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Julie Johnson has made history like not simply the primary overtly LGBTQ+ individual to signify Texas in Congresshowever the first to be elected anywhere in the South of america.
The 57-year-old Democratic Rep. claimed victory within the Lone Star State’s thirty second Congressional District on Tuesday, November 5 – defeating his Republican opponent Darrell Day and Libertarian candidate Kevin Hale. She is going to succeed outgoing consultant, Democrat Colin Allred, who unsuccessfully challenged Ted Cruz for his seat within the Senate.
Johnson celebrated his historic victory after the outcomes have been launched on Tuesday night time. “Tonight, Workforce Julie made historical past,” she wrote in a publish shared on X/Twitter. “I’m extraordinarily humbled and humbled that you simply elected me to be your consultant for the thirty second District. Collectively, we break boundaries and show (sic) that illustration issues.”
Alongside it campaignJohnson – who identifies as a lesbian – has advocated for reproductive rights and entry to protected and authorized abortion providers, stricter gun legal guidelines, larger entry to reasonably priced housing, and the decriminalization and legalization of hashish.
Since January 2019, Johnson has represented District 115 within the Texas state legislature, the place she helped kill 141 of 144 anti-LGBTQ+ bills archived solely this 12 months. She was additionally considered one of 5 overtly queer Texas Democrats to type the primary LGBT+ caucus within the Texas Home of Representatives and handed a invoice regulating prior authorizations for medicine that deal with autoimmune illnesses corresponding to HIV.
Speaking to PeopleJohnson shared that she got here out as homosexual at age 25 within the Nineteen Nineties. The previous lawyer, who has been married to her spouse Susan Moster since 2014, defined how it’s “extraordinarily essential” to have LGBT+ illustration within the US Congress, particularly when anti-trans legislation and bills that attack the rights of LGBT+ people are continually proposed by conservative legislators.
“Everybody must be represented and have a voice and perspective within the dialog of our authorities discourse,” Johnson advised the outlet. “All of us have to take a seat on the desk.”
The elected consultant additionally emphasised how “sick” she is of seeing her neighborhood grow to be “a political punching bag” by those that search to restrict the rights of LGBT+ People “for their very own political achieve.”
“I cannot tolerate (bigotry) and I cannot permit it,” she stated. “I’ll let .”
Final 12 months, Texas lawmakers presented more than 140 bills threatening the LGBT+ neighborhood – from banning entry to gender-affirming care and imprisoning docs who present such gender-affirming care, to banning classroom instruction on sexual well being and stripping away “custodial rights court-ordered mother and father” who journey out of state to acquire well being care providers for his or her transgender baby.
In June, the Texas Supreme Courtroom upheld state ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, certifying a regulation that has been in impact in Texas since September 2023. The ban will proceed to forestall trans teenagers from accessing hormone therapies, puberty blockers and transition surgical procedures, though medical consultants say such surgical procedures are hardly ever carried out on youngsters.
Republican candidate Donald Trump claimed victory in the presidential elections on Tuesday night time, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris for a second time period within the White Home. All through his re-election marketing campaign, Trump promised to revoke federal policies which prohibit discrimination primarily based on sexual orientation and gender id. His marketing campaign pledged to make use of the federal authorities to “cease” gender-affirming well being look after transgender minors, and he referred to as gender-affirming care “baby abuse” and “baby sexual mutilation.”
