Maura Healey Tina Kotek state Massachusets state Oregon lesbian politics Massachusetts Maura Healey Tina Kotek state Massachusets state Oregon

Massachusetts's Maura Healey on Becoming the First Lesbian Governor

Reading now: 677
www.advocate.com

Massachusetts has a history of leading when it comes to electing “first of” LGBTQ+ politicians and policy. Governor-elect Maura Healey is no exception as a queer trailblazer herself.

Congressman Gerry Studds became the first out member of Congress when he was forced to reveal his gayness in 1983 after it was revealed he'd had "a relationship" with a 17-year-old male page.

He was censored by Congress while the teen appeared in support of Studds afterward. In May 1987, Congressman Barney Frank became the second out member of Congress — and the first to voluntarily come out.

Both were continually reelected by their constituents in Massachusetts, with Frank rising to the chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee, where he helped pass landmark financial legislation, including the Dodd-Frank Act that overhauled financial regulation in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2008.Besides reelecting Studds and Frank, Massachusetts in 2004 became the first state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage, as a result of a court decision the previous year.In 2014, Maura Healey was elected the state’s attorney general.

Read more on advocate.com
The website meaws.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.

Related News

19.01 / 04:27
News hospital Star Elm Street Star Mark Patton Hospitalized With AIDS Complications, Seeks Help
Mark Patton, an American interior designer and out actor best known for his starring role on A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, has been hospitalized due to AIDS-related ailments.A GoFundMe page was set up by Patton’s manger, Peter Valderrama, who apologized for a Chicago show Patton had to cancel due to the hospitalization. Writing that Patton “has been ill for quite some time now,” Valderrama noted they originally believed the sickness was the aftershocks of COVID and could be managed with some rest and recuperation.While Patton initially wanted to keep the news private, the cancellation of events prompted him to release the news in hopes he could find some help.The fundraiser notes that Patton is currently in a Mexican hospital (he owns and operates an art store with his partner in Puerto Vallarta) that is “completely overcome with COVID cases.” Communication at the hospital is a problem as staff speak little English, according to Valderrama.The fundraiser asks for donations to transport Patton to an American hospital in Mexico where he can receive “more specialized care in a safer setting.”A statement from Patton on the fundraiser page says, “Basically I am asking for help I will not be embarrassed… I just want to be healthy and at home with family.”Donations not only help with the transfer, but also help cover the $300 a day cost of the American hospital.
DMCA