Leslie Herod, who recently won election as the first African American LGBTQ person in the Colorado state House, responded to a recent hate crime in her district.
Amber Timmons a resident of Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver, which falls under Herod’s District 8, was the victim of an anti-trans hate crime.
After Timmons decorated her car windows with the messages “Love trumps hate” and “not my president”, vandals spray-painted the vehicle with a swastika, transphobic slur, the name “Trump” and two death threats.
Herod said in her statement to The Denverite:
Unfortunately, this is not new for us, it’s just becoming more visible,” she added. “We all to some extent wake up with fear that we could be discriminated against, that we could be attacked for who we are … We know that that’s real, but that doesn’t keep it from hurting every time it happens.
On her Facebook page, Herod stated that the graffiti had been removed within 24 hours using money raised from the community, and reminded she will be participating in a town hall on civil rights on November 29.
LGBTQ representation matters, and having a supportive voice in government to speak out helps promote equality.
