Gay Rep. Ryan Fecteau is set to become speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.
Democrats nominated Fecteau as speaker Thursday, and because they hold a majority in the House, he is “all but assured” of election to the position when the House votes in December, the Portland Press Herald reports. He will be the first out member of the LGBTQ+ community to be Maine speaker and one of about two dozen to have held such leadership positions nationwide. Also, at age 28, he will be the youngest speaker of the House in Maine history.
“The speaker controls the flow of action on the floor, sets the agenda and can have sway over which bills are brought to a vote or not,” the Press Herald notes. The person in that role is often a prominent player in budget negotiations between the legislature and the governor, the paper adds.
Fecteau, who was just elected to a fourth term in the House, was the lead sponsor of Maine’s bill barring licensed professionals from subjecting minors to so-called conversion therapy, the discredited and harmful practice aimed at turning LGBTQ+ people straight or cisgender. The legislature passed it in 2019 and Gov. Janet Mills signed it into law.
The grandson of French-Canadian immigrants and the son of a single mother, Fecteau grew up in low-income housing and became the first member of his family to graduate from college. Public education was key in shaping his life, he told fellow lawmakers Thursday.
“I’m filled with hope and determination because when Democrats lead, people who are too often forgotten or left at the margins are seen, they are valued and given a fair shot,” he said, according to the Press Herald. “Policymakers like you saw value and gave families like mine a fair shot. I’m a Democrat because we believe in families like mine who come to Maine for a better life. We believe in people who may not look like us or speak the same language or practice the same religion.”
He is finishing a stint as assistant majority leader in the House, serving with Majority Leader Matt Moonen, also a gay man, making them “the first openly gay legislative leadership duo in U.S. history,” the Press Herald reports.
As speaker, he will succeed Sara Gideon, who ran for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Susan Collins but lost. “Working alongside him the past years allowed me to witness his natural leadership capabilities and his dedication to the people of Maine,” Gideon said regarding Fecteau. “I wish him every success as he takes on this new role.”
“Rep. Ryan Fecteau’s elevation to be Maine’s first out speaker of the House shatters a lavender ceiling in the Pine Tree State,” Elliot Imse, senior director of communications at the LGBTQ Victory Institute, told The Advocate via email. “During his past three terms, Rep. Fecteau has highlighted LGBTQ issues, leading the charge to ban conversion therapy in the state and providing a shining example of LGBTQ leadership for young people. We are excited to see what changes a qualified LGBTQ voice will make in this role and wish Speaker Fecteau the absolute best of luck during his term.”
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered an unusually inflammatory public speech Thursday night, starkly warning about the threats he contends religious believers face from advocates for gay and abortion rights, as well as public officials responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to a virtual conference of conservative lawyers, the George W. Bush appointee made no direct comment on the recent election, the political crisis relating to President Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his defeat or litigation on the issue pending at the Supreme Court.
However, Alito didn’t hold back on other controversial subjects, even suggesting that the pressure Christians face surrounding their religious beliefs is akin to the strictures the U.S. placed on Germany and Japan after World War II.
Alito abandoned any pretense of impartiality in his speech, a grievance-laden tirade against Democrats, the progressive movement, and the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alito’s targets included COVID-related restrictions, same-sex marriage, abortion, Plan B, the contraceptive mandate, LGBTQ non-discrimination laws, and five sitting Democratic senators.
Ironically, Alito began his pre-recorded address by condemning an effort by the U.S. Judicial Conference to forbid federal judges from being members of the Federalist Society. He then praised, by name, the four judges who spearheaded a successful effort to defeat the ban—or, as Alito put it, who “stood up to an attempt to hobble the debate that the Federalist Society fosters.”
A lesbian couple in India were allegedly forced apart by their families, who barged into their home and publicly beat one of them in front of their village.
The two women, who are both adults, were living happily in the Baghpat area of Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. On Sunday (8 November) the relatives of one of the women burst into their house and forcibly separated the pair, Times Now reports.
When one woman attempted to resist she was humiliated and beaten in the street, in full view of bystanders who filmed the scene and circulated the footage on social media.
She told local news that she and her partner had made a conscious decision to live together, and that they wanted to work in the field of education but were facing continuous resistance from their families over their relationship.
The lesbian couple had already notified the police of their situation and appealed for safety, she added, but the family took matters into their own hands.
“We had given a written complaint to the police to provide us protection,” she told The Times of India. “But before they could, Shreya’s [name changed] relatives came here and thrashed me publicly and even tore my clothes. And they took her away.”
A senior police official said that the authorities are looking into the matter.
Homosexual relations were decriminalised in India in 2018, but LGBT+ people still face an enormous amount of stigma, particularly in rural areas.
With same-sex marriage remaining a distant hope for queer Indians, some couples are legitimising their relationships by entering into a maitri karar, a type of “friendship contract”.
Unfortunately this didn’t deter the families of one lesbian couple in Gujarat, who persistently harassed the women after learning of their contract.
The couple were forced to file a high court lawsuit to gain protection when their plea for safety was ignored by police. The courts finally granted a protection order in August, giving the women the right to live together in peace.
Shevrin Jones feels good. In fact, he said, he feels great after easily winning election last week to become Florida’s first LGBTQ state senator.
Jones said the election of so many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people across the country this election cycle “is a direct pushback on the hatred and bigotry over the last four years,” citing the Trump administration’s rhetoric against immigrants, people of color and the LGBTQ community.
“This is a win for all of us,” said Jones, who previously served in the Florida House of Representatives.
Shevrin Jones.Greg Reed Photography
Jones was among a record number of openly LGBTQ candidates on general election ballots last week. The LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national organization that trains, supports and advocates for queer candidates, puts that number at approximately 574, and NBC News’ review of their data, state election results and local reports found that more than 220 of these candidates have already claimed victory, with dozens of contests yet to be called.
The fund estimated that in 2018, there were approximately 432 openly LGBTQ candidates on general election ballots, with 244 winning their races. This year, they expect the total number of wins to surpass this number.
While there is power in numbers, Andrew Reynolds, a Princeton researcher who has been studying LGBTQ political representation, cautioned against putting too much emphasis on overall numbers.
“The really exciting thing about the election was not the increase — it was who is getting elected,” he said, pointing to victories by queer women, people of color and transgender candidates across the nation.
“You are seeing a different type of voice emerging,” Reynolds said.
Congressional firsts
Twenty-six openly LGBTQ candidates for U.S. Senate or House were on the November ballot — the most in U.S. history. Even with one gay incumbent’s House race yet to be called, LGBTQ representation in Congress will hit an all-time high next session.
Two nonincumbent LGBTQ victors, both progressive Democrats, easily won their races. If all incumbents win, as is expected, it will increase LGBTQ representation in the House to nine, from seven, with 11 total LGBTQ people in Congress.
Mondaire Jones, an attorney, and New York City Council member Ritchie Torres handily won their races for New York’s 17th and 15th Congressional Districts, respectively, becoming the first openly gay Black candidates elected to Congress.
“Mondaire and Ritchie have shattered a rainbow ceiling and will bring unique perspectives based on lived experiences never before represented in the U.S. Congress,” Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement. “As our nation grapples with racism, police brutality and a pandemic that disproportionately affects people of color and LGBTQ people, these are the voices that can pull us from the brink and toward a more united and fair society.”
Six of the seven LGBTQ representatives currently serving in the House, all Democrats, have already won re-election: David Cicilline of Rhode Island; Chris Pappas of New Hampshire; Mark Pocan of Wisconsin; Angie Craig of Minnesota; Mark Takano of California; and Sharice Davids of Kansas. The seventh, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, was leading his Republican opponent by nearly 3 percentagepoints as of Thursday with 78 percent of votes in.
There are two LGBTQ U.S. senators — Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both Democrats, neither of whom was up for re-election.
While an increase of two seats in the House is record-setting for LGBTQ representation in Congress, it was not the big boost advocates had hoped for. One particularly close race was the contest for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, which out lesbian Gina Ortiz Jones lost by 3 percentage points.
“It’s all about turnout,” Don Haider-Markel, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, said. “Given the pattern over the whole night, I’m not surprised they didn’t make the inroads they thought they would. It looks like in 2020, Republicans were able to turn out their base in ways that blunted the gains Democrats, and LGBTQ candidates, could make.”
The LGBTQ Victory fund estimates that at least 90 percent of queer candidates on this year’s general election ballots were running as Democrats.
Historical state inroads
The picture is even brighter in state legislatures across the country, where a record-breaking number of more than 240 LGBTQ candidates were on the general election ballot. As of Thursday, at least 124 of these candidates had won their races, approximately three dozen of them nonincumbents. There are still a number of state legislative races with LGBTQ candidates that still have not yet been called.
“LGBTQ candidates made historic inroads in state legislatures across the country, winning in states and chambers where we never have before,” Parker said in a statement. “Trans candidates in particular had unprecedented victories, including electing our first trans state senator and almost doubling the number of trans state legislators. These down-ballot victories reflect where America stands on the inclusion of LGBTQ people in our nation’s politics and each one represents an important step forward on the march toward equality.”
Transgender activist Sarah McBride in Claymont, Del., Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.Jason Minto / AP
Prior to Election Day, five states — Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee — had never elected an openly LGBTQ state legislator.
Delaware leaves the list following the election wins of Sarah McBrideto the state Senate and Eric Morrison and Marie Pinkney to the state House. McBride’s win also makes her the first transgender person elected to any state Senate in the U.S.
Tennessee will also leave the list after electing its first two out state legislators — one on each side of the political aisle. Bisexual Democrat Torrey Harris and gay Republican Eddie Mannis both won seats in the state House.
Haider-Markel said Mannis’ victory is relatively unusual, as the “Republican Party has still not been that welcoming to LGBT folks.” However, Mannis will join several GOP lawmakers who won re-election last week, including Tom Hannegan of Missouri, Jason Elliot of South Carolina and Dan Zwonitzer of Wyoming, who has played a vital role in preventing the passage of anti-LGBTQ legislation in that state.
Alaska could join Delaware and Tennessee in making political history: Out lesbian Lyn Franks is in a race for a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives that is still too close to call.
“It’s really just a matter of time before you see LGBTQ representation in every state,” Haider-Markel said. “Every state has districts that are amenable to Democrats and therefore to LGBTQ candidates.”
He said LGBTQ candidates continue to win local offices and gain the political experience that allows them to run for higher office.
“The gap is really closing,” he said.
Historic wins for Black LGBTQ candidates
This year’s LGBTQ candidate pool was more racially diverse than ever. In addition to Torres and Jones in Congress in New York, many Black queer candidates had historic wins at the state level.
In Florida, along with Shevrin Jones in the Senate, Michele Rayner became the first Black queer woman elected to the Florida state House.
Parker said she hopes these wins “inspire more Black LGBTQ leaders to step up and run themselves.”
“The politics of division and hatred failed in this race and gave way to a government that is more representative of the people it serves,” she said in a statement.
Kim Jackson, Democratic candidate for Georgia State Senate District 41.Cindy M. Brown / Kim Jackson Campaign
In Georgia, out lesbian Kim Jackson made history when she won her race for state Senate, becoming the first LGBTQ person elected to that chamber.
Tiara Mack in Rhode Island and Marie Pinkney in Delaware also won their races, making major inroads for Black LGBTQ women across the U.S.
Jabari Brisport won his race and will become the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to New York’s state Legislature.
Prior to Election Day, there were just 42 openly LGBTQ state legislators of color serving nationwide, only 13 of them Black.
Regarding the diversity of LGBTQ candidates, Haider-Markel said: “It’s the same pattern we are seeing with the Democratic Party writ large. Democrats are running the kinds of candidates that reflect the Democratic base, which is a very diverse base.”
In addition to McBride’s win in Delaware, Taylor Small won her race for the Vermont state House, becoming the first out transgender person ever elected to that state’s Legislature.
Stephanie Byers of Kansas won her election, becoming the first out transgender person ever elected to the Kansas state House and the first out trans person of color ever elected to a state legislature in the U.S.
Educator of the Year honoree Stephanie Byers accepts her award at the GLSEN 2018 Respect Awards at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York on May 21, 2018.Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images for GLSEN file
Incumbent transgender state legislators Lisa Bunker and Gerri Cannon in New Hampshire and Brianna Titone in Colorado, all won their races.
These victories take transgender representation at the state level from four to seven.
Danica Roem, who became the first openly transgender legislator anywhere in the country in 2017, congratulated the winners on social media.
“Before I ran in ’17, we had no out trans state legislators. In ’21, we’ll have 7,” she tweeted.
Mauree Turner won their race for the Oklahoma state House and became the first openly nonbinary person ever elected to a state legislature in the United States.
Joshua Query, running for re-election to the New Hampshire state House, will be the first openly gender-nonconforming person elected to a state legislature. Query did not run openly as gender-nonconforming when they first won in 2018.
Local milestones
At the local level, LGBTQ candidates achieved important milestones as well. Todd Gloria won his election for Mayor of San Diego, becoming the first out LGBTQ person elected mayor of that city.
Last month in Alaska, Austin Quinn-Davidson became the first openly LGBTQ mayor in Anchorage when the incumbent resigned.
Charmaine McGuffey will be the first LGBTQ person and first woman to serve as sheriff of Hamilton County, Ohio.Courtesy Charmaine McGuffey
While last week’s victories for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer candidates have increased representation across the U.S., just a fraction of a percent of the country’s roughly half million elected officials are LGBTQ, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
On the federal level, LGBTQ representation in Congress stands higher, at about 1.7 percent, and that number is expected to increase to 2 percent in January once Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres are seated. At the state level, Reynolds of Princeton estimates the current percentage sits at 2.1 percent and will increase to 2.2 percent once all of this year’s election winners are seated — an increase he refers to not as a “rainbow wave” but as a rainbow “splash.”
With LGBTQ people making up an estimated 5 percent of the U.S. population, the Victory Fund estimates we would need to elect 22,000 more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer elected officials to achieve “equitable representation.”
“I truly believe when we all have a seat at the table and everyone is represented,” Shevrin Jones said, “it makes our nation better.”
The EU has unveiled its first ever plan to tackle LGBT+ discrimination following increasing calls for action over the rise of homophobic rhetoric in Poland.
The European Commission’s unprecedented five-year strategy details a number of targeted actions, including legal and funding measures, aimed at addressing the inequalities still faced by LGBT+ Europeans.×
It includes plans to extend the list of EU crimes to cover homophobic hate speech, ensure that LGBT+ concerns are better reflected in policy-making, and propose new laws to guarantee same-sex parenthood will be recognised across the 27 member nations.
“This is not about ideology. This is not about being men or women. This is about love,” said commission vice-president Vera Jourova. “This strategy is not against anyone. This does not put anyone on a pedestal. But it is about guaranteeing safety and non-discrimination for everyone.”
The commission said some progress is being made toward equality, but acknowledged a 2019 European Fundamental Rights survey that found 43 per cent of LGBT+ people still feel discriminated against, compared to 37 per cent in 2012.
Coronavirus lockdowns are thought to be worsening the situation by forcing some young people to remain in places where they might face violence, hostility and bullying or suffer anxiety or depression.
Although the strategy doesn’t specifically mention Poland, commissioner for equality Helena Dalli made clear that the country’s extreme anti-LGBT+ policies are in direct opposition to the EU’s “core values”.
“Today, the EU asserts itself, as the example to follow, in the fight for diversity and inclusion,” she declared in a statement on Thursday (12 November)
“Equality and non-discrimination are core values and fundamental rights in the European Union. This means that everybody in the European Union should feel safe and free without fear of discrimination or violence on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics.
“We are still a long way away from the full inclusion and acceptance that LGBTIQ people deserve,” she admitted.
Member countries that don’t have equality strategies were prompted to adopt one suited to the needs of their citizens, with the reminder that the commission will be monitoring their progress and reviewing the situation in 2023.
LGBT+ asylum seekers are often subjected to bias and derogatory remarks from interpreters, a report has warned.
The report from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, published on Wednesday (November 11), flagged concerns about the way people seeking asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity are treated during Home Office processes.
According to the report, stakeholders had raised concerns that “interpreter bias” has a large impact on applications among LGBT+ asylum claimants.
It warns: “One [stakeholder] argued that this was particularly prevalent in LGBTQI+ claims, with applicants reporting interpreters using derogatory slang and making judgements, which impacted the confidence of applicants.
“Another referred to reports from LGBTQI+ applicants about interpreters ‘mistranslating, rebuking or judging people, or being dismissive of their fears such as the death penalty’.
“There were concerns that applicants could feel inhibited about talking about their claim which could affect the decision.”
According to the report, the Home Office’s Asylum Operations unit had “confirmed stakeholders’ concerns, commenting that with some LGBTQI+ claims they could ‘feel the tension’ between the applicant and interpreter.”
Interpreters have used derogatory slang and made judgements about asylum applicants’ sexual orientation or gender identity (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty)
While some Home Office decision makers were aware that some interpreters were “fairly old guys who have their views”, the report says that they concluded they should “try and ignore it” and not “cause trouble”.
The report continues: “In some instances, applicants expressed discomfort about disclosing LGBTQI+ issues to interpreters from the same culture and some decision makers had witnessed applicants’ discomfort because the interpreter… simply summarised the applicant’s words rather that interpreting them verbatim.
“Applicants also raised this issue, saying that the bias stemmed from the interpreters’ religious beliefs.”
With interpreters often their only way of communicating with Home Office staff, LGBT+ asylum seekers who experience problems have few ways to make their concerns heard.
The report recommends the Home Office should give an official within the Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System ownership of language services, and should “publish and resource a comprehensive programme of improvements to the provision and use of language services, with clear timelines and deliverables.”
The chair of England’s Football Association, Greg Clarke, has resigned after referring to ‘coloured footballers’ and saying being gay is a ‘life choice’ in front of parliament.
Clarke was, until yesterday, the chair of the Football Association (FA), which governs association football in England, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.
On Tuesday (10 November), Clarke attended a parliamentary hearing with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport via video call.
But when answering questions from MPs on diversity in English football, he made a series of offensive and outdated comments about Black people, South Asian people, gay people and women.
Discussing online abuse, Clarke told MPs: “If I look at what happens to high-profile female footballers, high-profile coloured footballers and the abuse they take on social media… social media is a free for all, and people can see if you’re Black, and if they don’t like Black people because they’re filthy racists, they will abuse you anonymously online.”
mmediately after his comments, he was asked by the committee whether he would like to apologise for his use of the term “coloured”.
Clarke said he “deeply apologised” but insisted he has “worked overseas” and added: “Sometimes I trip over my words.”
But his comments about race were not over.
Asked about the lack of Asian footballers in English football, Clarke insisted that compared to “Afro-Caribbean communities”, “South Asians… have different career interests”, and were more likely to work in “the IT department at the FA”.
He said: “What I would want to do is to know that anybody who runs out onto the pitch and says on Monday, ‘I’m gay and I’m proud of it and I’m happy and it’s a life choice’… they would have the support of their mates in the changing room.”
Clarke also claimed that “the women’s game is different” because “girls… just don’t like having the ball kicked at them hard”.
Lou Englefield, director of the international campaign Football v Homophobia, said in a statement responding to Clarke’s comments: “The idea that being gay is a life choice is an outdated concept that many people will find deeply offensive.
“There are some people who will use a statement like this from the FA chairman as a way to prop up their homophobia.
“We are deeply disappointed that the FA has expressed this opinion alongside sexist opinions about girls and the use of racist language and stereotypes.”
The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has announced that it will cover the cost of top surgery for non-binary people through its Medical Services Insurance (MSI).
Nova Scotia’s insurance programme is “designed to provide eligible residents with coverage for medically required hospital, medical, dental and optometric services”.
n June, 2019, the Nova Scotia government announced it would begin covering top surgery for trans women, having previously only provided it for trans men.
But now, effective 2 November 2, non-binary residents will also be able to access surgery for free.
According to CBC, the change came after Sebastian Gaskarth, who is non-binary, filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission in 2019 after they were denied surgery.
Gaskarth said they feel “relieved” and “really happy” about the change, and added: “It just affirms who I am as a person and for [whoever] else needs the surgery as well.”
They said that the decision was not just about surgery, but also about MSI publicly acknowledging that gender is not binary.
“Which is huge,” they said, “which will hopefully propel MSI and other organisations to start to be more inclusive and to see things beyond the binary.”
However, they told local radio station NEWS 95.7: “I’m happy that I’m able to share my story, but I would hope that MSI, moving forward, would be more proactive in changing and supporting trans individuals so it’s not a matter of people having to go through this process to human rights complaints to make sure that they are getting the support that they need.”
Community legal worker Mark Culligan told CBC that the change was a “real milestone”, and said: “The previous coverage was based on the understanding that transitioning happens from male to female, from female to male, and what was unique about Sebastian’s case was that they were asking for a surgery that more accurately reflected their identity as a non-binary individual.”
At the time, Patricia Arab, the minister of internal services, said: “A priority for our government is making sure we are as inclusive and diverse as possible, and making sure all our residents feel safe and that they have a place here.
“This isn’t the last step in the conversation but it’s certainly a significant move to make sure that we have a safe and inclusive community here in our province.”
A month after Lauren mustered the courage to tell her mother she is lesbian, the 26-year-old Shanghai resident came out to a stranger who knocked on her door.
She told the young man, one of 7 million conducting China’s once-in-a-decade census, that she and her girlfriend lived together.
Where the questionnaire asked for “relationship to head of household,” the man ticked the box for “other” and wrote “couple.”
The interaction with the receptive census taker was affirming, Lauren told Reuters, even if the handwritten note may not be reflected in the final results. Lauren asked to be identified by only her first name due to the sensitive nature of LGBTQ issues in China.
China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, but activists are still fighting for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
As the world’s most populous country attempts to capture demographic shifts, some LGBTQ couples are seeking recognition in the national census.
The information collection officially began on Nov. 1, with preliminary surveys underway in the weeks prior.
The National Bureau of Statistics told Reuters that any additional information beyond the predefined responses for the “relationship to head of household” category would not be recorded.
Shortly after that mid-October census visit, Lauren saw on her social feed posters urging same-sex couples to tell census takers: “They are not my roommate, they are my partner.”
Peng Yanzi, director of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, the NGO behind the campaign, said he hopes same-sex couples can gain visibility in the eyes of their neighbors and the government alike.
“These census takers may have never met, or even heard of, gay people, so if we have the opportunity to talk to them, they can better understand the LGBT community,” he said.
“We are a part of China’s population.”
While it remains difficult to come out in China, where many LGBTQ people refer to their romantic partners as roommates or friends, activists say there is a growing acceptance of gay couples.
“But the system hasn’t kept up with the times,” Peng said.
Lauren, who works at a tech company in Shanghai, said she felt comfortable speaking honestly about her relationship, but fears it may not be as safe for LGBTQ couples in more conservative areas to do so.
“I still wouldn’t dare,” one user of the Twitter-like Weibo commented on a post about the campaign.
Adrian Tam, a 28-year-old gay Asian American son of immigrants, defeated a leader of the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, to become the only openly LGBTQ person in Hawaii’s Legislature.
Tam, a first-time candidate, took 63 percent of the vote against Nicholas Ochs.
“It feels really good to know that someone who is openly LGBT can win,” Tam told NBC Asian America. “There was a time when people like me could not win. I’m glad that I can bring that representation to the capital.”
Tam described what was a nerve-wracking election season, from trying to connect with voters amid coronavirus, to narrowly taking down longtime incumbent Tom Brower in the August Democratic primary, to facing an overwhelming amount of hate from Ochs and his supporters in the general election.
“It’s almost to a harassment level,” Tam said, noting that Ochs’ supporters bombarded his campaign’s social media to the point where the messages from his own voters were drowned out.
Ochs told NBC News he also faced harassing messages from Tam’s supporters and that he was disappointed the two didn’t get a chance to debate. He said that he is not racist.
Ochs’ campaign page was removed by Facebook in September for posts that violated the platform’s terms of service and community standards, local station KITV reported. He has been criticized in the past for offensive posts toward Black, Jewish and LGBT communities. Facebook did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Tam said part of his job now is to serve even those who directed hate toward him and his allies.
“I wanted our community to come together,” he said. “I wanted to let everyone know that I’m a public servant that will work with everyone. My office door will always be open to them and their families.”
Tam’s agenda includes recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, strengthening the nontourism economy and improving resources for the homeless. Hawaii has the third-highest rate of homelessness in the country, according to a 2019 study, and Tam says the problem is especially prevalent in his district.
“We needed new leadership,” Tam said. “It was time for change, and I wanted to step up to the plate.”
Annise Parker, president of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political action committee that supports LGBTQ people running for office, said that when there are no LGBTQ elected officials in a state, “it has consequences, both in policy and how young LGBTQ people view themselves.”
“Adrian will ensure LGBTQ people are considered and prioritized in the state capitol and will inspire more LGBTQ people to run and serve,” Parker said in a statement.
Tam reflected on the record number of LGBTQ and people of color elected to local and national government across the U.S.
“I’m glad that our Congress is slowly coming together and starting to look like the population of America,” he said.
