Queer Ministry: Bay Gaillard

As we enter our 17th month of the current crisis, sometimes it feels like there’s no good left in the world. We’ve been suffering through a global pandemic, and every day there seems to be more and more laws designed to harm LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly trans women. And yet, through the pandemic, people have found ways to be active in doing the work that needs to be done. Here are some great wins we had during the pandemic that you might have missed. 

The 2020 elections were, in many ways, a huge victory for LGBTQIAPP2S+ rights. You showed up for us in record numbers despite the pandemic, despite the cuts to mail-in voting and the slowdowns in the postal service, despite everything going on in our busy, panicky lives. And it paid off: 985 LGBTQ people were elected to various positions of power. LGBTQ state legislators of color increased by 33 percent in 2020, from 42 to 56. Victories for women-identified state legislators made women the majority of LGBTQ state legislators nationwide — 92 of the 178 serving. Here are just a few of them:

 Mauree Turner became the first openly Non-Binary state legislator in United States history, winning a seat in Oklahoma. Brianna Titone, Colorado’s first trans state lawmaker, was re-elected despite transphobic attacks on her throughout her campaign, and David Ortiz becomes the first openly bisexual member of the state legislature, having unseated a Republican incumbant despite using a wheelchair. Hawaii has their first openly LGBTQ state legislature member as well; Adrian Tam beat out the founder of the Hawaii Proud Boys to secure his seat. 

Roger Montoya and Brittney Barreras are the first openly LGBTQ+ members of the New Mexico state House; they are both Latine, and Montoya is HIV positive. Christy Holstege is the first openly bisexual mayor in America, becoming mayor of Palm Springs, California. Tiara Mack is the first Queer POC In Rhode Island legislature, having been elected to the state senate. 

Sarah McBride won her race for Delaware’s District 1, making her the first openly transgender state senator in American history. Michele Rayner and Shevrin Jones won their House and Senate races to become Florida’s first openly LGBTQ+ state senator and first openly queer Black woman to serve in the state’s legislature, respectively. Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones won their U.S. congressional races in New York, which means Black LGBTQ+ men have been elected to Congress for the first time. Stephanie Byers won her bid for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, becoming the first transgender woman of color to secure a seat in a state legislature. Kim Jackson is the first openly LGBTQ+ State Senator in Georgia, and Sam Park, the first openly gay man in the state legislature, won reelection. And in Kansas, Stephanie Byers won her race in the state House of Representatives, and Sharice Davids, the first out LGBTQ+ Native American congresswoman, secured reelection.

Puerto Rico had four major LGBTQ canditates win their elections. Ana Irma Rivera Lassén is Puerto Rico’s first openly LGBTQ+ senator; the others were Jorge Báez Pagán, who won his race for a seat in the territory’s House of Representatives, and two mayoral candidates: Miguel “Ricky” Méndez in Isabela and Edgardo Cruz Velez in Guánica. 

And we can’t forget about the wins in lawmaking that have happened as well. The Supreme Court ruled that discrimination on the basis of being homosexual or transgender is a form of discrimination  based on sex, making it illegal at the federal level. During the 2020 election, voters in Nevada overturned a state amendment banning gay marriage; while gay marriage is currently protected at the federal level, should that be repealed, old state laws would come into effect once more, so this is a win despite being currently redundant. And we’re closer than ever to passing the Equality Act: it was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) on February 18, 2021, and in the Senate by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) on February 23, 2021. The Equality Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on February 25, 2021, with a bipartisan vote of 224-206.
There’s a lot of gloom in the world right now. There’s a lot of attacks on LGBTQ rights, particularly those on trans women in sports, trans people’s right to pee, and the rights of gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. But there’s hope, as well. We’re making a difference, fighting the good fight day in and day out. And you can join us. There’s no COVID risk in calling your senators and asking them to pass the Equality Act, or in sending postcards to the governor asking him to endorse the Ohio Fairness Act. Or you can call your state legislature and ask them to support lgbtq rights across a number of bills coming before the state Senate and House this year. Whatever it takes, the UU Church of Akron should be there for our queer Ohioans.