Sunday Read: Texas candiate breaking ground as an LGBTQ Filipina American

Democratic candidate Gina Ortiz Jones and her mother Victoria, a teacher.

June is Pride Month. Gina Ortiz Jones could not only be the first Filipina American in Congress, she could be the first openly gay congressmember from the state of Texas if she beats incumbent Republican, Rep. Will Hurd this November.

"I was talking to some local leaders and they asked me if I would run as openly out. And I said look, given what’s going on right now coming out of Austin and also what’s coming out of Washington D.C." said Ortiz to Tagg magazine.

"I’m going to run as openly gay, openly first generation, openly veteran, openly Asian-American, openly everything. Right now is not the time to be closeted or be ashamed of who you are or who you love," she said.

In the 2018 Mid-terms, she barely lost by a slim 926 votes in the contest for the 23rd Congressional District. Some say if Rep. Beto O'Rourke had endorsed her she would have gained the seat but the wildly popular O'Rourke promised Hurd, one of his best friends in Congress that he would remain neutral in the 23rd Disrict race.

For 2020, O’Rourke, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for POTUS, indicated Wednesday (June 5) that he does not plan to repeat his neutrality vow and, instead, “will be supporting” Ortiz Jones if she emerges victorious in the Democratic primary.Jones acknowledged her contest has significance for the LGBT community. If elected, she’d be the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Texas, according to The Blade.

“I’d be honored to be the first, but it is more important that I am not the last. And that’s what this race is about,” Jones told The Blade. “It’s about protecting all the opportunities that allowed me even just to get to this place, right? So, we are overdue in terms of representation, and I think we’re seeing every single day just how quickly the progress that we fought for can be ripped away from us if we don’t stand up.”

Ortiz Jones is a lesbian first-generation Filipina American who served as an intelligence officer in the Air Force in Iraq under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”In 2017, the former Obama White House staffer tweeted about how she came out to hre Filipina mother. She wrote:

“Mom, I think I like girls.”

My mother replied, not bothering to look up from the magazine she was reading, “I think you just like the clothes that they’re wearing.

And that’s how I came out to my mom at the age of 15. In hindsight, I knew she was just trying to protect me. I think it was difficult for her to accept what I was saying at the time, because she knew it would be harder for me.

And it was. It was hard to fully enjoy my time at Boston University, because the four-year Air Force ROTC Scholarship I earned required that I sign a piece of paper agreeing not to engage in homosexual behavior. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was the policy, and my education depended on it. My education depended on me not being able to be me.

It didn’t get any easier when I entered the military. I had the honor of working with some of the finest people I have ever met - true patriots that we should all be thankful made the decision to wear our Nation’s cloth. However, I wish I knew them better, and I wish they knew me better.

The immeasurable cost of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell for me was not being able to form the type of bonds that military members are known for forming with one another. Small talk about weekend plans or questions about my personal life were always exercises in deflection or outright lying. Ironically, the cost to be part of the team, was not being part of the team.

My girlfriend teases me sometimes for not sharing enough about myself on social media, particularly as I endeavor into an arena where people need to know the person, before they want to hear the policies. I can’t help but think that some of that is still related to the precautionary steps I took as a cadet and officer. All this to say, there are effects to not coming out, or feeling as though you’re not able to come out.

Which is why given my personal and professional experiences, I understand “coming out” to be a defiant expression that conveys an understanding of one’s worth and the necessity of their voice in our great American project. Coming out is courageous, and given what we’re facing as a country and as a community, courage can be in no shortage. For some, this journey is easy; for some, it’s still a challenge.

Happy Knowing Your Worth Day

Gina

Lucas Acosta, LGBTQ media director for the Democratic National Committee, said Jones is the right candidate for the LGBT community facing continued hostility from the Trump administration.

“In the face of sustained Republican efforts to roll back the progress we’ve made, leaders within the LGBTQ community, and LGBTQ women of color in particular, are stepping up, running for office and fighting back,” Acosta said. “Ortiz Jones will be a strong advocate not only for her constituents, but also for the LGBTQ community and for all queer women of color, who deserve a voice in Congress.”

Donald Trump's administration has worked to roll back LGBT rights despite his promise during the 2016 election to be a friend to LGBT people. Ortiz Jones rhtorically asked The Blade if Trump has kept that promise.

“The answer is that he has not,” Ortiz Jones told The Blade. “He’s anything but a friend. I mean, with friends like that, who needs enemies?”

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