First transgender US state senator Sarah McBride says she wants to make a difference, not history
- McBride said she feared a divided US Congress would block measures to advance LGBT rights such as the Equality Act
- During Barack Obama’s presidency, McBride became the first transgender White House intern
LGBT activist Sarah McBride hopes her election as the United States’ highest-ranking transgender lawmaker will send a “reassuring message” to young LGBT Americans that they are represented – and can aspire to public office too.
“I know how much of a difference it would have made to me to see this news,” said McBride, 30, a Democrat who was elected to serve as a senator in Delaware – also the home state of President-elect Joe Biden.
“A healthy democracy includes a diverse government and we can’t craft solutions for a diverse community if the full diversity is not reflected at the table,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.
McBride’s election came as a liberal “blue wave” that had been predicted by some commentators failed to materialise, and Republicans look set to retain control of the US Senate and chip away at the Democratic majority in the US House.
A former spokeswoman for LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, McBride said she feared a divided US Congress would block measures to advance LGBT rights such as the Equality Act.
The legislation, which would outlaw discrimination against Americans based on their sexuality and gender identity, was approved by the House in 2019, but stalled in the Senate. Biden has promised to make it a priority.