This was one of the observations made by seven elected officials during workshop
recently at an international conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender human rights being held in Montreal in conjunction with the first
World Outgames.
The challenges, pitfalls and pluses of being a lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender politician were discussed, as was the decision making process on
when to come "out" in a political career.
Gathered on the dais were Svend Robinson, former Liberal MP from Burnaby, B.C.,
Agnes Maltais, member of the Quebec National Assembly, Georgina Byers, the
world's first transsexual Member of Parliament in her native New Zealand,
Ulrike Lunacek, an MP from Austria, Volker Beck, with the German government,
Oras Tynkkynen, MP in Finland and Joke Swiebel, a former member of the
Netherlands Labour party.
The Outgames are the largest sports gathering of gay, lesbian and transgendered
athletes in the world, featuring more than 13,000 competitors from 111
countries.
Montreal Gazette
