Openly gay ndidat Robert Zimmerman and Gee Santos face off historic Congrsnal race - CBS New York

Contents:

• OPENLY GAY NDIDAT ROBERT ZIMMERMAN AND GEE SANTOS FACE OFF HISTORIC CONGRSNAL RACE
• ROBERT ZIMMERMAN ON GEE, G OUT AS GAY, AND BROTHERHOOD
• IN A POLIL FIRST, TWO GAY NDIDAT FACE OFF NGRSNAL ELECTN
• FIRST NGRSNAL RACE BETWEEN TWO GAY NOME MARKS PROGRS FOR LGBTQ NDIDAT

OPENLY GAY NDIDAT ROBERT ZIMMERMAN AND GEE SANTOS FACE OFF HISTORIC CONGRSNAL RACE

History, two openly gay ndidat are facg off a General Electn for Congrs, hopg to take over Democrat Tom Suozzi's old seat District 3. One of the only thgs they may have mon is that they're both gay. Santos is agast abortn and supports the so-lled "Don't say gay bill" for tn Florida.

The Republin is also gay, settg up the first race U.

“Gee Santos is gay, ” said Zimmerman. He actually has publicly endorsed the Don’t Say Gay legislatn that has been put forward Florida and 19 stat.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN ON GEE, G OUT AS GAY, AND BROTHERHOOD

He actually words like ‘groomg’, and he choos to embrace and stand wh homophob and bigots like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Gee Santos repeatedly has shown que the oppose, that he stands wh the homophobic agenda. That was a very isolatg time to be gay.

For Zimmerman, makg to Congrs means “standg up a whole seri of legislatn to al wh homels gay youth, the trmas our transgenr young people are facg, makg sure we fally outlaw, ferally, nversn therapy.

Asked about the young people prottg Don’t Say Gay Florida, Zimmerman replied thoughtfully to the ntrast wh his own time growg up, the 1970’s. I love the fact that gay and straight kids are g together, ” said Zimmerman.

IN A POLIL FIRST, TWO GAY NDIDAT FACE OFF NGRSNAL ELECTN

This was never more important — until the Mart shootg — than when Robert publicly me out as gay. In the wake of accatns that gay Republin Congrsman-elect Gee Santos falsified his rume, the gay Democrat he feated a New York ngrsnal district November, says was clear to him that Santos was not what he claimed to be. "Gee Santos reprents the kd of progrs that the Left is so threatened by -- a gay, Lato, first generatn Amerin and Republin who won a Bin district overwhelmg fashn by showg everyday voters that there is a better optn than the broken promis and failed polici of the Democratic Party, " Murray said a statement shared on Santos's Twter said that wasn't surprisg that the Tim targeted the reprentative-elect, and the paper was "attemptg to smear his good name wh the famatory allegatns.

At least 1, 095 lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people have n or are still nng for office at all levels this year, up om 1, 006 2020, acrdg to data om the LGBTQ Victory Fund. In New York, two gay ndidat — Democrat Robert Zimmerman and Republin Gee Santos — are nng to fill the seat vated by Democrat Tom Suozzi New York’s 3rd Congrsnal District. Hoe, acrdg to the LGBTQ Victory this race guaranteed to rult a w for a gay ndidate, the oute of the electn will help terme whether Democrats hang on to their slim majory the Hoe.

'It was gog to happen sooner of later'The odds of a faceoff between two gay ndidat have gone up recent years, bee there’s been an crease LGBTQ ndidat at all levels of ernment. “It was gog to happen sooner or later, ” said Donald Hair-Markel, a polil science profsor at the Universy of Kansas and the thor of “Out and Runng: Gay and Lbian Candidat, Electns and Policy Reprentatn.

FIRST NGRSNAL RACE BETWEEN TWO GAY NOME MARKS PROGRS FOR LGBTQ NDIDAT

Patrick McMullan via Getty Imag fileZimmerman slammed Santos for his support of former Print Donald Tmp, who he said advoted a “homophobic, bigoted, ” agenda. “I’ve been approached by so many parents of gay kids, ” Zimmerman said. “The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills have a chillg effect well beyond the borrs of Florida, ” he add, referrg to Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn law, which lims classroom stctn on sexual orientatn and genr inty.