In blue and red states, milestone wins for LGBTQ candidates
According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which recruits and supports LGBTQ candidates, that leaves only Alaska, Louisiana and Mississippi as states that have never elected an LGBTQ legislator. With the addition of Jones and Torres, there will be nine openly LGBTQ members of the House as of January. Two other Democrats became the first openly transgender people to win seats in their states’ Houses: Taylor Small in Vermont and Stephanie Byers in Kansas. And in New York, Jabari Brisport, a gay math teacher, became the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the legislature. And in southwestern Michigan’s 6th District, Jon Hoadley, seeking to become the state’s first openly gay congressman, lost to 17-term GOP Rep. Fred Upton.
Sarah McBride becomes the first openly transgender person to be elected state senator
While most Americans continued awaiting the presidential election results, history was silently being made in Delaware. Sarah McBride, 30, made history on election night by becoming the first openly transgender person to be elected to the state Senate in U.S. history. “I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” McBride tweeted Tuesday night after the election was called. McBride is a former spokesperson for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and also became the first trans person to speak at a major political convention. McBride will represent parts of Bellefonte, Claymont and Wilmington, the state’s largest city.
For transgender activists, election stokes hopes and fears
(AP Photo/Jason Minto)Among transgender-rights activists, there’s a powerful mix of hope and fear heading toward the Nov. 3 election. “The stakes are extremely high,” said Shannon Minter, a transgender attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights. — Support from administration attorneys for efforts to prevent transgender girls from competing in Idaho K-12 girls' sports and university women sports and from doing so in Connecticut high school girls' sports. There have been at least 33 violent deaths of transgender or gender nonconforming people this year in the U.S., according to the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ-rights organization. “If Trump loses, I’m hopeful we’ll see federal agencies reversing the many anti-trans policies that the Trump administration has adopted,” Strangio said.
Transgender activist wins Delaware state senate primary
Transgender activist Sarah McBride, who hopes to win in the primary for the Delaware Senate, watches a computer screen at her watch party in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. – Transgender activist Sarah McBride won a Democratic state Senate primary in Delaware on Tuesday and is poised to make history as the first transgender person elected to the state's General Assembly. If elected, McBride would join a handful of other transgender legislators around the country but would be the first transgender state senator. Denn and McBride’s father both worked at a Wilmington law firm known for its close ties to the Democratic Party establishment. McBride later worked on the campaigns of former governor Jack Markell and former state attorney general Beau Biden.
At least 22 transgender people killed this year
At least 22 transgender and gender non-conforming people have been killed in the U.S. this year, according to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign. Black women are particularly affectedThe majority of transgender people who are killed are black trans women. Out of the 22 trans and gender non-conforming people killed this year, all but two were black trans women. Some are killed by people close to themSometimes transgender people are killed by those closest to them. Half of transgender and gender non-conforming people killed since 2013 have been killed by an acquaintance, friend, family member or intimate partner, according to the Human Rights Campaign.