Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American attorney who has served as the 48th governor of Texas since January 20, 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Abbott previously served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015. He is the third governor of any U.S. state to permanently use a wheelchair. He is also the first disabled governor in Texas history.
Joe Vogel makes his mark in Md. General Assembly
Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) on Sunday during an interview with the Washington Blade praised the many legislative milestones that marked this year’s legislative session.
Most of the lawmaker’s bills addressed the opioid crisis, mental health, gun violence and LGBTQ issues. Vogel noted he opted to work to safeguard people’s fundamental rights. “We have been leading the way on this [LGBTQ issues.] This legislative session, we passed a bill to expand access to gender-affirming care for Medicaid recipients, making it so that if you are poor and on Medicaid, you have access to the same gender affirming care as if you are wealthy, and on private insurance,” he told the Blade before he attended the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s National Champagne Brunch that took place at the JW Marriott Hotel in D.C.
Maryland has also been at the forefront of abortion rights by driving the efforts to enshrine the right into the state’s constitution.
The General Assembly also passed a measure to end the state’s statute of limitations for when a civil suit can be filed against public or private institutions when related to child sexual abuse.
