Mississippi elects openly gay lawmaker for first time in state’s history

Victory for Fabian Nelson, a Democrat, leaves Louisiana as only state never to have elected LGBTQ+ person to its legislature

The US state of Mississippi has elected an openly gay person to its legislature for the first time ever.

Fabian Nelson's victory this week left Louisiana as the only American state which had never elected an LGBTQ+ person to its legislature. And it served up a salve of sorts to a wave of laws passed in Republican-controlled state legislatures that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, including a ban in Mississippi on gender-affirming hormones or surgery for anyone aged 17 or younger.