Life

Vermont’s first out trans legislator got engaged outside the White House

By Kira Richards

21st December 2022

Taylor Small, the first out trans legislator in Vermont, got engaged to her long-term partner outside the White House on 13 December.

Small made history as the first ever trans person to be elected into Vermont’s House of Representatives.

The 28-year-old was in Washington DC to celebrate the signing of the Respect For Marriage Act.

This requires the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states to recognise same-sex marriages.

To mark the occasion, the Biden administration lit up the White House with a beaming rainbow.

Small’s partner of almost four years, Carsen Russell, then got down on one knee and proposed.

The politician took to Twitter on 15 December to announce the news.

“We’re officially en-GAY-ged,” she wrote.

“After POTUS signed the Respect For Marriage Act my partner of almost four years, Carsen, proposed to me on the South Lawn of the White House.”

Alongside two pictures of the couple and the ring, Small added: “I, of course, said YES and could not think of a more fitting way to celebrate this moment.”

In a joint interview, Russell told NBC News: “I was just like, ‘I want to spend my life with you, and will you marry me?’”

He had planned to propose at the Vermont state capitol in late December.

But after they received an invite to the signing of the Respect For Marriage Act, his plan changed.

The couple have had an overwhelmingly positive response to their engagement.

Small added: “I had a young trans woman reach out and say, ‘Your engagement is so powerful, because it validated that I can have a similar future, that me having a loving relationship can happen, that I can move into leadership positions just like you,’ and that is the message I really want to pass along — that my experiences are not unique.”