LGBT politicians break barriers across US in historic election wins

[DonViejo]

AFP 1 day ago

When Brianna Titone first ran for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, she was viewed as an unlikely candidate, and her opponents didn't bother to say much about her being a transgender woman.

But after winning the seat in an upset and becoming the first transgender legislator in state history, a rival lawmaker voiced robocalls claiming Titone "wants to force a radical sexual agenda on every Coloradan."

When she held campaign events, people began shouting expletives from passing cars.

Yet that didn't stop voters in Titone's suburban Denver district from giving her a second term -- one of hundreds of wins across the United States by politicians from the LGBT community, for which 2020 was their most successful election cycle in US history.

more
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/lgbt-politicians-break-barriers-across-us-in-historic-election-wins/ar-BB1d2iuh

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Because more people should see this...

...history is history. LGBT gains are important to minorities.

[Turin_C3PO]

2. K&R

[Tommymac]

3. Don't forget Rachel

https://www.vox.com/identities/22242177/rachel-levine-appointment-biden-hhs-transgender
VOX.Com
Dr. Rachel Levine’s historic appointment to the Biden administration, explained
In a pivotal moment for trans health care, Levine has been tapped to lead US health policy.

By Katelyn Burns Jan 22, 2021, 9:30am EST
On Tuesday, Joe Biden, then president-elect, nominated Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as the new assistant secretary of health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Levine’s nomination is historic: If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the highest-ranking openly transgender government official in US history.

In her new role, Levine would run the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH), which oversees the nation’s public health policy. She will be a key administration figure as the White House tackles the deepening Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans. But she will also play an important role in rolling back a host of Trump-era policies in reproductive, adolescent, and LGBTQ health. As a trained pediatrician with a history of supporting evidence-based adolescent health and who has spoken about her own closeted trans youth, her appointment marks a sea change from the right-wing political activists appointed to OASH under Trump.

Because of the historic nature of Levine’s appointment, there has been much talk about her trans identity. Meanwhile, her qualifications, which should not be overshadowed, have taken a back seat. For the last three years, she’s been the secretary of health for Pennsylvania, where she has taken the lead on the state’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her clear-eyed press conferences instructing Pennsylvanians on how to survive the pandemic have earned praise from Democrats inside the state. Before she became the secretary of health, she was the state’s physician general.

Levine frequently takes a holistic approach to policy, telling Philadelphia magazine last July about how she conceptualizes public health. “Economic opportunity is health. A living wage with an increase in the minimum wage is actually health,” she said. “Improving educational opportunities, improving nutrition, improving the environment, improving transportation for people is health. Getting rid of racism is health.”

She has ROCKED during the pandemic. Great public servant for PA...wish her well in DC!

[Behind the Aegis]

4. Yup!

Many inroads have been made, but there is still a ways to travel.