Paint the White House Rainbow
“If a bullet were to enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” ~ Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk ran for the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, California back in 1973, after he had taken the greatest risk of his life and came out to the public that he was gay. Despite losing two times for the Board of Supervisors and once to the California State Assembly, he finally won the Board of Supervisors vote in 1977. Milk was quick to set up anti-homophobia bills and stop certain propositions from going into effect; Most importantly, California’s Proposition 6 that made it illegal for openly homosexuals and homosexual-allies to teach in schools, both public and private. Milk was assassinated sadly in 1978, not even a full year into his term as Supervisor, being shot in the head by Dan White. Ever since Milk passed, the LGBTQ+ community was never the same, as Milk had spawned a wave of activism in his death.
Ever since then, politicians in the LGBTQ+ community have taken the chance to come out and protest, show their support and shatter the barriers that were placed over the once controversial community. Gerry Studds from Massachusetts was the first openly homosexual member on the Congress floor. Tammy Baldwin was Wisconsin’s first lesbian to serve more than three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Barack Obama was the first to even utter the words of “Gay,” “Lesbian,” “Bisexual,” and “Transgender” on Congress floor.
However, never before has openly homosexual icons ran for president of the United States until now.
It was announced on March 31st that Ellen Degeneres and RuPaul Charles will be running together as president and vice president for the 2020 election.
When asked why she decided to run for president, Ellen responded by saying that “Fans have been asking me for years to enter politics. And now, I feel, is the right time. I cannot sit back and watch this country regress anymore. It’s time to take America back from the bigoted views and policies of the current administration” (Pink News). RuPaul had even chided to Pink News, stating “I’m used to races, but this is certainly a new race for me. But I’m confident that Ellen and I have the stamina to beat Trump and Mike Pence to the finish line” (Pink News).
The two have multiple celebrity backings such as Barack Obama, Michelle Visage, and Oprah Winfrey. Oprah herself, when asked about how she felt about Ellen’s addition to the race for the presidency in 2020, had told Pink News that “She is the mother I never had. She is the sister everybody would want. She is the friend that everybody deserves. I don’t know a better person. Sorry, Gayle” (Pink News).
The two will start their campaign on April 30th, running for the democratic party.