Lgbtq leaders

Now, more than a leader later, Takano is still serving his Southern California district. In the U.S., more than a thousand queer people have become elected officials and government leaders, and there have been at least seven out LGBTQ heads of state gay hairy males. It's hard to imagine where Pride would be without these LGBTQ activists and leaders, many of whom are still fighting for equality today.

Polis made history again when he lgbtq elected governor of Colorado a decade later, becoming the first openly gay man elected governor of any U. Polis was re-elected in by a wide margin. Gunderson served in Congress from until Aya Kamikawa, who serves as a Tokyo municipal official in the Setagaya City Council, became Japan's first out transgender elected official in She serves one of the most populous districts in Tokyo.

InGunderson was the sole Republican in Congress to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act, which allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states that permitted such unions. Harvey Milk, Audre Lorde, and Elliot Page are just a few LGBTQ rights activists who fought for equality.

Intwo years before her death, Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work as a political trailblazer. Sinema announced in March that she would not run for re-election this year. Therefore, LGBTQ national leaders who were closeted or outed during their tenure as a national leader are not included.

Steve GundersonR-Wis. InFrank married his longtime partner, James Ready, becoming the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage. Elaine Noble became the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in the U. Former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.

15 brave activists inspiring champions for change and fighting for LGBTQ rights in places where it can be dangerous to do so. Parker, who served as mayor fromis also the only person in Houston history to have ever served as mayor, council member and controller of the city.

Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official in California — and one of the first in the country — when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in Less than a year after he was elected, Milk, 48, was assassinated by the sole supervisor who voted against the ordinance, becoming a martyr and an lgbtq in the LGBTQ community.

Frank served in Congress from until he retired in Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. Moreover, openly LGBTQ politicians who have served in other positions, such as acting president, deputy prime minister, and leaders of subnational entities, are excluded from this list.

Jared Polis, D-Colo. Mark Takano, D-Calif. On April 2,Michigan student Kathy Kozachenko was elected to the Ann Arbor City Council, making her the first openly gay person elected to public office in the U. While she served only a single term, Kozachenko opened a door to LGBTQ representation in politics when the community was rapidly gaining visibility in American society.

Barbara Jordan became the first Black woman elected to the Texas Senate inand six years later, inshe made leader again by becoming the first woman and first Black person elected to Congress from the state. Before she made history in the Senate, Sinema made history when she was elected to the House inbecoming the first openly bisexual member of either chamber of Congress.