For Every Two Steps Forward, There is Often a Step Back — Vote With Pride
By Massachusetts State Representative Kate Hogan (she/her)
I’m proud to be part of the first generation of LGBTQ people who, standing on the shoulders of those before us, faced, fought, and won battles for rights and inclusion knowing that we were making a difference and our efforts would result in a more welcoming world for the next generation of LGBTQ folks.
In 1989 I witnessed my home state of Massachusetts become only the second state in the country to prohibit discrimination — in workplaces, and housing and credit applications — based on sexual orientation. At the time, most of the other New England states had made attempts to introduce or enact a gay rights bill and they took heart from Massachusetts. A NYTimes story on Massachusetts’ historic law included a quote saying “the vote in Massachusetts signals that the tide of conservatism that has dominated the country is ebbing.” I was 32, working in sales & marketing, and this all pulled me towards becoming involved in politics.
I was proud when, almost 20 years ago, in 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On May 16, 2004, the City of Cambridge decorated City Hall with white bunting and opened the doors just past midnight for a rousing party with wedding cake, sparkling cider and music from the Cambridge Community Chorus to celebrate hundreds of same-sex couples with new marriage licenses. Other cities in Massachusetts followed suit. The Today Show broadcast live coverage from outside Boston City Hall.
My wife and I joined in the celebration and were married soon after it became legal in the Commonwealth. This year, we celebrated being together for 40 years and married for 20 years.
Massachusetts has often led the way in passing historic gender-identity and anti-discrimination legislation, including our recent efforts to codify access to reproductive health and gender-affirming care, as well as protection for providers and patients of established, evidence-based healthcare for transgender people to safeguard them from malicious out-of-state legal action.
We know that these laws and protections matter.
We know that people come to Massachusetts — to live, work and to receive health care — because they couldn’t do so as their true selves elsewhere in other states.
But I remember growing up outside Boston, in a time when there was not a single lawmaker like me. In fact, being gay was a lot less visible than it is now. Young people weren’t wearing their differences on their sleeves like proud badges of honor. There were no rainbows featured on corporate brands.
And I remember the detailed efforts behind those historic acts of legislation:
I remember how it took two decades to pass the landmark 1989 law establishing anti-discrimination protections that only passed because the legislature agreed to include measures saying the state “did not endorse homosexuality.”
I remember that a 2018 popular decision for public accommodation protections was later threatened by a small group of individuals who returned the measure to the ballot (and lost).
Advancing civil rights is not about checking a box and calling it history. For every two steps forward, there is often a step back.
Indeed, we are still living in a moment of seismic shifts. We are witnessing profound progress countered by the headwinds of hate.
Right now, we live in a country where many states still do not have anti-discrimination protections for their LGBTQ residents.
Right now, we live in a country where half of our workforce lives in one of the states where it is legal to be fired because of sexual orientation.
Right now, there are hundreds of anti-transgender bills — targeting access to gender-affirming healthcare, public accommodations, inclusion in youth sports, and public displays of drag performances — that have been introduced in dozens of state legislatures.
For all the kids growing up today who think our government and society does not include or act for them — we carry forward an immense responsibility to lead.
In the Massachusetts Legislature, I was the first LGBTQ member to be appointed Speaker Pro Tempore. I’m proud to be co-chair of the LGBTQ Caucus of nine Massachusetts legislators working on bills that will have a positive impact on our community.
That representation is important because the laws we count on to assure our equal protection today are still being written and fought for. Right now, in 2024, the federal government, in its entirety, is not a friend to the LGBTQ community. There are no national laws protecting the civil rights of our community members. These laws are personal and protect your family and our community. And, right now, we’re seeing those protections, and state rights, accommodations, and provisions being chipped away at in the courts.
It takes all of us. We all need to contribute — in whatever way we are able — by speaking up, voting, campaigning, and running for office. We must work together to build a more inclusive culture, where everyone can feel safe in public places, where employees are judged by their work ethic and talent and not their sexual orientation, living in a world that moves, with determination, towards justice.
About the Series
- To check if you are able to vote, visit nass.org/can-I-vote
- To register to vote or to check your voter registration, visit vote.gov
- To find the location and time of polling sites near you, visit usa.gov/how-to-vote
In 2024, across the globe, more people are going to vote than ever before. It is vital that you stay informed, and that, when the time comes you vote. The Vote With Pride series aims to motivate people, especially young queer people, to take their life into their own hands this year by casting a ballot.
