afar in 2009 when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in 2009 to uphold same-sex marriages. The consequential decision paved the way for a 2015 ruling in the US Supreme Court. “You all changed what people thought was possible once again, and gave someone like me permission to believe that one day I would be able to wear this wedding ring,” Buttigieg told the crowd. "You did that.”

Pete Buttigieg: First LGBTQ Person to Win Delegates in Any Presidential Contest

Pete Buttigieg: Advocate Magazine Interview

Iowa Voter Shocked to Learn Buttigieg is Gay, Asks to Change Vote

Pete Buttigieg Interviewed by Lawrence O'Donnell

Pete Buttigieg: Unlikely Unprecedented Presidential Campaign

Pete Buttigieg Interviewed by Bill Maher

Pete Buttigieg Confronts VP Mike Pence About Anti-Gay Comments

Pete Buttigieg: Sharp Comebacks to Critics

Rainbow Wave: LGBTQ Candidates Getting Elected

In 2019, 144 openly LGBTQ candidates won their races, according to Victory Fund, an organization which supports LGBTQ political candidates nationwide. In addition, 12 races involving LGBTQ candidates remain undecided or are headed to runoff elections.

A total of 382 known out LGBTQ candidates ran in political races this year. Among winners in Nov 2019 were eight bisexuals, 20 lesbians and nine trans women, including Danica Roem who serves in Virginia’s House of Delegates, making her the first-ever trans person to win re-election for a state legislature in the US.

“Anti-LGBTQ attacks on our candidates almost universally backfired,” said Annise Parker, President and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, in a statement. She added: "LGBTQ candidates are winning elections in numbers and in parts of the country thought unthinkable a decade or two ago. LGBTQ people are in every community – we are people of color, women, immigrants, and people with disabilities – and we come from families both liberal and conservative. This beautiful diversity provides an opportunity to connect on some level with every single voter in America. That is the reason LGBTQ candidates are winning in unprecedented numbers, and this will only accelerate in the years ahead."

Victory Fund says there are currently 765 openly LGBTQ elected officials serving nationwide.

Rainbow Wave: 114 LGBTQ Candidates Won Office This Year

Danica Roem: First Trans Legislator Re-Elected

Trans Lawmaker of Virginia: Danica Roem

Victory Fund: Results 2019

Victory Institute: Out for America

LGBTQ Victory Fund

The LGBTQ Victory Fund (commonly shortened to Victory Fund) is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Victory Fund is the largest LGBTQ political action committee in the United States and one of the nation’s largest non-connected PACs. The Victory Fund was founded in 1991 as a non-partisan political action committee. It provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer candidates and officials across the United States running for all levels of government. Its partner organization, Victory Institute, offers programs and training to elected officials.

According to the Victory Fund organization, its mission is "to work to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ officials at all levels of government."

Victory Fund

Wikipedia: LGBTQ Victory Fund

2019 Candidates Endorsed by the Victory Fund

Since 1991, Victory Fund has helped elect thousands of LGBTQ candidates. These LGBTQ voices have made significant contributions to advancing equality for LGBTQ Americans, from passing non-discrimination laws to defeating amendments to ban marriage equality.

The Victory Fund provides campaign, fundraising and communications support to LGBTQ candidates to increase the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials. According to the Victory Fund, "Representation is power. When LGBTQ elected leaders are in the room, they humanize our lives, impact policy and legislative debates and influence straight lawmaker colleagues to vote in favor of equality. LGBTQ elected officials are our best defense against anti-LGBTQ efforts at all levels of government, and are best positioned to advance equality for our community."
 

Pride and Politics: 30 Barrier-Breaking LGBTQ Leaders

Huff Post: Obama Legacy on LGBTQ Rights

Pete Buttigieg: First LGBTQ Person to Win Delegates in Any Presidential Contest

Rainbow Wave: 114 LGBTQ Candidates Won Office This Year

Pete Buttigieg: Unlikely Unprecedented Presidential Campaign

Rainbow Wave Hits Midwest

Pete Buttigieg: Best Debate Moments

Republicans and Democrats: LGBTQ Acceptance

Van Jones: Exposing Liberal Hypocrisy and Conservative Closemindedness

Murder at City Hall: The Killing of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk

History-Making LGBTQ Women in Politics

Groundbreaking LGBTQ Politicians and Public Officials

Election 2020: GOP Claims Trump Protects LGBTQ Rights

Pete Buttigieg: Gay Presidential Candidate

When Pete Buttigieg announced that he was running for president in March 2019, the general feeling was he was a minor candidate at best. At 37, he’s just two years older than the office requires, and thirty (even forty) years younger than some of his Democratic rivals. The only elected office he has held is mayor of South Bend, Indiana, which, with a population of 102,000, is hardly a metropolis.

And then there’s the gay thing. As an openly gay candidate, Buttigieg seemed easy to classify as a novelty. All in all, Buttigieg looked like he was destined to be a footnote in a crowded presidential field. But, it’s not turning out that way at all.

Gay Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg

Mayor Pete Announces Prez Campaign and Kisses Husband

Pete Buttigieg: Advocate Magazine Interview

Mayor Pete Hailed as Role Model by 58 US Mayors

NY Times: Pete Buttigieg Might be President

Pete Buttigieg and Husband on Cover of Time Magazine

Pete Buttigieg: Gay South Bend Mayor Running for President

CNN: Pete Buttigieg Doing Well in the Polls

Buttigieg is proving to be a credible candidate simply by being himself. His appearance at a CNN Town Hall was a turning point. Buttigieg impressed the audience and pundits by his plainspokenness and command of facts, to say nothing of his ability to turn a phrase.

He called Vice President Mike Pence, whom Buttigieg knows personally, the “cheerleader of the porn presidency,” a description that will haunt Pence for years and will serve as an epitaph for his career.

Buttigieg did such a good job that he raised $600,000 from 22,000 donors in just 24 hours. Within a few days, Buttigieg was able to announce that he had hit the threshold of 65,000 donors necessary to qualify him for the Democratic candidates’ debate.

Buttigieg has the kind of background that is tailor-made for a presidential candidate: Harvard, Rhodes scholar, veteran. He also has a big uphill battle. Most people don’t know who he is; he’s polling at one percent. He’s not the fundraising juggernaut that other candidates are. The media’s love affair with him now can quickly turn, as the press decides the pendulum has swung too far in that direction.

Yet so far, Buttigieg’s candidacy has been more successful than anyone would have predicted. Seeing him arrayed on a stage crowded with first-tier candidates will further boost his credibility. Maybe Buttigieg doesn’t win the nomination for president, at least not this time around. But he’s definitely paved the way for a bigger presence in the Democratic party.

Pete Buttigieg: Unlikely Unprecedented Presidential Campaign

Washington Post: Is Pete Buttigieg Gay Enough?

Pete Buttigieg Will be Part of Presidential Debate

South Bend Tribune: Mayor Buttigieg Marries Partner

Pete Buttigieg: Presidential Candidate With an Advantage Over Trump

LGBTQ Nation: Why Pete Buttigieg is Good for Gays

Lori Lightfoot: First Gay, Black, Female Mayor of Chicago

Chicago mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot trounced her opponent in April 2019 and made history. Lightfoot will be the only black lesbian mayor in the nation. And the first out mayor of one of America’s three largest cities.

“A Black lesbian taking power in the nation’s third-largest city is a historic moment for so many communities that are too often ignored in American politics,” said former Houston mayor Annise Parker. Parker, the President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund formerly held the record as the “highest ranking” out mayor. Houston is the nation’s fourth largest city.

LGBTQ Nation: Black Lesbian Becomes Chicago Mayor

USA Today: Chicago Makes History with First Gay, Black, Female Mayor

Chicago Tribune: Lori Lightfoot Breaks the Rules

Advocate: Lesbian Mayoral Candidates Making History

“Chicago’s enormous influence on the national dialogue provides a platform for Lori to promote more inclusive solutions to the challenges facing our cities and nation – and to be a credible messenger as well,” Parker said. “Lori will certainly remain focused on the issues facing Chicago. But as the highest-ranking LGBTQ person ever elected mayor of an American city (a title she takes from me) she is also now a key leader in the movement to build LGBTQ political power nationwide.”
 

“As the first openly LGBTQ woman of color to be elected mayor in any of America’s 100 largest cities and the first black woman to serve as Mayor of Chicago, Lightfoot is an inspiration to thousands of LGBTQ people of color who have a new role model in elected office,” DNC chair Tom Perez said in an emailed statement.

“This historic win reaffirms that our diversity is our greatest strength, and that our elected leaders should reflect the diversity of the communities they represent. I look forward to working with Mayor-elect Lightfoot as she fights to build a brighter future for all. The people of Chicago will be well served with her leadership.”
 

LGBTQ Voters Needs to Be Aware: Anti-LGBTQ GOP Platform for 2020 Election

Anti-LGBTQ Pastors, Politicians, Pundits Predict End of World if Trump is Not Re-Elected

HRC: Important Moments for LGBTQ Progress

Candidate Pete Buttigieg Confronts VP Mike Pence About Anti-Gay Comments

Washington Blade: How Trump Could Undermine LGBTQ Rights

Rep. Angie Craig: LGBTQ Member of Congress

CNN: What a Trump Presidency Could Mean for LGBTQ Americans

New York Times: Trump Victory Alarms LGBTQ Groups

Pete Buttigieg: Advocate Magazine Interview

Huff Post: Assault on LGBTQ Rights Already Underway

First Drag Queen Elected to Public Office in US

Donald Trump Opposes Nationwide Marriage Equality
Richard Nixon Discusses Homosexuality

Donald Trump Elected President
 

The election of Donald Trump in November 2016 to the presidency sent panic through much of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, which for the first time in eight years will face an administration hostile to its civil rights goals and a president-elect who has expressed a desire to reverse many of its political gains.

The Human Rights Campaign (one of the most prominent LGBTQ advocacy groups) responded quickly after the results were announced. President Chad Griffin called the election a “crucial moment for our nation and for the LGBTQ movement.”

The LGBTQ community called upon the President-elect Donald Trump to rise above the often divisive rhetoric of his campaign, while urging its members to stay vigilant and fight for equal rights.

He pledged to “bind the wounds of division” in his victory speech, though he’s been criticized for promising to elect conservative justices to the Supreme Court — justices that could overturn marriage equality and other LGBTQ civil rights.

In his home state of Indiana, Vice President-elect Mike Pence signed numerous anti-gay legislation, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which allowed individuals and businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people. In the 2000 election, Pence said money raised by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program should go to organizations “which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” So-called “conversion therapy” has been called emotionally and physically harmful by many members of the LGBTQ community.

History-Making LGBTQ Women in Politics

Variety: LGBTQ Groups React to Trump Victory

NBC News: Nationwide Anti-Trump Protests

Huff Post: Assault on LGBTQ Rights Already Underway

CNN: What a Trump Presidency Could Mean for LGBTQ Americans

New York Times: Trump Victory Alarms LGBTQ Groups

Washington Blade: Anti-Gay Leaders Bask in Trump Victory

Is this the end of same-sex marriage? Many same-sex couples worry that their marriages could be invalidated in Trump's America, or that if things are getting serious they better hurry up and make it official before their right to tie the knot disappears. Neither the President nor Congress can take away what the Supreme Court has deemed a "fundamental right," leaving current marriages safe, multiple legal experts said. While Trump does not have the right to unilaterally scrap marriage equality, he has the power to appoint Supreme Court justices who could.

Jay Brown, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, said its office had received calls throughout the day on Wednesday from frightened people who wanted to know what the election results might mean for them. Some callers wondered if they should speed up wedding plans so they could be married before the inauguration, in case a President Trump tries to overturn gay marriage, he said. Others worried that the military would reinstate “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the ban on openly gay and lesbian service members that ended in 2011. “This is a devastating loss for our community,” Mr. Brown said. “It is something a lot of folks are still trying to wrap their heads around.”

Trump's Anti-Gay Cabinet and LGBTQ Rights

Over 700 Reports of Harassment Since Trump Election

Outbreak of Hate Incidents Since Trump's Win Republicans and Democrats: LGBTQ Acceptance

Huff Post: Attitude of Trump's Transition Team Regarding LGBTQ People

Out: How Trump Presidency Could Affect LGBTQ Rights

Washington Blade: How Trump Could Undermine LGBTQ Rights

Annise Parker: First Lesbian Mayor of Houston

Annise Danette Parker (born May 17, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 61st Mayor of Houston, Texas, from 2010 until 2016. She also served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller from 2004 to 2010.

Parker was Houston's second female mayor (after Kathy Whitmire), and one of the first openly gay mayors of a major US city, with Houston being the most populous US city to date to elect an openly gay mayor, until Lori Lightfoot was elected mayor of Chicago in 2019.
 

LGBTQ Politicians

As of 2016, all 50 states have been served by openly LGBTQ elected politicians in some capacity.  43 states have elected openly LGBTQ politicians to one or both houses of their state legislature. There has been one openly bisexual state governor.  One state governor has come out as gay.  No openly LGBTQ person has served as president or vice president of the United States, nor has an openly gay person ever served on the Supreme Court of the United States.

US Congress

--Rep Gerry Studds (D-Mass) - First out congressperson and Democrat. Served 1973–1997. Outed 1983.
--Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass) - First to voluntarily come out. Served 1980–2013. Came out in 1987.
--Rep Steve Gunderson (R-Wis) - First out Republican. Served 1981–1997. Outed 1994.
--Sen Harris Wofford - Not out when first elected. First male US Senator to come out. Served 1991–1995. Came out in 2016 after announcing plans to marry a man.
--Rep Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz) - First Republican to voluntarily come out. Served 1985–2007. Came out 1996.
--Rep Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis) - First lesbian.  Out when first elected. Served 1999–2013.
--Rep Jared Polis (Colo) - First gay man.  Out when first elected. Served 2009–present.
--Rep Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz) - Out when first elected. First openly bisexual member of Congress. Elected 2012.
--Rep Mark Pocan (Wisc) - Out when first elected. First to succeed another openly-gay officeholder in office. Elected 2012. Succeeded Tammy Baldwin.
--Rep Mark Takano (Cal) - Out when first elected. First non-white openly gay member of Congress. Elected 2012.
--Sen Tammy Baldwin (Wis) - Out when first elected. First openly LGBTQ Senator. Elected 2012.

--Sen Kyrsten Sinema - first openly bisexual US Senator. Elected 2019.

--Rep Robert Garcia (D-Calif) - First gay immigrant elected to Congress. Elected 2022.
 

US Executive
 

--Roberta Achtenberg - First openly LGBTQ person appointed to a federal position requiring confirmation by US Senate. Assistant Secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (1993). Later became commissioner for US Commission on Civil Rights in 2011.

--James Hormel - First openly LGBTQ Ambassador. Served 1999–2001 in Luxembourg.
--Sharon Lubinski - First openly LGBTQ US Marshal. District of Minnesota (2009).

--Jenny Durkan - First openly LGBTQ US Attorney. Western District of Washington (2009).

--Chai Feldblum - First openly LGBTQ Commissioner of Equal Employment Opportunity Comm (2010).

--Fred Hochberg - First openly LGBTQ person in a cabinet-rank position. Deputy Administrator / Acting Administrator of Small Business Administration, which held cabinet-rank during the Clinton administration. Later became Chairman and President of Export-Import Bank in 2009.

--Eric Fanning - Secretary of the Army. Appointed 2016.

--Pete Buttigieg - Secretary of Transportation. Appointed 2020.

Washington Blade: How Trump Could Undermine LGBTQ Rights

CNN: What a Trump Presidency Could Mean for LGBTQ Americans

New York Times: Trump Victory Alarms LGBTQ Groups

Huff Post: Assault on LGBTQ Rights Already Underway

Obama's Support of LGBTQ Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBTQ rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
-Barack Obama, June 2007

"I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or who you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try."
-Barack Obama, November 2012

During the presidency of Barack Obama his agenda regarding LGBTQ rights included these items:

--Expand Hate Crimes Statutes

--Fight Workplace Discrimination

--Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBTQ Couples

--Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

--Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell

--Expand Adoption Rights

--Promote AIDS Prevention

President Obama Speaks for Gay Civil Rights

Big LGBTQ Thank You to President Obama

Gay is Good for America

LGBTQ Speakers at DNC Convention

President Obama: It Get's Better

History-Making LGBTQ Women in Politics

Murder at City Hall: Killing of Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk

LGBTQ Politicians

State Delegation

--Ariz Rep Jim Kolbe (R) - Served 1985–07. Outed in 1996 following his vote for anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.
--Ariz Rep Kyrsten Sinema (D) - Bisexual. Elected 2012.
--Cal Rep Michael Huffington (R) – Served 1993–95. Came out as bisexual in 1998.
--Cal Rep Mark Takano (D) – Elected 2012.
--Colo Rep Jared Polis (D) – Elected 2008.
--Conn Rep Stewart McKinney (R) – Bisexual. Served 1971–87. Died of AIDS in 1987.
--Fla Rep Mark Foley (R) – Served 1995–06. Outed by lawyer after resignation in 2006 due to sex scandal.
--Maine Rep Mike Michaud (D) – Served 2003–15. Came out in 2013 while running for Governor.
--Maryland Rep Robert Bauman (R) – Served 1973–81. Outed after sex scandal.

--Mass Rep Gerry Studds (D) – Served 1973–97. Came out involuntary in 1983 due to sex scandal.
--Mass Rep Barney Frank (D) – Served 1980–13. Came out voluntarily in 1987 due to sex scandal.

--Miss Rep Jon Hinson (R) – Served 1979–81. Outed after sodomy arrest in 1981.
--NY Rep Sean Patrick Maloney (D) – Elected 2012.
--RI Rep David Cicilline (D) – Elected 2010.
--Wis Sen Tammy Baldwin (D) – Elected 2012.
--Wis Rep Tammy Baldwin (D) – Served 1999–13.
--Wis Rep Steve Gunderson (R) – Served 1981–97. Outed involuntarily in 1994.
--Wis Rep Mark Pocan (D) – Elected 2012. Out when elected.

--RI Rep Frank G. Ferri (D) - Served 2007-2015.

State

--Mass Rep Elaine Noble (D) - First openly lesbian or gay candidate elected to a state legislature. Elected in 1974. Served two terms starting in January 1975. Out when elected.

--Gov Jim McGreevey (D-NJ) - First openly gay governor. Came out 2004 (during the same speech in which he announced his resignation as governor).

--Gov Kate Brown (D-Ore) - First openly bisexual governor and first person to be openly LGBTQ at time of taking office as governor. Ascended to office in 2015 after previous governor resigned.
--Maura Healey (D-Mass) - First openly gay attorney general. Elected in 2014.

--Minn Sen Allan H. Spear (D) – Elected Senate President in 1993.
--RI Rep Gordon D. Fox (D) – Elected Speaker of House in 2010.

Groundbreaking LGBTQ Politicians and Public Officials

Discussion: Can You Be Gay and Republican?

First LGBTQ Holders of US Political Offices

Huff Post: Obama Legacy on LGBTQ Rights

Pride and Politics: 30 Barrier-Breaking LGBTQ Leaders

Rainbow Wave Hits Midwest

Republicans and Democrats: LGBTQ Acceptance

HRC: Important Moments for LGBTQ Progress

Vote 'Em Out: Willie Nelson

US Senator Tammy Baldwin

First Openly Lesbian US Congress Woman

In 2012, Rep Tammy Baldwin (D) beat former Governor Tommy Thompson (R) to represent Wisconsin in the US Senate. Baldwin is the first openly gay US Senator and the first female Senator to represent Wisconsin.

"If you dream of a world in which you can put your partner's picture on your desk, then put her picture on your desk...and you will live in such a world. And if you dream of a world in which you can walk down the street holding your partner's hand, then hold her hands...and you will live in such a world. If you dream of a world in which there are more openly gay elected officials, then run for office...and you will live in such a world. And if you dream of a world in which you can take your partner to the office party, even if your office is the US House of Representatives, then take her to the party. I do, and now I live in such a world. Remember, there are two things that keep us oppressed --- them and us. We are half of the equation."
-Tammy Baldwin, US Congress

In 1999 State Rep Tammy Baldwin has made history by becoming the first openly gay first-time candidate ever elected to US Congress, winning Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district seat over Josephine Musser. While four openly gay men have served in the House, all disclosed their sexual orientation after first being elected to their posts. Baldwin also becomes the first lesbian to win a House election. The 2nd district seat was vacated by moderate Republican Scott Klug.

First LGBTQ Holders of US Political Offices

Huff Post: Obama Legacy on LGBTQ Rights

Pete Buttigieg: First LGBTQ Person to Win Delegates in Any Presidential Contest

Rainbow Wave: 114 LGBTQ Candidates Won Office This Year

Pete Buttigieg: Unlikely Unprecedented Presidential Campaign

Rainbow Wave Hits Midwest

Discussion: Can You Be Gay and Republican?

Republicans and Democrats: LGBTQ Acceptance

HRC: Important Moments for LGBTQ Progress

Candidate Pete Buttigieg Confronts VP Mike Pence About Anti-Gay Comments

LGBTQ Politicians

Local

--Lori Lightfoot - First gay, black, female mayor of Chicago (2019).

--Pete Buttigieg - Openly Gay (and married) Mayor of South Bend, IN.

--David Cicilline - First mayor of a US state capital. Providence, Rhode Island (2002).

--Neil Rafferty - Openly gay state representative, Birmingham, Alabama.
--Neil Giuliano - First directly elected openly gay mayor in US. Tempe, AZ (1998.)
--Annise Parker - Largest US city with lesbian mayor. Houston, Texas (2009).
--Ed Murray - Largest US city with gay male mayor. Seattle, Washington (2014).
--Cathy Woolard - First openly gay president of a city council. Atlanta, GA (2002–04).
--Stu Rasmussen - First transgender mayor. Silverton, Oregon (2008).
--Nancy Wechsler and Jerry DeGrieck - First openly LGBTQ members of a city council. Both elected as members of Human Rights Party to Ann Arbor City Council (Michigan) in 1972. Both came out in 1973.
--Kathy Kozachenko - First openly gay person elected to public office (city council). Ann Arbor, Michigan (1974).
--Jim Yeadon - First openly gay man elected to a US city council. Madison, Wisconsin (1977).
--Harvey Milk - First openly gay man non-incumbent elected in US. First openly gay person elected to public office in California. Member of San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Elected 1976. Assassinated in 1978 by Dan White (who also killed Mayor George Moscone).
--Keith St. John - First openly gay black person elected to public office in US. Elected to Albany, New York common council in 1989.
--Ricardo Gonzalez - First openly gay Hispanic person elected to public office in US. Madison, Wisconsin.
--Joanne Conte - First openly transgender member of a city council. Arvada, Colorado. Trans woman. Served on Arvada City Council from 1991 to 1995.
--Marlene Pray - First openly bisexual member of a city council. Joined Doylestown, Pennsylvania council in 2012. Resigned 2013. Also first openly bisexual office holder in Pennsylvania.
--Christine Quinn - City Council Speaker. Elected 2006.
--Ron Oden - Palm Springs, California. First openly gay African-American Mayor popularly elected in US.
--Neil Guillano - Mayor of Tempe, AZ.
--Rep Patricia Todd (D) - Birmingham, Alabama. First openly gay legislator in Alabama.
--Rep Nicole LeFavour - First openly gay official in Idaho.
--Sam Adams - City Commissioner. First openly gay Commissioner in Portland.
--Sam Adams - Mayor. Portland, Oregon.

Pride and Politics: 30 Barrier-Breaking LGBTQ Leaders

Washington Blade: How Trump Could Undermine LGBTQ Rights

Vote 'Em Out: Willie Nelson

Rep. Angie Craig: LGBTQ Member of Congress

Groundbreaking LGBTQ Politicians and Public Officials

CNN: What a Trump Presidency Could Mean for LGBTQ Americans

New York Times: Trump Victory Alarms LGBTQ Groups

Pete Buttigieg: Advocate Magazine Interview

Huff Post: Assault on LGBTQ Rights Already Underway

First Drag Queen Elected to Public Office in US

Richard Nixon Discusses Homosexuality

Discussion: Can You Be Gay and Republican?

Murder at City Hall: The Killing of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk

Patricia Todd: Lesbian Lawmaker From Alabama
 

In 2006, Patricia Todd served as the first openly gay legislator in the State of Alabama. She held a state House seat representing parts of Birmingham (54th legislative district).

In the June 6 primary election, Alabama voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Ironically, on the same day Patricia Todd came one step closer to becoming the first openly gay member of the Alabama Legislature. The massive vote for the anti-gay marriage amendment did not make her victory bittersweet, she said. "We knew the marriage amendment was going to pass overwhelmingly. It was not surprising. It was just a matter of how big the margin was going to be," Todd said.

Patricia Todd made history when voters in Alabama’s 54th legislative district voted to send the Democrat to the State House, marking the first time ever that legislature will include an openly gay Representative. The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian political action committee, endorsed Todd and helped raise tens of thousands of dollars from its national network of donors to help fund her campaign.

Pride and Politics: 30 Barrier-Breaking LGBTQ Leaders

First LGBTQ Holders of US Political Offices

Huff Post: Obama Legacy on LGBTQ Rights

History-Making LGBTQ Women in Politics

Discussion: Can You Be Gay and Republican?

Rainbow Wave Hits Midwest

Republicans and Democrats: LGBTQ Acceptance

HRC: Important Moments for LGBTQ Progress

Lesbians Who Have Made US Political History

Oliver Sipple: Tragic Hero
 

In 1975, a disabled Vietnam vet named Oliver Sipple saved President Gerald Ford from an assassin. Although Sipple was hailed a hero at first, the tide quickly turned when the media outed him as a gay man.

Not only did the exposure of his homosexuality overshadow his heroic act, but it also led to his family essentially disowning him. Years later, Sipple's lifeless body was found next to a cheap bottle of bourbon in his apartment. He'd been dead for nearly two weeks before anyone found him.

Oliver Sipple: Biographical Notes

Vietnam Vet Saves President's Life and is Punished

Oliver Sipple: Tragic Story of an American Hero

Lavender Scare: Purging LGBTQ Government Workers
 

On December 15, 1950, the Senate report titled "Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in Government" is distributed to members of Congress after the federal government had covertly investigated employees' sexual orientation at the beginning of the Cold War.

The report states since homosexuality is a mental illness, homosexuals "constitute security risks" to the nation because "those who engage in overt acts of perversion lack the emotional stability of normal persons."

Over the previous few years, more than 4,380 gay men and women had been discharged from the military and around 500 fired from their jobs with the government. The purging became known as the "lavender scare."

This set the stage for Eisenhower’s 1953 Executive Order 10450, listing homosexuals as security risks – along with alcoholics and neurotics – and banning them from working for the United States government or any of its private contractors.

Joe Biden Issues Presidential Proclamation for 70th Anniversary of Lavender Scare

Comparing the “Lavender Scare” With the Current “Trans Scare”
Lavender Scare: Notes, History, Overview

CBS Sunday Morning: The Lavender Scare

IMDB: Lavender Scare Movie

Roger Ebert Review: Lavender Scare

PBS: Lavender Scare Film

Lavender Scare: How US Government Purged Gay Employees

The Documentary Film: The Lavender Scare

Lavender Scare: Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians by US Government

Rotten Tomatoes 100%: Lavender Scare Documentary

James Buchanan and William Rufus King
 

There has always been some speculation surrounding James Buchanan's bachelorhood and his relationship with William Rufus King. Buchanan was the 15th US President and King was the 13th US Vice President.

The argument for Buchanan's and King's homosexuality has been put forward by biographer Jean Baker. It has been supported by Shelley Ross, James W. Loewen, and Robert P. Watson. It focuses essentially on the close and intimate relationship between President James Buchanan (from Pennsylvania) and Vice President William Rufus King (from Alabama).

The two men lived together for 13 years from 1840 until King's death in 1853. Buchanan referred to the relationship as a "communion", and the two often attended official functions together. Contemporaries also noted and commented upon the unusual closeness. Andrew Jackson mockingly called them "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy."

Loewen has described Buchanan and King as "siamese twins." Sol Barzman, a biographer of vice presidents, wrote that "King's "fastidious habits and conspicuous intimacy with the bachelor Buchanan gave rise to some cruel jibes." Buchanan adopted King's mannerisms and romanticised view of southern culture. Both had strong political ambitions, and in 1844, they planned to run as president and vice president. Both men were soft, effeminate, and eccentric. They spent some time apart while King was on overseas missions in France, and their letters remain cryptic and avoid revealing any personal feelings at all.

In May 1844, Buchanan wrote to Cornelia Roosevelt, "I am now 'solitary and alone,' having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone, and I should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection." After King died in 1853 Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest and most consistent public men I have known." Baker concluded that while some of their correspondence was destroyed by family members, the length and the intimacy of surviving letters illustrate "the affection of a special friendship" between King and Buchanan, with no way to know for certain whether it was a romantic relationship.

Footnote: A similar story has been circulated about the intimate relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed.
 

Close Friends: Buchanan and King
William Rufus King: Background Notes
Speculating About President James Buchanan’s Bachelorhood
William Rufus King: US Vice President
C-SPAN: James Buchanan and William Rufus King Relationship
 

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