'Rainbow Wave' Lawmakers Looking for Change

A record number of LGBTQ Americans responded to the attacks of the Trump years by pursuing higher office. They are looking to be the change they want to see in America.

TIME Magazine writes that the recent elections brought victory to an all-time record of 334 out LGBTQ candidates. "Those wins spanned from Congressional seats to State Senate seats and local government offices, and nearly half were from non-incumbent candidates."

President-elect Joe Biden has positioned himself as an ally of LGBTQ Americans, vowing to uphold the rights of sexual minorities and usher the Equality Act into law within the first 100 days of his administration.

Florida State Rep.-elect Michele Rayner-Goolsby, described by TIME as "the first openly queer, Black woman to win an election in Florida," indicated a willingness to hold President-elect Biden to his word, saying Biden won "the White House because of Black women, and it is time that we have our due and we are respected for the work we do within politics."

New York's Ritchie Torres, one of two first-ever openly gay Black members of the U.S. House of Representatives elected this past November, addressed the importance of marginalized people of all sorts - economic, racial, sexual - having a place at the table.

"America is gradually realizing the promise of a multi-racial, muti-ethnic, inclusive democracy," Torres said.

Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride, set to become "the highest-ranking openly transgender publicly-elected official in U.S. history," alluded to her late husband's dedication to equal, accessible healthcare.

LGBTQ Americans - especially in the trans community - face steep disparities in health care that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp relief.

"As I put my left hand on the Bible–with my wedding ring that I still wear–and raise my right hand, I'll be thinking of Andy, and I'll be thinking about doing justice to his legacy," McBride told TIME.

Renewed civility, and a focus on a person's contributions rather than their sexual orientation, were goals that out GOP Tennessee State Rep.-elect Eddie Mannis spoke of. "I want to be defined as... a first generation business owner who has worked hard," and who is, incidentally, "also a gay man."

Key among the hopes and aspirations of the new officeholders is simple representation - not a small thing in a country where the outgoing administration kept the most recent Census from counting LGBTQ Americans and set about attempting the legal erasure of trans people.

As 27-year-old Mauree Turner, the first openly non-binary state lawmaker in America, put it, "It was very apparent to me from a young age that, specifically here in Oklahoma, I didn't really have much representation."

"I knew that I was going to have to be my own representation, in more ways than one."

TIME offered an apt summary of this sentiment, which was common among the newly fledged lawmakers: "If you're not at the table, then you're on the menu."