I don't share this story often, friend.
Before I came home to Illinois, I was a meteorologist at a local station in Tyler, Texas.
One morning, my boss approached me and said we needed to speak after the show.
When I got to the conference room, I saw my employment contract laid out on the desk. Next to it was a print out of my profile from a gay dating website.
I was told I had a choice: to be "that person" in the profile, or "have a job."
I decided then and there to resign and move back to Illinois.
That was 20 years ago, and the reason I’m sharing this story now, is because I never imagined the LGBTQ community would be experiencing the surge in discrimination it is today.
We've seen far-right politicians banning LGBTQ books from schools and libraries. Just this week, Republicans passed a bill to ban transgender youth from girl's sports.
Imagine what gay and trans kids may think seeing this in the news? I can tell you for a fact I'd be feeling scared, isolated, and ashamed.
These attacks are a reminder of why we need representatives in Congress who can lead with empathy -- especially when it comes to protecting youth who may already feel marginalized.
I’m ready to stand up to the anti-LGBTQ agenda in Congress, but it's going to take a team effort to get this done. Please contribute $3 to my re-election campaign, and help me defeat these bigoted attacks on our community.
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Thanks for hearing me out,
Eric
Eric Sorensen is a meteorologist born and raised in Rockford, IL representing IL-17 in Congress. He’s seen firsthand the importance of establishing trust with the community, and he’s determined to use his expertise as a climate communicator to fight for Illinoisans on environmental justice and more in Washington. To support Eric consider making a grasssroots contribution here: [link removed]
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Eric Sorensen for Illinois
P.O. Box 1172
Moline, IL 61265
United States