The number of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans in the U.S. Congress is currently at 7. They have openly professed to be LGBT members of the 115th Congress. All of them are Democrats. The 7 LGBT members of Congress include: Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and House members Jared Polis of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mark Takano of California, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was the first openly gay or lesbian person to be elected to the Senate. House member Jared Polis of Colorado was also the first gay parent in Congress. Mark Takano of California was the first out non-white LGBT person to be elected to Congress. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona was the first out bisexual to be elected to Congress.
Mark Takano ran unsuccessfully for Congress twice in the early 1990s, his opponents tried to insult him as a homosexual liberal. However, after running in 2012, he won by almost 20 points. The words gay and Congress were usually seen together only in stories of scandal and shame. The gradual increase in the number of LGBT members in Congress has increased indicating that people are more receptive of the idea of LGBT.
President Barack Obama insisted on equality for the gay brothers and sisters. His words were least expected to be heard in a president’s Inaugural Address. There have been mild gains in other areas of diversity, the 115th Congress has just as many LGBT members as the year before which was seven. That makes up .01% of Congress, while around 2.3% of Americans identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
All seven LGBT members are Democrats. Two openly gay GOP members—Carl DeMaio California and Richard Tisei Massachusetts ran for seats in the House, but lost very close races. Why any lawmaker should identify and put their sexual lusts before their decision making is beyond reasoning.
