Voters in New Hampshire elected the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker, Democrat Stacie Laughton. Laughton will serve Ward 4 in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and joins a host of other state victories for LGBT equality in the 2012 election. While in office, Laughton says she hopes to pass transgender-inclusive legislation, including measures that would make it easier for transgender people to change the gender marker on state-issued identification and end anti-transgender discrimination in public accommodation.
“The state needs to be welcoming and affirming and sending that message that we will be welcoming and you won’t be discriminated against in New Hampshire,” Laughton tells the The Nashua Telegraph. “I hope that through this, there is more of a coming out from the LGBTQ community…I want the community to feel inspired.”