Trans In Politics

It was unheard of a couple of years for a trans person to run for office, then it was unheard of winning, and now it is becoming common for trans person winning the elections.

In New Jersey there is actually a Republican trans woman who was elected to chair the city’s Municipal Committee.

Jefferson Republicans elect transgender municipal chairwoman

Jade Kohut unanimously re-elected after revealing gender identity

New Jersey Globe

By Nikita Biryukov

July 14, 2020

Republicans in a Morris County conservative stronghold elected a 27-year-old transgender woman to chair their Municipal Committee on Monday.

Republicans in Jefferson, a town that Donald Trump won by 25 points in 2016 and that Jay Webber won by roughly nine points in 2018, have voted to award Jade Kohut another term as municipal chair.

Kohut had served as the local party’s chairperson for two years before revealing to Jefferson Republicans that she was undergoing sex reassignment therapy. She was re-elected unanimously Monday night.

“You’re never quite sure how people will react, but the Jefferson Republicans told me frankly that if I continued to do a good job, they would continue to vote for me,” Kohut said. “I don’t think it changes anything. The Morris GOP has always embraced diversity and different perspectives.”

It’s possible the move could upset some of Jefferson’s more conservative Republicans, but at least two GOP state lawmakers approved of the local party’s decision.

I bet you that this is an understatement, “could upset some of Jefferson’s more conservative Republicans,” they sure are not following in the national Republican Party platform.

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Then down in the conservative strong hold of states, they also have elected trans candidates.

West Virginia, Louisiana elect first openly transgender women to political positions

• The candidates are part of a wider “Rainbow Wave” across the country.
• There are a historical number of LGBTQ+ candidates running for office during the 2020 election year.
• In June, West Virginia elected the state’s first openly transgender official to local office.
• Now, Louisiana has elected its first openly transgender woman to a political position with the state’s Democratic party.

The Hill

By Anagha Srikanth

July 13, 2020

Just as a rainbow is formed out of thousands of droplets, the "Rainbow Wave" is being formed one LGBTQ+ elected official at a time. Louisiana's Peyton Rose Michelle and West Virginia's Rosemary Ketchum are the two latest openly transgender women to make history with their election to political office. 

There are currently 26 openly transgender elected officials in the United States, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, but more are on their way. In the 2020 election cycle, at least 850 LGBTQ+ candidates have appeared or will appear on ballots in the United States, almost twice as many as the 2018 election cycle.

In June, Ketchum, who ran for city council in Wheeling, W.Va., became the first out transgender person ever elected in West Virginia and just one of four LGBTQ+ people elected to office in the state. 

[…]

Then on Sunday, Michelle won a seat with the Democratic State Central Committee and became the first openly transgender woman elected to a Louisiana political position. 

Here in Connecticut a trans woman is on the Stamford City Counsel and another trans woman was nominated by the Connecticut Green Party to run for Congress in the 2nd District.

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Then out in Colorado they passed a ban on conversion therapy…

Colorado bans gay or transgender "panic defense" in courtrooms

"I think it's long overdue, frankly."

KOAA

By: Colette Bordelon

July 14, 2020

SOUTHERN COLORADO — Gov. Jared Polis signed four bills into law on Monday designed to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

The bills included coverage for HIV/AIDS prevention medications, a new process for getting government documents for one's gender identity, and a ban on gay panic or transgender panic defenses.

News5 took a closer look at SB20-221, which bans the use of a gay or transgender panic defense in the courtroom.

"The gay or transgender panic defense is when someone claims that they had a reasonable fear of a person because of their sexual orientation or gender, that made that person somehow predatory, or somehow a person who you should be afraid of. And so, they react with violence, they try to justify that violent reaction based on who the victim is, rather than their words or actions," said Amanda Gall, a sexual assault resource prosecutor with the Colorado District Attorneys' Council.

Colorado is now the 11^th state to ban conversion therapy and Connecticut passed a similar law in 2019.

The bill that “a new process for getting government documents for one's gender identity” is…

SB20-166

Simplifying Requirements For New Birth Certificate

Concerning simplifying the requirements for a minor to obtain a new birth certificate from the state registrar.

SESSION: 2020 Regular Session

SUBJECT: Public Health

BILL SUMMARY

The bill aligns the requirements for a minor to obtain a new birth certificate from the state registrar and a new driver's license or identification card from department of revenue with the requirements for an adult. A minor shall also obtain a statement from a medical or mental health professional confirming that the minor's sex designation does not align with the minor's gender identity.