Nashua voters elect NH's first transgender representative

[Shana A]

November 08. 2012 1:44AM
Nashua voters elect NH's first transgender representative
By SIMÓN RÍOS
Union Leader Correspondent

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20121108/NEWS06/121109288

NASHUA - Along with the historical first election of an all-female Congressional delegation, the first transgender person was elected to the N.H. House of Representatives on Tuesday. And though gender issues are top on her agenda, Stacie Laughton wants to be seen as just another lady on the House floor.

Laughton, 28, has been politically active since she was a teenager.

It would take several attempts before she'd reach her goal of becoming a state representative, and a Democratic wave on Election Day helped secure that goal.

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

With state representive win, Laughton state's first openly transgender lawmaker

By JOSEPH G. COTE
Staff Writer

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/982833-469/with-state-representive-win-laughton-states-first.html

NASHUA – Overshadowed by the wave of historic results that emerged from Tuesday's election, including women taking the governor's office as well as two congressional seats and making New Hampshire the first state with an all-female delegation, was another bit of history.

Stacie Laughton, a Democrat, became the first openly transgender lawmaker in the state.

"I believe that at this point, the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community will hopefully be inspired," Laughton said Wednesday. "My hope is that now maybe we'll see more people in the community running, maybe for alderman. Maybe in the next election, we'll have a senator."

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Stacie Laughton, New Hampshire's First Transgender Legislator, Hopes To Inspire Others

Posted: 11/08/2012 11:22 am EST Updated: 11/08/2012 11:22 am EST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/stacie-laughton-new-hampshire-legislator-elected_n_2092893.html?ref=topbar

New Hampshire joins neighboring Maine in making history this Election Night, welcoming its very first transgender lawmaker.

The Nashua Telegraph reports that Stacie Laughton, a Democrat, beat out two Republican candidates for one of three seats in the state's House of Representatives in Ward 4. In the interview, Laughton told the Telegraph's Joseph G. Cote that she hopes her victory will inspire other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) candidates in both local and national politics.

[Shana A]

Thursday, November 08, 2012
Stacie Laughton-New Hampshire Trans State Rep!
Posted by Monica Roberts at 12:00 PM

http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2012/11/stacie-laughton-new-hampshire-trans.html

When the New Hampshire state legislature begins its session on January it will be only two seats shy of flipping control of the Senate back into Democratic hands at 13-11.   The 400 member New Hampshire House will have a 221 member Democratic majority under the leadership of Terrie Norelli as Speaker of the House.

The Democratic majority will also contain the first open trans person ever elected to a US state legislature.

On Tuesday Democrat Stacie Laughton easily beat out two Republican candidates in the Ward 4 state legislative race in Nashua to become New Hampshire's first trans state representative.

[MadelineB]

New Hampshire voters should show some major PRIDE. They continue to contribute to the national advancement of women and other under-represented people. BIG HUGS. Every time I heard 'New Hampshire' in political coverage I knew the news would be good.

[Shana A]

N.H. voters elect country's first out transgender statewide candidate

By Michael K. Lavers on November 8, 2012

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2012/11/08/n-h-voters-elect-countrys-first-out-transgender-statewide-candidate/     
     
A New Hampshire Democrat on Tuesday became the first openly transgender person elected to state office in the country.

Stacie Laughton, a Nashua selectman, will represent portions of the state's second largest city located on the Massachusetts border in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. She and two other Democrats defeated two Republicans who had also ran.

The N.H. House has 400 members from 103 districts. Each lawmaker has an average of 3,300 constituents, but the most populated districts can have up to 13 representatives.

Laughton did not immediately respond to the Washington Blade's request for comment, but she said in a campaign video she would "always fight for the rights of the LGBT community." New Hampshire lawmakers in 2009 rejected a bill that would have added gender identity and expression to the state's non-discrimination law.

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Nationwide Wins for State and Local LGBT Candidates
Posted by Justin Snow |
November 8, 2012 2:25 PM

http://www.metroweekly.com/poliglot/2012/11/nationwide-wins-for-state-and-local-lgbt-candidate.html

Election Day ushered in what many leaders are describing as a new era for the LGBT-rights movement, with historic victories that nearly doubled the number of out legislators on Capitol Hill and legalized same-sex marriage in three new states.

While historic in scope, overshadowed by many of those victories were wins for more than 110 LGBT candidates at the state and local level.

According to Denis Dison, vice president of communications for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which seeks to increase LGBT representation on both sides of the aisle, the number of state legislatures with no out LGBT members went from 17 to 10, with states like West Virginia electing Stephen Skinner as their first out state lawmaker ever.

Democrat Stacie Laughton beat two Republican challengers on Tuesday to become New Hampshire's first out transgender legislator. Her win in New Hampshire not only made history in the state, but for the broader trans movement as Laughton became the first out trans person ever elected to a seat in a state legislature.

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New Hampshire voters should show some major PRIDE. They continue to contribute to the national advancement of women and other under-represented people. BIG HUGS. Every time I heard 'New Hampshire' in political coverage I knew the news would be good.

As a resident of NH, I'm truly pleased with our state making history this election; for electing ALL women for Governor, both Congressional and both Senate seats; and for first transgender to the state legislature.

Z