More Than Represent: LGBTQ Elected Officials Drive Equality in the States

More Than Represent: LGBTQ Elected Officials Drive Equality in the States

April 2016

The first brief in the “More Than Represent” series examines the relationship between the current level of LGBTQ equality in the states and the number of openly LGBTQ public officials. Among the findings:

  • Nearly 70% of the states with 5 or fewer openly LGBTQ public officials have low levels of LGBTQ equality; and
  • About two-thirds of states with 11 or more openly LGBTQ public officials have high levels of equality.