Gay Politicians

Information on lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and gay politicians in the United States, both elected or current candidates, both in Congress and in the states. Check who is open about it and who is in the closet.

 

To win equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans we need the support of fair-minded politicians as well as LGBT politicians that put a personal face to legislation. Like in any institution, a critical mass of LGBT politicians is needed in order to represent our need for legal equality.

 

 

INVITED ARTICLES ON LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER POLITICIANS

> Chuck Wolfe, President and CEO of the Victory Fund, writes about Don't Think Small: The Making of a Lesbian Politician.

A HISTORY OF FIRSTS

• The first openly gay Democratic member of the House of Representatives was Gerry Studds (D-MA)
  > He served from 1973 to 1997; he was in the closet when first elected.
  > He acknowledged that he was gay in 1983 when he was censured by the House for having an consensual affair with a male page of legal age. He continued to win elections until he decided to retire.


• The first openly gay Republican member of the House of Representatives was Steve Gunderson (R-WI)
  > He served from 1980 to 1997; he was in the closet when first elected.
  > He was outed by another Republican, because Gunderson was the only Republican in Congress to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act that Bill Clinton signed into law


• The first member of Congress elected as an open LGBT person was Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in 1998
  > She continues to proudly represent Wisconsin's 2nd district.

 

NOT ENOUGH REPRESENTATION

Any minority needs a critical mass of representatives.

• Only one member of the House of Representatives is an openly gay man: Barney Frank (D-MA)


• Only one member of the House of Representatives is openly lesbian: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)


• No members of the House of Representatives are openly bisexual or transgender


• No members of the US Senate are openly LGBT, although several are believed to be in the closet and vote against pro-equality legislation


• 20 states do not have an openly LGBT member of the State Legislature

 

SUPPORT LGBT POLITICIANS

To ensure that we get a critical mass, donors may want to support the openly LGBT candidates that we have endorsed for Congress:

• Linda Ketner (D-SC) is running for the House of Representatives. See Endorsed Candidates to Fund.
• Jim Neal (D-NC) is running for US Senate. See Endorsed Candidates to Fund.
• Jared Polis (D-CO) is running for the House of Representatives. See Endorsed Candidates to Fund.

In addition, Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank, who are openly gay and lesbian, are also running for re-election for the House of Representatives. It is almost certain that they will win re-election with the wide majority that they deserve.

Read also about funding openly LGBT candidates (mostly at the local and state level) through the Victory Fund.

 

 

 

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