Washingtonian magazine: 5 queer lawmakers we’re celebrating this month
Washington’s LGBTQ+ lawmakers have long driven change — and their work continues
Written by Matt Laslo | Photographed by Magdalena Papaioannou
Sharice Davids — House of Representatives, 2019–present
When Davids became the first openly lesbian Native American in Congress in 2019, Missouri Democratic representative Emanuel Cleaver told her to come see him if anyone gave her trouble. Davids, a former mixed martial artist who grew up idolizing Bruce Lee, responded: Have I ever shown you how to break somebody’s arm?
A member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and a Cornell Law School graduate, Davids is known as a disciplined and well-prepared lawmaker who eschews made-for-social-media antics, preferring to persuade her peers through private conversation. Still, the Kansas congresswoman is not afraid to fight for issues she believes in, including providing mental-health resources to at-risk LGBTQ+ youth and advancing the Equality Act, a landmark LGBTQ+ rights bill that has stalled on Capitol Hill. “I always encourage people not to find out what my skill set is,” she says.
DIVE DEEPER: Peruse Washingtonian magazine’s amazing photo spread and read The LCB’s five short profiles of these LGBTQ+ political titans at www.Washingtonian.com.
