The Rainbow Wave

In this year’s election, more LGBT+ candidates have run for office and have won their positions than in any previous year. 570 out LGBT candidates ran in 2020, and at least 160 of them won. Sarah McBride, a trans woman, won a state senate seat in Delaware, so she is now the highest-ranking trans lawmaker in America. Taylor Small in Vermont earned a seat in her state’s house of representatives, 2 LGBT+ politicians got positions in the Tennessee state legislature, and Georgia elected its first openly lesbian state senator as well as reelecting its first openly gay state representative. New York also elected two Black and openly gay men to the House of Representatives.

It makes me so happy and hopeful for the future to see how much LGBT+ representation in the government is increasing. Representation in government and lawmaking has a huge impact, because legislators can draw from their own experience and create a more inclusive and safe legal system that supports the LGBT+ community. I think people tend to overlook smaller state and local races to focus on the big presidential election, and while the election undeniably has the biggest impact on LGBT+ civil rights, smaller positions can create large change and significantly improve the lives of their constituents. Also, this creates role models for LGBT+ youth to look up to, which will inspire them to take part in government and maybe run for office someday, perpetuating a cycle of representation. This shows people that gender and sexuality are strengths, not liabilities, and they help create a stronger government overall.

This wave of candidates tells us that attitudes about LGBT+ people are shifting, even in historically conservative states. It’s becoming more normalized and accepted, which relates back to the major shift in opinion we talked about in class. Many earlier generations of queer people have fought to get to this point, and it’s wonderful that their hard work is paying off at last. In the 1980s, thousands of people died of AIDS while the government did little to address the epidemic. Now that there are advocates in positions of legal power, these representatives can make sure that no one turns a blind eye to LGBT+ issues any longer.