The toxicity of politics in the USA right now is shocking to witness, with Republican Jim Banks of Indiana getting removed from Twitter this week for misgendering Dr Rachel Levine, who last week became a 4 star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

You can see Banks’ now removed Tweet below and he then doubled down on his transphobia via his personal blog. Gold star for him then (EYEROLL). 

That isn’t going to deter LGBTQ+ people from running however with a purported ‘rainbow wave’ sweeping US politics with the 410 candidates vying for office just this year alone. 

Annise Parker, the former Houston mayor who is now president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund said: “With LGBTQ lives increasingly used as a political weapon in school boards, city councils and state legislatures across America, LGBTQ people are motivated and stepping up to run in historic numbers.”

Most of the LGBTQ+ candidates are Democrat (SHOCKER!) however last year Republican Eddie Mannis won along with Democrat Torrey Harris who both became the first openly LGBTQ members of the Tennessee state legislature.

It becomes clearer by the day that politics in the USA (nay, around the world) is becoming more and more partisan with queer people caught in the middle.