State Representative Jessica Benham (D – South Side Slopes and Hill Top Neighborhoods) has been named as co-chair of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Benham and fellow co-chair State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta (D – Philadelphia) are both the first LGBTQ+ identified individuals to lead the caucus.
“It’s time for fresh leadership,” State Representative Dan Frankel (D – Squirrel Hill) told KDKA. Frankel formed the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus in 2010 but there were no openly LGBTQ+ elected representatives at the time to chair the committee. That has changed. There are now five openly LGBTQ State Representatives in Harrisburg. “When you have members of the general assembly who identify as LGBTQ talking to the other members it is very compelling,” Frankel explained.
All 65 members of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus are Democrats. Not a single Republican has joined the caucus in 12 years.