The Texas House has a record number of LGBTQ representatives as lawma…

The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and h… 

State Rep. Josey Garcia, D-San Antonio, at the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 25.

Credit:
Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

State Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, speaks during a press conference regarding uninsured Texans on April 22, 2021.

Credit:
Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune

State Rep. Jessica Gonz?lez, D-Dallas, speaks during the Trans Day of Visibility Rally at the Capitol on April 2, 2022.

Credit:
Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune

How the ranks have grown

Glen Maxey, who was the first openly gay member of the Texas Legislature, gives remarks prior to the ceremony that married over 40 same-sex couples on the south lawn of the Texas State Capitol in Austin on July 4, 2015.

Credit:
Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune

State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, in her office at the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 25. The pink painting behind her is a portrait of her by her stepbrother, framed by adjectives that start with the letter J: jarring, just and Junoesque.

Credit:
Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

Legislative strategy

State Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, speaks from the podium on the House floor on May 23, 2021.

Credit:
Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune

State Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, speaks against Senate Bill 1978 on the House floor on May 20, 2019. Behind her, left to right: state Reps. Jessica Gonz?lez, D-Dallas; Mary Gonz?lez, D-Clint; Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood; and former state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin.

Credit:
Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

A mix of expertise, experiences and identities

State Rep. Christian Manuel, D-Beaumont, at the north side of the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 26.

Credit:
Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, stands in the open-air rotunda a few steps away from his office in the state Capitol’s extension in Austin on Jan. 19.

Credit:
Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune