Annise Parker’s election as mayor of Houston, Texas, in December 2009 was a sign of the progress the LGBTQ+ community had made in just a few short decades. As the first out LGBTQ+ person elected mayor of a major U.S. city, it merited news briefs on the front page of The Times of India, among other international news outlets.

“Tonight the voters of Houston have opened the doors to history,” Parker said on election night with her partner, Kathy Hubbard, their three children, and her mother on stage with her, the Houston Chronicle reported December 12, 2009. “I acknowledge that. I embrace that. I know what this win means to many of us who thought we could never achieve high office . . . But now, from this moment, let us join as one community. We are united in one goal in making this city the city that it could be, should be, can be, and will be.”

The Houston Chronicle later published a comic with the title “The Gay Agenda, REVEALED,” showing the-newly elected Parker carting in boxes labeled “transportation,” “economy” and “pensions.”

Parker won with help from her “secret weapon,” LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. She had gone through LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s Candidate & Campaign Training, and when she was Houston’s city controller in 2005, she participated in the Bohnett Leaders Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School. LGBTQ+ Victory Fund endorsed Parker in all of her past campaigns for local office. She served six years as controller, six years as an at-large member of the city council, and as mayor from 2010 to 2016.

“The most powerful political thing we can do is to come out on an individual basis,” Parker said. “Every one of us makes a difference. But when public officials come out and publicly advocate, we have ways to touch people’s lives that other people cannot. The impact is magnified.”

Parker became President & CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute in 2017 – the first former elected official to serve in the role.

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From the jump, the Obama Administration sought to include and emphasis out voices in federal positions. Several out trans voices joined the federal branch, including Amanda Simpson as Senior Technical Advisor in the Bureau of Industry and Security and Dylan Orr as special assistant to assistant secretary of labor in the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the Department of Labor. Both Simpson and Orr made history as the first out trans people presidentially appointed to the executive branch of any administration.

The Obama Administration also appointed John Berry as Director of the Office of Personnel Management, becoming the highest-ranking out LGBTQ+ official to serve in the executive branch in any U.S. Administration, and later, as the Ambassador to Australia. He was unanimous confirmed by the U.S. Senate both times. Fred P. Hochberg also served in the highest ranks of government, serving two terms as Chairman and President of the Export–Import Bank of the United States.

LGBTQ+ Victory Institute Candidate & Campaign Training alumna Simone Bell was elected to the Georgia state legislature in 2009 after winning a heated special election, making history as the first Black out lesbian elected to a state legislature. She proudly represented Georgia House District 58 in Atlanta, Georgia and was a constant advocate for LGBTQ+ equality. Bell was named House Minority Chief Deputy Whip for the Georgia House Democratic Caucus in November 2014. When she resigned to take a job with Lambda Legal in October 2015, she urged out queer Park Cannon to replace her so the seat would stay in LGBTQ+ hands. Cannon won the seat in March 2016.

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After her groundbreaking appointment by President Barack Obama in 2009, Jenny Durkan made history as America’s first out LGBTQ+ U.S. Attorney when she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve in the Western District of Washington. While in the post, she created a Civil Rights Department in the Western District, and grew to national prominence as a leader in the prosecution of cyber crimes. Durkan served in the post until 2014.

Upon her resignation, Attorney General Eric Holder praised her work:

“Jenny has been an exceptional leader in the Justice Department’s fight against cyber-crime. Jenny Durkan exemplifies the highest standards of personal integrity and professional excellence.”

In 2017, Durkan was elected the first out lesbian mayor of Seattle.

Thanks to the advocacy of the Harvey Milk Foundation, California passed legislation designating each May 22nd (Harvey’s birthday) as Harvey Milk Day. The Harvey Milk Foundation urged supporters to use the day to “recognize and reward equality champions.” The first Harvey Milk Day was celebrated in 2010.

In August of 2009, President Obama honored Milk’s legacy posthumously by awarding him the nation’s highest civilian medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The White House issued the following statement, saying:

“Harvey Bernard Milk dedicated his life to shattering boundaries and challenging assumptions. As one of the first openly gay elected officials in this country, he changed the landscape of opportunity for the nation's gay community. Throughout his life, he fought discrimination with visionary courage and conviction. Before his tragic death in 1978, he wisely noted, "Hope will never be silent," and called upon Americans to stay true to the guiding principles of equality and justice for all. Harvey Milk's voice will forever echo in the hearts of all those who carry forward his timeless message.”

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After several years at the helm of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and leading LGBTQ+ outreach at the Democratic National Committee, Brian Bond was appointed by President Barack Obama as deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison as well as the first official LGBTQ White House liaison. While at the White House, Bond worked on all of the Obama Administration’s major efforts to ensure LGBTQ+ rights—dropping its legal defense of DOMA, protecting the federal workforce from discrimination via an executive order and passing a hate crimes bill—before leaving the position in 2011.

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