Ayanna Pressley is an advocate, a policy-maker, an activist, and a survivor. On November 6, 2018, Ayanna was elected to represent Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, making her the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ayanna believes that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power, and that a diversity of voices in the political process is essential to crafting more effective public policy.
Ayanna has long supported the rights of the LGBTQ community to be treated fairly in partnership rights, in marriage and in equal treatment under the law. On the Boston City Council, she co-sponsored the Gender-based Discrimination and Hate Crimes bill, known as the Transgender Civil Rights Bill, co-sponsored a city ordinance that requires city health insurance to cover gender reassignment surgery, and held a hearing to examine the challenges facing LGBTQ youth of color in the city of Boston. Ayanna believes that equal rights for the LGBTQ community is non-negotiable.