Bartlett Becomes
First Out Black State Lawmaker

Jason Bartlett, a Connecticut state representative, announced Tuesday that he is gay. Bartlett said that while he has been out to his family, he has decided to speak publicly about his sexual orientation, according to his local newspaper, the Danbury News-Times. The 41-year-old Democrat said that rumors about his being gay eventually persuaded him to acknowledge that he is gay.

"For me, the decision came down to, Why not now?" he said in the article. "To me, this is about having a conversation with my larger family -- the people of greater Danbury who voted for me."

Bartlett is the cochairman of the state campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The National Black Justice Coalition reports that he is one of only six openly gay black elected officials in the United States as well as possibly the country's first openly gay black state legislator. He was first elected to his district, which is 96% white, in 2006, according to the Hartford Courant. (The Advocate)