Gay History Month: Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin is the first woman from Wisconsin to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and is the first openly gay person elected to Congress. Baldwin has held her position in Wisconsin’s Second Congressional District since January 1999.
She is an avid supporter of civil rights, energy independence and renewable fuels, stem cell research and the woman’s right to choose.
Baldwin has been working vigorously in the fight for health care reform. She has voiced her opinion on how much the legislation affects the LGBT community, and advises everyone to pay much more attention to the universal health care debate.
Tammy Baldwin earned her law degree in 1989 from the University of Wisconsin Law School, but was first elected to political office in 1986.
She was one of 133 members of the House to vote against the invasion of Iraq and in 2008 she was a superdelegate to Hillary Clinton.
Today, Baldwin lives in Madison, Wisc., with her partner Lauren Azar. She is one of three openly gay members of Congress.
