First Native lesbian state legislator

Kickass Openly Gay Native American Woman Elected to State Legislature

By Erin Gloria RyanNine Native Americans have served in the Minnesota state legislature since the state's founding, and all of them have been men. But on Tuesday, The Land of 10,000 Lakes chose via special election its first ever Native American woman to serve on its state legislature, and the first Native American lesbian to ever serve in any state legislature anywhere.

Susan Allen (not to be confused with the wife of Republican Virginia Senator George Allen) is the polar opposite of her fellow Minnesota countrywoman Michele Bachmann. She's a progressive rather than a Tea Partier, she lives in a mixed income Minneapolis neighborhood rather than a McMansion in the exurbs, and she's a lesbian rather than a lesbian-fixer. Additionally, Allen has vowed to fight for defeat of Minnesota's constitutional marriage amendment, which would effectively make same-sex marriage illegal in the state. Michele Bachmann is one of the leading architects of a previous failed attempt to legally define marriage as between one man and one woman.Comment:  For more on Indians and gays, see Rick Perry Bashes Gays and Two Spirits Is "Thoughtful, Intelligent."