Danica Roem, Virginia’s First Openly Transgender Legislator, Defeats Man Behind Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill


Irony is not lost on Danica Roem as the recently concluded 2017 general elections pitted the openly transgender Democrat against incumbent Virginia legislator Bob Marshall, a Republican who’s known for introducing the transgender-restricting Bathroom Bill.

Roem won the seat for the 13th District by getting 54 percent of the votes against the 46 percent of Marshall. Roem’s monumental win on Tuesday marked the first time in Virginia history that an openly transgender politician was elected state representative.

The 33-year-old Roem said that she won the Virginia seat because she is a transgender. She also believes that the election win was due to her “inherent identifiers, not despite them.”

“I never ran away from them,” Roem said. “I championed them. And because of that, Prince William County is now more inclusive than it was before this election.”

Roem won over the “chief homophobe,” as Marshall described himself. During the campaign period, Marshall refused to address Roem as a “she” and even described her as “a guy who thinks he’s a girl who wears a dress.”

Marshall also said in an interview that Roem “is out here doing this for making a marker in the national character that you can engage in this behavior, which clearly goes against the laws of nature and nature’s God.”

The 73-year-old Marshall started his political career in Virginia in 1992. The conservative Republican has had his share of controversy throughout his service. Marshall is behind “Physical Privacy Act,” otherwise known as the Bathroom Bill. The bill restricted transgender people from using any bathroom they would like. Simply put, trans people can only use the designated bathroom according to their biological gender or sex.

Marshall also proposed measures against abortion and birth control, which were deemed by many as anti-choice and anti-women. He also supported a measure requiring women in Virginia to have trans-vaginal ultrasound prior to having an abortion.

Marshall also proposed a bill banning “gays from openly serving in the Virginia National Guard.” Marshall said that the bill aims to protect members of the service from being infected with sexually transmitted disease.

Marshall also suggested that designated teachers and school employees should be allowed to carry concealed handguns on school property to prevent mass shootings like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which claimed 26 lives including 20 children.

Despite her gender, Roem did not focus on LGBT issues in her campaign. Roem instead focused more on jobs and schools. She also wished to address the worsening traffic situation in northern Virginia.

Aside from Roem, another winner of note in the recent Virginia elections is Chris Hurst of District 12. Hurst was the boyfriend of Alison Parker, the WDBJ journalist who was killed, along with cameraman Adam Ward, on live television in 2015.

The results of the Virginia elections is said to be a reflection of people’s displeasure over Donald Trump. Democrat Ralph Northam was elected Governor of Virginia over Republican Ed Gillespie while the new Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring, respectively, are also Democrats. Both Fairfax and Herring support same-sex marriage.

Forty eight of the 100 Districts in the House of Delegates are now occupied by Democrats, including Roem and Hurst.

Danica Roem now adds Virginia state legislator to her long list of achievements. She is a journalist with seven Virginia Press Association awards to her name. Roem is also the vocalist of thrash metal band, Cab Ride Home.

After the win, Roem addressed her supporters.

“To every person who’s ever been singled out, who’s ever been stigmatized, who’s ever been the misfit, who’s ever been the kid in the corner, who’s ever needed someone to stand up for them when they didn’t have a voice of their own… this one’s for you.”

[Featured Image by Steve Helber/AP Images]

Share this article: Danica Roem, Virginia’s First Openly Transgender Legislator, Defeats Man Behind Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill
More from Inquisitr