America’s 1st openly gay elected official is concerned about today’s attacks on LGBTQ people

It’s been 50 years since a 21-year-old University of Michigan college student became the first openly gay person elected to public office in the U.S. Kathy Kozachenko, now 71, served only a single term on the Ann Arbor City Council, but she opened a door to LGBTQ representation in politics when the community was rapidly gaining visibility in American society.

Even though she shattered a long-impenetrable lavender ceiling, Kozachenko is not a household name, unlike her contemporary Harvey Milk, who was elected to public office in California three years after her victory. But she has spent her decades out of elected office closely following politics, including the current rise in anti-LGBTQ state policies and rhetoric, which she called “more dangerous” than some of the challenges her generation overcame.

“It’s tragic that gains that we made 50 years ago we’re now seeing either under attack or being erased,” Kozachenko said from her home in Pittsburgh, where she has lived for over 45 years. “We have to do the work again.”

She cited book bans, restrictions on abortion and the targeting of transgender people as particular causes of concern.