Essays

Danica Roem

  More openly LGBT+ citizens and supporters should be elected into state legislatures and offices. People need to be more educated on issues including LGBT+ citizens, but not only limited to LGBT+ issues. Social justices should be more closely watched and represented via state legislature and offices in general. Danica Roem, the first openly transgender candidate, has been elected to serve in a state legislature. Danica had been in the running for legislature against a man by the name of Bob Marshall, who had been elected 13 times over the past 26 years. Bob Marshall, an anti- LGBT+ activist, had been reluctant to positive changes for the LGBT+ community and even went as far as proposing a bill in 2015 that would "allow anyone who has a license with the state to refuse services to gay people and earlier this year introduced a bill to restrict transgender people's access to public restrooms" (Park). Marshall even went as far as using incorrect pronouns for Danica during the entire running. Someone as closed minded as Marshall should never be in an office. When a person identifies differently than when they're born, they aren't any less of a person. They have rights and beliefs just as everyone else in the United States does. The country is claimed to be free to speak, have our own religions, thoughts, interests, and opinions along with many other things. This isn't limited to what gender a person identifies with, so how should anyone in the LGBT+ community stand to not be represented? Many people in the LGBT+ community can not speak or have their own voices because they are ignored due to the non acceptance, carelessness, and bigotry of others. Having more openly LGBT+ people in office would definitely open the door for those whose voices can not be heard. To accept the honor of serving in the state legislature and becoming the first openly transgender person to be elected, Roem ended her speech with a bang by claiming, "To every person who has ever been singled out, who has ever been stigmatized, who has ever been the misfit, who's ever been the kid in the corner, who's ever needed someone to stand up for them when they didn't have a voice of their own because there is no one else with them, this one is for you," Roem is correct, people who have nobody to stand up for them now have her, and it is a beautiful thing. By being elected, Roem has made a statement. She is now the voice for those whom never had one before, and hopefully, many others will follow in her lead and run for office, because truly, more LGBT+ acceptance and candidates need to exist.