Bill’s bravery as an openly gay legislator paved the way for LGBTQ people like me to believe in ourselves, our voices, and our ability to lead.

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Hi John,

I wanted to send you a quick note before I attend President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.

As a Member of Congress, I am able to bring one guest along with me to attend this speech. Tonight, I’m proud to have Bill Lippert by my side.

Bill represented Chittenden County in the state legislature for almost 30 years. In the 1980s, Bill helped organize Burlington’s first Pride parade, and was a founding board member of Outright Vermont – one of the leading organizations serving LGBTQ youth in Vermont to this day. He also founded the Samara Fund, a community foundation dedicated to improving the lives of Vermont’s LGBTQ citizens. 

While Vermont is known for being a welcoming, progressive, and forward-thinking place, it took courage to get here – courage from people like Bill. As the only openly gay member of the Vermont General Assembly, he was instrumental in making Vermont the first state to grant civil unions to same-sex couples in 2000. Nearly a decade later, he played a critical role in guaranteeing full same-sex marriage rights through the state legislature.

Bill’s bravery as an openly gay legislator paved the way for LGBTQ people like me to believe in ourselves, our voices, and our ability to lead. I am so honored to have him by my side this evening as we reflect on the state of our union under President Biden. 

Bill and I know there is still so much work left to achieve full equality, and to defend our hard-fought progress. But tonight, I’m reminded of just how important it is to lead with love in our fight for freedom and justice.

You can tune in to tonight’s State of the Union address here beginning at 9PM.

Yours,

Becca Balint
 
 
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Becca believes the best thoughts are not always from the loudest voices in the room. As President Pro Tem of the Vermont State Senate, she led the charge to invest in affordable housing, fight climate change, enshrine reproductive freedom into our state's constitution, and so much more. Now, she's making history as the first woman and openly LGBTQ person to serve Vermont in Congress. If you'd like to receive fewer emails and only see our most important updates, click here.

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