New York Democrats are first openly black gay men to be elected to Congrs | Eveng Standard

Contents:

• MEET PETE BUTTIGIEG: A GAY MAYOR, AFGHAN WAR VET AND LENNIAL WHO'S NNG FOR PRINT
• IS AMERI READY TO ELECT A GAY PRINT?
• NEW YORK DEMOCRATS ARE FIRST OPENLY BLACK GAY MEN TO BE ELECTED TO CONGRS
• NEW YORK CANDIDAT BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY BLACK MEN ELECTED TO CONGRS
• PETE BUTTIGIEG BE FIRST OPENLY GAY DEMOCRAT TO N FOR PRINT
• IN A POLIL FIRST, TWO GAY NDIDAT FACE OFF NGRSNAL ELECTN
• PETE BUTTIGIEG: HOW A YOUNG, GAY MAYOR BEME A DEMOCRATIC STAR
• OPENLY GAY NDIDATE A ONT-NNER R.I. HOE RACE
• BUTTIGIEG, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY DEMOCRATIC PRINTIAL NDIDATE, WAS HATED BY THE LEFT. WHY?
• FIRST NGRSNAL RACE BETWEEN TWO GAY NOME MARKS PROGRS FOR LGBTQ NDIDAT
• HOE DEMS PICK OPENLY GAY LAWMAKER TO LEAD MPAIGN ARM

MEET PETE BUTTIGIEG: A GAY MAYOR, AFGHAN WAR VET AND LENNIAL WHO'S NNG FOR PRINT

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, beme the first openly gay ndidate the 2020 printial race Wednday, jog an already crowd field of Democratic hopefuls. “I’m om the Midwt, so the issu of makg sure that we have a posive way forward for workers and fai the dtrial Midwt — this is not theoretil for me, ’s my home, ” Buttigieg Buttigieg were to overe the long odds and bee the Democratic nomee for print, he would be the first openly gay nomee and the first veteran of the Afghanistan War, where he served a tour as a Naval Rerve officer. “I was well to adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay, ” Buttigieg wrote at the time.

IS AMERI READY TO ELECT A GAY PRINT?

Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay U.

On the mpaign trail, he speaks of beg gay terms of fay valu, emphasizg he is a lovg, mted same-sex marriage, and what his ndidacy says about cln and equaly Ameri today. WATCH: Is Ameri Ready to Elect a Gay Print?

“Pete’s succs so far this mpaign reprents an evolutn Amerin polics, upendg tradnal notns of electabily and provg that Ameri is ready to elect s first openly gay print, ” Ellt Imse, munitn director at the LGBTQ Victory Fund, said. LGBTQ is an clive signatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and other sexual orientatns.

NEW YORK DEMOCRATS ARE FIRST OPENLY BLACK GAY MEN TO BE ELECTED TO CONGRS

The same poll showed 40% of Ain Amerin rponnts sayg they are reluctant to vote for a gay man. “If Ain Amerins were sort of disproportnately cled to not vote for somebody who is gay, you would thk that would have shown up there as well, ” said David Barker, director of the Center for Congrsnal and Printial Studi at Amerin Universy Washgton.

Man, ” wh Buttigieg’s same-sex marriage, and said Amerins are “still not ready to elect a gay guy kissg his hband on the bate stage [as] print. Two New York Democrats have ma history by beg the first openly gay black men to be elected to Congrs. Among the ndidat was Ruben Diaz Senr, who supports Donald Tmp and exprsed anti-abortn and anti-gay marriage policy posns.

The newly-elected ndidate, Mr Jon, prevly told CBS that the possibily of beg one of two openly gay Black men elected to Congrs was “a lot of rponsibily. Mondaire Jon and New York Cy Council member Richie Torr (D-District 15) are the first openly gay Black men elected to Congrs.

NEW YORK CANDIDAT BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY BLACK MEN ELECTED TO CONGRS

Hoe ndidat Mondaire Jon and Rchie Torr, makg them the first openly gay Black ndidat elected to Congrs. Torr won a crowd primary which his ma opponent was New York Cy Council member Ruben Diaz Sr., who’s one of the few remag anti-LGBTQ Democrats and once said the uncil is “ntrolled by the homosexual muny.

In addn to beg one of the first openly gay Black ndidat elected to Congrs, Torr would also be the first out Ao-Lato elected to Congrs. “Growg up poor, Black, and gay, I never imaged someone like me uld n for Congrs, let alone w, ” Jon is quoted as sayg.

“Ined, the 244-year history of the Uned Stat, there has never been an openly gay, Black member of Congrs.

PETE BUTTIGIEG BE FIRST OPENLY GAY DEMOCRAT TO N FOR PRINT

WASHINGTON — Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced Wednday that he was formg a printial exploratory mtee — makg him the first openly gay Democrat to seek the office. Before Buttigieg, the only openly gay person to n for print was Republin Fred Karger. Buttigieg said that while beg a gay ndidate might not make news the astal ci, certaly still did Indiana, where he has anchored his still-young polil reer.

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

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 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.

PETE BUTTIGIEG: HOW A YOUNG, GAY MAYOR BEME A DEMOCRATIC STAR

“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. ”Image: Robert Zimmerman (Patrick McMullan via Getty Imag file)Zimmerman 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.

“I am an openly gay ndidate. “I am not for the state oversteppg the church, ” he Republins voted for the Rpect for Marriage Act the Hoe, and Santos said “that shows that the Republin party is far om homophobic.

OPENLY GAY NDIDATE A ONT-NNER R.I. HOE RACE

“The issue is not that both of are gay, ” Zimmerman said. “Philalphia and Pennsylvania are ually first somethg, ” said Mark Segal, who is the edor of Philalphia Gay News and a close iend of Democratic Party lears. ” Segal is lobbyg Brady and the ward lears to nsir endorsg Rue Land, a former cy official and longtime Communy Legal Servic attorney who is gay, for an at-large is still explorg whether to n next year, and she recently spoke before the Cy Commtee’s policy mtee, which is ma up of top party lears and remends ndidat for endorsement to the full body of ward lears.

”Past efforts me up shortThere has been at least one gay Council member.

Those his orb knew Anrson was gay, but beg out uld have been a polil nonstarter, or worse — his first electn was a year after the assassatn of San Francis‘s Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials U. 3, 1983, a month before he was up for reelectn, Anrson died at age 41 — his life cut short by the four s sce, a handful of LGBTQ judg have been elected Philalphia, and two state reprentativ are openly gay.

BUTTIGIEG, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY DEMOCRATIC PRINTIAL NDIDATE, WAS HATED BY THE LEFT. WHY?

Sherrie Cohen, a former tenants rights attorney and progrsive activist who is gay, won the Democratic endorsement for an at-large Council seat 2015 — the only time the party has ever backed an out Council ndidate.

“But of urse there’s still people wh homophobic views or transphobic views. ” she Steke, the former general manager of Readg Termal Market, ran for an at-large seat 2015 and was more vol about the fact that he was mpaigng to be Council’s first gay member.

Alvarez thks some donors feel more fortable aligng wh the “old guard” — gay men and lbian women who drove the muny’s polil agenda for s — and are more likely to support LGBTQ ndidat if they’re whe and cisgenr “bee they are seen as more viable. Has a history of repeatedly sharg unfound nspiraci that man-ma chemils the environment uld be makg children gay or transgenr and g the femizatn of boys and masculizatn of girls. The basels claim that chemils – particularly tap water – uld turn people gay has gaed populary wh nspiracy theorists over the years, most memorably wh nservative rad host Alex Jon, who said chemils the water were “turng the igg’ ogs gay.

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

In jt a matter of a month, this 37-year-old - who would be the youngt and the first openly gay US print - has transformed himself om long-shot to legimate ntenr for the Whe Hoe.

Surname pronounced "BOOT-edge-EDGE" Speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Malte, Arabic, Norwegian and DariSon of two universy amics, father an immigrant om MaltaMayor of South Bend, Indiana, sce 2012A former US Navy telligence officer and veteran of Afghan warCame out as gay aged 33 and married June 2018Perhaps most importantly, this surge of tert Buttigieg's ndidacy has translated to mpaign dollars, as he recently announced he has raised more than $7m (£5. In 2015, shortly the midst of his mayoral re-electn mpaign, Buttigieg announced a lumn the lol newspaper that he is gay. ""Beg gay has had no bearg on my job performance bs, the ary, or my current role as mayor, " he ntued.

HOE DEMS PICK OPENLY GAY LAWMAKER TO LEAD MPAIGN ARM

"I admire the fact that he's openly gay, " says Celia Botto of Manchter, who me to the Buttigieg event wh her hband, Brandon. "I n't believe 's taken this long for an openly gay man to n for print. He's for the Green New Deal, but as a "ncept" and a "amework" that emphasis the emergency the world ptn, 'Voters will re about my ias, not that I'm gay'Buttigieg's stump speech is heavier on visn than the kds of policy tails, however, which mostly e out terviews and media qutng.

"Even Buttigieg's gay inty is beg qutned om some rners of the left. "Has Buttigieg faced setbacks or barriers to succs bee he's gay? BOSTON (AP) — Democratic Attorney General Mra Healey has been elected ernor of Massachetts, makg history as the natn’s first openly lbian, the state’s first woman and openly gay ndidate elected to the office, feated Republin Geoff Diehl, a former state reprentative who had the endorsement of former Print Donald Tmp.