Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American politician and physician serving as the 73rd Governor of Virginia since January 13, 2018. A pediatric neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1984 to 1992. Northam, a member of the Democratic Party, served as the 40th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018 prior to winning the governorship against Republican nominee Ed Gillespie in the 2017 election.
Historic breakthrough for the South as Virginia votes to protect LGBT+ people
Both houses in Virginia have now passed comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBT+ people across the state. Virginia will become the 21st state, plus Washington DC, to provide the protections.
But it is the first in the South. Now campaigners are urging the lawmakers to reconcile the Senate and House versions of the bill.
After that, it will go to Governor Ralph Northam to be signed into law. Rev Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality,
