LGBTQ Stories You Should Know About
Happy Holidays from the Victory Fund team! This is our last issue of The Agenda for the year. To celebrate, here are some of our top stories from this year’s election cycle – see you in 2023!d
These 10 Black LGBTQ Candidates Could Make History in This Year’s Midterms
February 9, 2022 | LGBTQ Nation
The 2022 midterms could turn out to be the most historic election ever for Black LGBTQ candidates. While the current number of out LGBTQ elected officials remains far below what would constitute fair or proportional representation (only 0.2% of elected officials nationwide are LGBTQ), there remains an even greater disparity for Black LGBTQ representation.
17 states have zero Black out LGBTQ elected officials: Alabama, Connecticut (Congratulations, Erick Russell!), Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky (not anymore thanks to Keturah Herron!), Louisiana (not anymore thanks to Davante Lewis!), Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Utah and Vermont. While there is a lot of work yet to be done, there is also tremendous hope – this midterm cycle, we have a historic number of Black LGBTQ candidates on the ballot.
Read the full article here, including profiles of Venton Jones and Jolanda Jones!
The Impact of Overturning Roe V. Wade on LGBTQ Rights
June 28, 2022 | Forbes
On June 28, 1969, police raided a gay bar in New York City, sparking the Stone Wall Riots that were largely led by LGBTQ people of color and trans women (who today remain among the most marginalized). That incident ignited protests around the country in the push for equal rights.
While progress has been made, such as the Supreme Court ruling in 2020 that a 1964 civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination and the landmark 2015 SCOTUS decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, that legalized gay marriage in all 50 States, the recent Roe v. Wade ruling that overturned 50 years of precedent protecting people’s right to abortion access could impact other rights for the LGBTQ community.
If SCOTUS continues to roll back federal protection of rights previously ruled as protected by the 9th and 14th amendments and instead leaves them up to individual states to determine, the onus lies on state and local lawmakers to protect those rights for their constituents.
Click here to read the full article, including an interview with Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker!
A Record Number of Trans and Nonbinary People Are Running for Office
July 27, 2022 | The Washington Post
In 2017, former journalist Danica Roem made history when she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, making her the first out transgender state legislator elected and seated in the United States. Five years later, a record number of trans and nonbinary candidates are vying for public office, according to data compiled by the Victory Fund.
This wave of candidates comes at a precarious time for LGBTQ rights in the United States. They’re setting their sights on state legislatures — the place where most anti-LGBTQ policies have been introduced. Among LGBTQ candidates broadly, the majority (41 percent) are running for state office.
Click here to read the full article, featuring Zooey Zephyr, Mauree Turner and Leigh Finke!
Number of LGBTQ School Board Candidates Has Grown in 2022 Amid Controversial Bills
October 27, 2022 | USA Today
The number of out LGBTQ candidates for school board has more than doubled since 2018 amid a growing number of anti-LGBTQ bills targeting education in the U.S. The data, provided exclusively to USA TODAY by the LGBTQ Victory Fund – a political action committee dedicated to electing LGBTQ candidates – found the number of out school board candidates has more than doubled, from 34 to 82, in four years.
About 6,300 more LGBTQ school board members are needed to close the representation gap. Reaching that number requires addressing misinformation and greater work toward recruitment and fundraising, organizers and candidates told USA TODAY.
Read the full article here!
Where LGBTQ Candidates Made History in The Midterm Elections
November 10, 2022 | Axios
Several LGBTQ Americans made history Tuesday night with election wins across the United States. Among them are Becca Balint, who will become the first out LGBTQ person and the first woman to represent Vermont in Congress, and New Hampshire's James Roesener, the first out transgender man to win a state legislature race in the U.S.
California's Robert Garcia, who is gay and Peruvian American, will be the first out LGBTQ immigrant in Congress.
The U.S. will have an two out lesbian governors for the first time in history after Oregon's Tina Kotek and Massachusetts' Maura Healey were both elected to office.
In Connecticut, Erick Russell won the race to serve as treasurer, becoming the first-ever Black out LGBTQ candidate elected to statewide office in U.S. history.
Eric Sorensen's win makes him the first out LGBTQ Congress member from Illinois.
Their wins come amid an increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country, particularly bills targeting transgender rights and gender-affirming health care.
Read more here!
A ‘Rainbow Wave’ of Candidates Made History. What’s Next for Them?
November 11, 2022 | The Washington Post
When James Roesener answered the phone to speak to a reporter on Thursday, it was impossible not to hear his smile. Roesener, a 26-year-old high school graduate and store manager in Concord, N.H., was two days removed from making history: becoming the first out transgender man to ever be elected to a state legislature.
Roesener was part of an unprecedented “rainbow wave” of LGBTQ candidates who ran for office in record numbers and won in record numbers. Some of these trailblazing candidates will work in statehouses that have made curbing the rights of LGBTQ people a legislative priority. Others will be in a position to help codify more LGBTQ protections. As many of these barrier breakers come to terms with their historic success and what it means to their communities, they must also look ahead to what’s next.
Read the full article here!
