From The Advocate Magazine in partnership with Glad, I'm Jeffrey Masters, and this is

LGBTQ and A. This week, we are kicking off LGBTQ Plus History Month with someone who is living queer

history. And that is Sender Tammy Baldwin. She is both the first out lesbian

elected to the House of Representatives and the first lesbian elected to the Senate where she now

serves. Additionally, she was also the first woman to serve from Wisconsin in both of those roles.

So women's history, queer history, it is all intertwined here.

Today we talk about this historic career, and I also want to know how she's thinking about

the current state of LGBTQ plus rights in the U.S.

We have seen some very scary steps backward recently with abortion and other things,

and I think that Sender Baldwin is the perfect person to talk to about how worried or not

we in the queer community should be right now.

So without further ado, here she is.

From the very beginning, your career has been defined by firsts.

The first woman, the first LGBTQ person, specifically regarding being gay.

Were you known as the gay congressperson, the gay senator?

How much was that a part of your identity in the public's mind?

You know, that's so interesting because the first office I ever ran for was the Dane County Board of

supervisors. And I was the third gay person elected to the Dane County Board. And I look back

sometimes at that experience and wonder, would I have had the courage to be

the first if I hadn't have had these incredible role models who had at least paved the way for me?

And then thereafter I was the first openly gay person elected to the state legislature and the first, you know,

but I had had these incredible role models and, you know, it's hard to be it if you can't see it.

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