“From day one, I have always been open about my sexual orientation.”
TRQ: American politician Tammy Baldwin, Born February 11, 1962
United States Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay woman elected to Congress, was born in Madison, Wisconsin.
Not only is she the first openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to Congress, Baldwin also made history when she became the first woman elected to represent Wisconsin in Congress.
Baldwin has long championed LGBTQ+ rights. In a 1993 interview with The Milwaukee Journal, Baldwin described Bill Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as a “concession to bigotry.” In 1994 she proposed a bill to legalise same-sex marriage in Wisconsin. In the United States Senate, Baldwin has led efforts to pass hate crime legislation and extend benefits to same-sex partners of Federal employees.
Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, acknowledges the role Baldwin has had in inspiring others to follow her example in seeking political office. “It is hard to make the commitment to run for office if you do not see yourself reflected in who is serving… her breaking that ceiling made every LGBTQ+ person believe that we were maybe finally past the time where our sexual orientation would be a liability.”
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