Who is Danica Roem? Where does she stand on LGBTQ+ rights?

Danica Anthony Roem made history as the first out transgender individual ever to be elected to a U.S. state legislature. While she has consistently said that her trans identity doesn’t matter as passing laws that benefit all citizens, she has still been a steadfast advocate for LGBTQ+ equality.

Danica Roem At a Glance:

• Location: Manassas, Virginia
• Position Sought: State Senator
• Current Position: State Delegate
• Party Affiliation: Democrat
• Race/Ethnicity: White
• Gender Identity: Transgender
• Sexual Orientation: Not publicly stated
• LGBTQ+ Ally: Yes

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• Facebook: Danica Roem
• Twitter: @pwcdanica
• Website: danicaforstatesenate.com

Biography

Born and raised in Manassas, Virginia, Roem graduated with a degree in journalism from St. Bonaventure University in New York state in 2006. Afterward, she served as an award-winning reporter for the Gainesville Times, the Prince William Times, The Hotline, and the Montgomery County Sentinel. She also co-founded and performed as a vocalist for the “drunken thrash metal” band Cab Ride Home, which played over 120 shows and toured in the United Kingdom.

She began her physical transition in 2012 and publicly came out as trans in 2013, legally changing her name in 2015.

In 2017, she ran a successful campaign to become a state delegate, defeating 13-term incumbent Del. Robert G. Marshal, a transphobic and long-time Republican incumbent who called himself Virginia’s “chief homophobe.” Her victory made her the first out transgender person in U.S. history to be elected to a state legislature.

She won re-election in 2019 and 2021. In 2023, she ran a successful campaign to become a state senator. Her campaigns have primarily focused on repairing the State Route 28 highway, expanding health care coverage, ending school meal debt shaming, and increasing government accountability.

Danica Roem’s Stance on LGBTQ+ Rights

Danica Roem is a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Here are some of the key issues she has taken a stance on, supported by her quotes and references:

In a 2019 interview with The Daily Beast, Roem said, “Let me put this as bluntly as possible. I am absolutely prepared to … fight against any form of hate speech, against any form of anti-LGBTQ bigotry — no matter who it comes from —that is designed to denigrate the people I have been elected to serve…. Outside groups who have been virulently opposed to LGBTQ equality hate seeing a transgender legislator who is actually successful in delivering on constituent service.”

She has also emphasized the need for LGBTQ people to see themselves represented in politics, telling CNN, “[My constituents] were willing to look at me and they go, ‘Yeah, we know she’s trans and she’ll do a great job.’ You have to be able to look at someone who’s out there and think, ‘If they can do it, then so can I.'”

In 2020, Roem similarly stated in an article for LGBTQ Nation, “Representation is power and power is influence. Whether in politics or life, when you have a seat at the table, you set the tone and make the rules.”

Same-sex marriage

In a 2018 InStyle interview, Roem said, “I went to college when [President] George W. Bush called for a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality in 2004. I wanted to understand how government functioned to figure out why something like that would come up—and to learn what I could do about it.”

Two of her political opponents, Christopher Stone and Kelly McGinn, have opposed marriage equality. Roem has called such opposition discriminatory and “exclusionary.”

In a 2021 CNN interview, Roem said, “What we learned from the marriage equality fights [is that] if you know a gay person in your life and you see just that person, just being a person, that you [are] far less likely to want to restrict their civil rights.”

Trans children in sports

Roem has expressed support for transgender student-athletes, noting that her state has “only a handful of trans student-athletes” and the state’s governing body for high school sports has guidelines allowing for trans student participation.

Speaking against a trans sports ban in February 2023, Roem blasted the claim that such a ban would “protect women’s sports,” saying, “If we want to support female athletes, then show up to their games! Fight for equal pay for them! But at the same time, to beat up on trans kids because nine trans kids last year wanted to play sports, we’re now going to affect a policy for more than 1.2 million students?”

Her 2023 political opponent promised to pass a ban against trans athletes in sports, something Roem called “mean-spirited.” After defeating her opponent, Roem told The Hill, “You attack trans kids in my district at your own political peril.”

Don’t say gay/LGBTQ+ discussions in schools

In January 2023, she helped defeat a bill that would’ve outed trans students to their potentially unsupportive parents, stating, “[Legislators are] interjecting themselves into what can be a very toxic and very hostile situation where, quite frankly, if you have never had to worry about someone outing you, you don’t understand, and you don’t know.”

In an April 2022 Time Magazine interview, Roem said of “Don’t Say Gay” laws and other policies targeting the rights of LGBTQ+ students, “Politics is a pendulum, and right now it has taken a very nasty turn against these kids. I am significantly worried that a lot more trans kids will kill or hurt themselves,” she said, “or be hurt by another person, before the pendulum swings back.”

“I am, to say flabbergasted [about anti-LGBTQ+ legislation] doesn’t even begin to do it. They’re picking on the most vulnerable constituents they represent. They’re picking on children,” she continued. “If you’re a politician who attacks your constituents, then you need to not be a politician anymore. And that means that I need to train the people who are going to unseat you.”

In April 2020, Roem wrote, “No child in the commonwealth of Virginia and no person in the commonwealth of Virginia should ever be afraid to be who they are and be that well and to thrive because of who they are, not despite it and not for what discriminatory politicians tell them they’re supposed to be.”

Discrimination protections

Roem has introduced two bills that would bar healthcare insurance companies from denying LGBTQ+-related coverage and allow local cities and towns to pass LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination ordinances. In 2020, she helped pass a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to 70 sections of the Code of Virginia, the state’s laws.

Roem explained that the discourse over trans rights is “turning a civil rights discussion into: ‘They’re trying to take things from you. They’re trying to change what you know. They’re trying to uproot social norms and things that we enforce. So we have to fight them, so that we can reclaim America.’”

In 2020, she had the text of the Equal Rights Amendment tattooed on the bicep of her left arm. The tattoo reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

She said the tattoo was “an affirmation of Democrats’ goal to expand rights to people in the state who’ve long been without them,” saying, “This is about my fundamental belief in equality for all. And that is really genuinely and quite literally part of me.”

Same-sex adoption

In 2021, Roem said, “If you have marriage equality, you can’t possibly tell an LGBTQ couple that they can’t adopt children. What a horrible thing to tell any loving parent,” adding, “I know LGBTQ couples in the four communities I represent. You can’t represent constituents by singling out and stigmatizing them. You can’t tell your LGBTQ constituents they can’t have a family. They have a right to have a family and to live here and thrive here because of who they are, not despite it. They are not less than anyone else.”

Roem’s Career

• Graduated with a degree in journalism from St. Bonaventure University in 2006.
• Worked as an award-winning reporter for The Gainesville Times, The Prince William Times, The Hotline, and The Montgomery County Sentinel.
• Co-founded and sang for the band Cab Ride Home
• Elected to Virginia’s House of Delegates in 2017. Re-elected in 2019 and 2021.
• Elected to Virginia’s state Senate in 2023.

In conclusion

Roem has said that her Republican opponents’ queerphobic tactics against her often backfire because her diverse constituents don’t support such bigotry. Her legislative record demonstrates her willingness to support equality for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Stay informed about her career by subscribing to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter.

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