When David Cicilline decided to run for the US Congress three years ago, he was racked by inner doubt. It had nothing to do with his ability, or with his strong commitment to representing his home state of Rhode Island. The doubt was closer to his heart: could an openly gay person win the post?
He overcame his worries, and his constituents did too. Now without a doubt, this native of Providence stands proud in Congress after being elected twice. Not only the people of Rhode Island, he also represents the members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the US. He is one of seven openly gay and lesbian members in the US Congress today, where there are 435 members in the House of Representatives and 100 members in the Senate.
"I am very fortunate that I live in a state that is diverse and values people from the LGBT community. I grew up in a family who taught me since a very young age to respect everyone and treat people equally and fairly," said the second-term congressman during an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post during a visit to the capital last week.
Cicilline was born in Providence in 1961 to a Jewish mother and an Italian-American father. When he turned 12, Cicilline said that it was the age when he realised he has an interest in social services and politics.
"I was always interested in politics at a very young age. My parents used to drop me at school board and town council meetings in the city where I used to live," said the 52-year-old. One of his successful missions during his teenage years was to organise a petition demanding that his school add Italian language classes to its curriculum.
After earning his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. he stayed in the capital to work as a public defender before heading back to Rhode Island. He first stepped into the world of politics when he was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing the 4th district on Providence's East Side. Later, Cicilline earned his reputation among locals for his political reforms and efforts on gun safety.
In 2002, he was up for election to be the mayor of Providence and won with a landslide result. Cicilline became the first openly gay mayor in the US. His sexual orientation did not seem to be an issue for Cicilline at the ballot box, as he was re-elected in 2006.
His major challenge came when he wanted to run for the Congress. It is a bigger battlefield, from the scale of the city to the state, and even though the US is perceived as a fully democratic country with a constitution that guarantees freedom for all, in practice the social attitude and the grapple between puritanism and liberalism is still visible, especially in the pre-Obama years. Cicilline, who has always been comfortable with his sexual orientation, wanted to make sure that everyone knew he was gay and that people could cast their votes for who he really is.
"There wasn't such a moment when I announced that I was gay but it was sort of a very natural process," he said. "People met somebody who I was dating or I would be talking about the issue and I was referred to in our community. But there came a point when I was thinking about running for Congress, while I was a mayor. And I wanted to make sure that everybody knows that I was gay because, back then, there was a question that could you run for Congress and win as a gay person," said Cicilline.
He explained that he was fortunate enough to come from a very supportive family and that he came out early in life.
"I am very lucky compared to many LGBT people living in another part of the country or another part of the world. They suffer really serious hardship. For example, I just left two countries that criminalise, making it illegal to have a relationship of the same gender. There are places all over the world where people are imprisoned and beaten and discriminated against because of who they are," said Cicilline.
Although he didn't specify the places where gays are not fully welcome, it seems that his recent trips to Singapore and Indonesia before his Bangkok stop gave him a broad and diverse exposure to Southeast Asia and its official attitudes towards gay people. Thailand and Vietnam are among the countries in the region where groups of LGBT rights activists are fighting for the right of same-sex couples to marry. Our neighbours Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia recently saw groups of LGBT in small parades in their countries pushing for their rights and confirming their visibility.
Cicilline, like all of the openly LGBT members of Congress, is a Democrat. Besides his work as a representative of his home state, he is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and was among those who urged he US government to bring troops back home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cicilline also co-chaired the LGBT Equality Caucus in Congress to help organise and promote legislation important to the LGBT community and reduce discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation.
"If everybody who is gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender in the world tomorrow announced it, it will do a lot to bring equality to us because people would realise that members of our community are everywhere," he said.
"But I think we have to respect that people are doing it [coming out] in a way that they feel safe and comfortable with, with one exception; when we have people who are in elected office who are members of our community but actively working against the equality of our community, or voting for legislation against our community, we need to force them out. Not coming out might be your own decision but when you go on and vote against marriage equality and rights for LGBT people, I think we have a responsibility to reveal that hypocrisy to everybody."
This year, we have seen a promising movement towards marriage equality for the LGBT community in the US and many countries around the world, including Thailand. And earlier this month, Rhode Island made headlines as one of 13 states in the US to legalise same-sex marriage.
Unlike the US, Thailand has never seen any openly gay politicians visibly or actively working for LGBT groups or in policy-making positions. Although there have always been rumours about the true sexual orientation of some MPs, when the term "gay" is associated with rumours, it reflects negativity and is unlikely to benefit the LGBT community.
However, last month gay-friendly MP Wiratana Kalayasiri, a Democrat from Songkhla and chairman of the Legal Justice Human Rights committee and a group of activists, hosted a discussion panel on whether Thailand could become the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. According to the seminar, LGBT activists are working together to push for the first civil union bill for same-sex couples in Thailand. To do so, 10,000 signatures are required to set the bill on the agenda and 20 MPs are needed to propose it to parliament.
"When the marriage equality movement began in the US, I actually didn't think it would happen as quickly it did and I hadn't fully appreciated how important it was. I am single, and not married. Why so much energy was putting into this?" the congressman said.
Cicilline realised marriage is one of the things people look to as an indication of social approval of a relationship, and so for the LGBT community to have equal rights in that regard is essential.
"The institution of marriage is such a fundamental building block of community and family. This institution, which is so respected and means a lot to so many people, ensures them that members of our community have an access to that institution and all of the privileges, responsibilities and social acceptances that go with being a married couple," he said.
"I have looked and watched what it means to children of LGBT couples. I see what it means to their retirement security and what it means to their healthcare decisions. It makes a big difference."
