BY AJ TRAGER
Queering The House
State Reps. Jon Hoadley, D-Kalamazoo, and Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, have made quite a mark since their election at the end of 2014 into Michigan's House of Representatives. Hoadley won his election with 70 percent of the vote and Moss with 83 percent of the vote, and they have spent the last year as the first openly gay members elect of the House bringing their expertise and inclusive reasoning to the desks of many in Lansing.
They have introduced proposals to help end gerrymandering by creating a nonpartisan commission that would oversee the drawing of political boundaries; introduced legislation that would modify the adoption discrimination bills signed into law earlier this year; introduced a package of bills that would have made Michigan the 38th state to recognize same-sex marriages before the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in June; called for an expansion of the Freedom of Information Act to include the state Legislature and the governor's office; and introduced legislation that would extend the Commercial Rehabilitation Act to help eliminate the commercial blight in communities across the state.
"Having Jon and Jeremy is a huge boost to the LGBT community here in Michigan. I've watched them since they've taken office and I believe they both are, first and foremost, state reps for their districts and the entire constituency. But they certainly are openly gay and a touchstone for our community to look at and be proud of," Mark LaChey, chair of the LGBT Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party, told BTL in June. "Their elections were on the short list of success stories for last November's election."
Hoadley and Moss provide more than just LGBT representation on the House floor. Moss serves as assistant floor leader and Hoadley is deputy finance chair. These leadership positions allow them to have a strong voice on intersectional topics.
"Separately, they are both smart as a whip," LaChey said. "They don't just have a seat at the table, but (also) a seat in leadership, which is big for our community, Democrats and for progressives."
Moss and Hoadley are part of a unique group of 10 openly gay elected officials in the state, according to the Victory Fund, a D.C. based organization dedicated to the training and supporting of out LGBT candidates for campaigns and elected offices.
Out of the 500,000 elected officials serving the nation, there are 466 openly LGBT elected officials serving in some capacity in the U.S. — less than one thousandth of a percent. The Williams Institute, located in California, reports that about 9 million American adults identify as LGBT — about the population of New Jersey.
Aside from working in Lansing to strengthen protections for LGBT people, the state representatives are also still very much engaged in groundwork activity in the pursuit of LGBT equality.
In the early stages of a ballot initiative that was launched Oct. 30, Moss and Hoadley were two of 17 signatories on a letter addressed to the Fair Michigan ballot committee, requesting that the trans community be included in any discussion that includes adding LGBT protections to the state constitution or amending Elliott-Larsen, the state's civil rights act.
