During Pride Month, NBC10 Boston is committed to bringing stories from within the LGBTQ+ community, which includes Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. She made history back in November, when she was the state's first woman and openly gay candidate elected to the office. She was also the first openly lesbian governor to be elected in the country.
When asked in a one-on-one interview on Wednesday what pride month means to her, Healey said it is about joy and celebration, but is also a chance for her to reflect.
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"This year it was about a lot of gratitude for me. I wouldn't be here as the country's first lesbian governor if it weren't for all of the people who went before me," Healey said.
From flag raisings to parade marching, it has been a busy month for the governor. While she was front and center during Boston's Pride parade last weekend, she said she was thinking back to her first Boston Pride two decades ago, when she had just recently come out.
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"That hit me the other day, where I can look back at a timid, vulnerable young woman many, many years ago and I'm that same person marching up Beacon Street past the State House, where I work," Healey said.
For Healey, representation is important, to show others that they can accomplish their goals without having their gender or sexual orientation hold them back. At the same time, she said, she is more than familiar with the hate and bigotry that still exists in the country.
"There are real haters out there. There are people who unfortunately exist, a lot of them online, so I try not to read the comments, but I think leaning into opportunities to explain who you are and what you're about, I think that helps," Healey said.
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With more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being proposed in state legislatures across the country, Healey said Pride month is not just a celebration, it's about protection.
"They're banning books and banning drag. To me, in Massachusetts, this is why I say come to our state. If a certain governor doesn't want Disney in his state, I say welcome Disney," Healey said.
Unapologetic and unafraid, Healey said she will not only stand up for the LGBTQ+ community, but for anyone who is feeling marginalized. It is just one way she hopes to make Massachusetts proud.
"This is who we are and this is who we are going to be in Massachusetts and to really stand strong in the face of hate," Healey said. "You are safe in Massachusetts."
