Buzzfeed: House LGBT Equality Caucus Staffs Up In Pursuit Of Ambitious Agenda
Six out of 435 may not seem like much, but in the House of Representatives that represents the largest class of out LGBT lawmakers in the history of the lower chamber.
It also has meant that the LGBT Equality Caucus, started in 2008, is taking on a larger role in an institution steeped in tradition.
Rep. David Cicilline, only in his third year in Congress, is the second-longest-serving out House member. In an interview with BuzzFeed, he noted the changes in the membership — but also looked toward bigger goals for the caucus.
“We obviously have grown as a caucus in terms of the co-chairs, the openly gay members of Congress. We now have six people in the House — and obviously, one in the Senate,” Cicilline said. “What this year marks is not just that we’re here but that we’re here in a big enough number that we have a real caucus, with staff, so that now the work that we’re doing can be supported in our efforts to push LGBT legislation, to do outreach and education, to be a coordinating force for all of the co-chairs, to be a central point of contact for the community and so that we’ll be able to speak as a united voice on important issues.”
The caucus co-chairs meet every other week to discuss their agenda, and now they have a small full-time staff to help get it implemented, including a new executive director, as well as a full-time fellowship position sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute with funding from the David Bohnett Foundation.
Rep. Mark Takano, first elected in 2012, pointed to another aspect of the changed makeup of the co-chairs, noting, “Even more evidence of this change is the fact that many of the newly elected LGBT members were not elected from typical gay-supporting communities — like San Francisco, West Hollywood, or New York — but instead communities like Tempe, Arizona; Madison, Wisconsin; White Plains, New York; and my hometown of Riverside, California.”