Rep. Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay woman to serve in Congress, is no stranger to threats.
Baldwin, D-Wis., spoke Wednesday night at a Kennedy Political Union event about the future of LGBT rights and the recent shootings in Arizona.
“Out of this tragedy we have a moment now to look prospectively at how we address issues of great import,” Baldwin said. “I hope we seize this moment as a Congress, as a nation together and ask how can we bring renewed civility to consequential debate.”
Baldwin isn’t a stranger to intolerance, either.
Early in her career as Wisconsin representative, she met a man with a sign reading, “terminate unwanted lesbians.”
“It’s a chilling reminder of the bigotry that still exists today,” she said.
To combat that bigotry, Baldwin co-sponsored the Hate Crime Prevention Act in 2009.
The ripple effect of hate crimes damages people more than the initial act, Baldwin said.
“The thing that sets a hate crime apart from another crime is that not only is the immediate victim of the violence victimized, but everyone who shares their characteristics,” she said. “As you used to have the lynching of an African Americans, obviously there’s a murder, but that sends terror throughout an entire community.”
Baldwin, a math major, said she tackles the constant criticism towards the LGBT community by accepting that insoluble problems are works in progress.
“Change does not come quickly or easily. Change comes by daring to dream in a world where we are free,” said Baldwin “There is no eureka moment, no simple formula or elegant proof. It takes the constant application of pressure by people who often can’t tell that they’re making a difference.”
lgiangreco@theeagleonline.com
