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In California, 10% of the state legislature identifies as LGBTQ.

sacramento, california – LGBTQ candidates and their supporters had several celebrations, milestone win Across the country in this year’s midterm elections, California has quietly reached a unique position. At least 10% of state legislators publicly identify as LGBTQ. This is believed to be the first time in the US Congress.

California lawmakers are all Democrats and proud of their successes, but Remaining hardship For example, measures such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits some lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, and laws in other states that restrict the participation of transgender students in sports. such as dealing with side effects fromblocking gender-affirming medicine For young people.

Milestones were further eclipsed on Saturday night Shooting in gay nightclub In Colorado, five people died and many were injured. The suspect was charged with murder and a hate crime. Colorado Governor Jared Polis had just won his second term and was the first openly gay governor elected in 2018.

“When it comes to LGBTQ people, we are going two ways. One way is that socially we are winning. , they stand by us, embrace LGBTQ candidates, and are happy to vote for them,” California Senator Scott Weiner, a member of the LGBTQ Caucus, said Monday.

But he said, “Despite the fact that we are winning battles across society, there is a very vocal and dangerous extremist minority who consistently attack and demonize our communities. There is a faction.”

At least 519 LGBTQ candidates have won elected offices this year, from school boards to legislatures to governors, said Albert Fujii, spokesman for the LGBTQ Victory Fund. That’s a record 336 LGBTQ candidates elected in 2020, according to a group that calculated that along with Equality California, California was the first state to cross the 10% threshold.

Of the 12 current or soon-to-be-elected members of the California Legislature, eight are already members of the LGBTQ caucus, including Senate leaders and three others with terms through 2024. Senators were included. , joined by two new congressmen and her two new senators, increasing his caucus rank by 50%. AP has yet to call her one remaining race where LGBTQ lawmakers can be added.

Legislators will be sworn into new terms on December 5th. There are a total of 120 members between the two houses.

According to the U.S. Census, 9.1% of Californians identify as LGBT, compared to 7.9% nationally, meaning that the legislature has reached near parity between sexual orientation and gender identity. increase. Meanwhile, the legislature has yet to reach parity on gender, race and ethnicity. to statistics From the California State Library.

According to the institute, New Hampshire and Vermont each have more LGBTQ lawmakers, but fall short of the 10% threshold because they have larger legislatures than California.

The 2022 election will be a first for LGBTQ people, including Corey Jackson, the first gay black man in California’s legislature.

Jackson, a member of the Riverside County Board of Education, said, “I see this as an opportunity to say first and foremost that we are here, that we have something to contribute, and that we can lead and represent the very best of them.

Alaska and South Dakota were the first to elect LGBTQ lawmakers, while Montana and Minnesota were the first to elect transgender lawmakers, according to the Human Rights Campaign. In New Hampshire, Democrat James Roessner, 26, became the first transgender man elected to the U.S. state legislature.

He wanted to run for state legislation that would require schools to notify parents of their children’s gender identity and expressive development, but narrowly failed. They argue that such requirements violate children’s privacy and can expose them to abuse at home.

Minnesota elect Lee Fink was also driven by the growing anti-transgender rhetoric.

Finke wants to ban so-called conversion therapy in Minnesota. like california, Make this state a sanctuary for children and their parents who cannot access gender-affirming healthcare elsewhere.

I thought, ‘I can’t stand this. There must be transgender people in these rooms. If we lose our rights, at least they have to look us in the eye,” she said.

Massachusetts When Oregon Elected the country’s first lesbian governor.

Charlotte Perry, a 23-year-old poll organizer in Portland, Oregon, said she was emotional when Governor Tina Kotek told a campaign event that young people thanked her for running.

“It’s hard to feel optimistic as a young queer with all that’s going on,” Perry said.

The newly elected LGBTQ officials are overwhelmingly Democrats, but at least one gay Republican — former President Donald Trump supporter George Santos — won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives Defeated another gay man, a Democrat, in New York.

The increase in LGBTQ legislators Efforts in some states Led by members of Santos’ party to limit the influence, visibility and rights of LGBTQ people.

In Tennessee, leaders in the state’s Republican-majority legislature said the first bill in the 2023 session would seek to ban gender-affirming care for minors. Tennessee has one LGBTQ Rep., Democrat Rep. Torrey Harris.

The state has already banned transgender athletes from participating in girls’ middle and high school sports and has restricted restroom facilities available to transgender students and employees.

The Human Rights Campaign has tracked what it has identified as anti-LGTBQ legislation introduced in 23 states this year and said it has become law in 13 states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and the South. Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Louisiana.

In contrast, “As California State Law LGBTQ Caucus Growing up, the state has led the nation in passing groundbreaking legislation that protects LGBTQ+ civil rights,” said Samuel Garrett Pate, spokesperson for Equality California.

Wiener introduced a California sanctuary bill for transgender youth. Copied by Democrats in other states. He and fellow MPs teamed up in 2019 to expand access to HIV preventive medicines. Other laws pushed by LGBTQ legislators over the years gave foster children the right to gender-affirming care and allowed non-binary gender markers on state identification cards.

California caucus members said it was too early to make firm plans for new legislation, but Wiener said areas for consideration included employment resources for transgender people. pointed out. Homelessness and crime among at-risk LGTBQ youth. sexual health services.

Mr. Jackson said he found hope in the resurgence of elections, not just in California, but nationwide.

“We now have U.S. senators, governors, and indeed transgender legislators in this country,” Jackson said.

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Contributors to this report include Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack of Concord, New Hampshire; Amy Faulity of Minneapolis; Claire Rush of Portland, Oregon; and Kimberly Cruesi of Nashville, Tennessee.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2022/11/22/in-california-10-of-legislature-now-identifies-as-lgbtq/ In California, 10% of the state legislature identifies as LGBTQ.

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