Maura Healey Sworn in as Nation's First Lesbian Governor
Maura Healey is now officially the first out lesbian governor in the U.S.Healey, a Democrat, was sworn in Thursday as governor of Massachusetts.
She is also the first woman to be governor of the state, and she and Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll are the first pair of women to hold the top two offices in any state.She was one of two lesbians who won gubernatorial races in November.
Democrat Tina Kotek will be sworn in as Oregon’s governor Monday, joining Healey as a “first.”Healey was previously a two-term attorney general of Massachusetts — the first out lesbian and first out LGBTQ+ person to hold that position anywhere in the U.S.
Before that, she headed the civil rights division in the Massachusetts AG’s office, where her accomplishments included leading the first state challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act.“I want Massachusetts to be a place where people who are born here want to stay and live,” she told The Advocate recently. “Part of that is to make sure the state has vibrancy, opportunities, and a culture of equality, which is so important.”In her inaugural address Thursday, she outlined steps to work for that culture. “Our greatest strength is our people, but we cannot reach our potential as a state when so many are held back from reaching their own,” she said. “People of color, people with disabilities, women, LGBT residents — they continue to face barriers that have held them back for generations.“We must center equity in all we do.
