Lesbian Political Action Committee

Sarah Schmidt, Chair of LPAC (Lesbian Political Action Committee), talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about the group founded in July of 2012 by committed activists and donors to positively influence the current political and social landscape in this country. LPAC’s agenda is to give lesbians a real and meaningful seat at the political table. During the 2012 election LPAC raised over $700,000 to support candidates that supported our LGBT issues. We talked to Sarah about how LPAC is making a true impact for lesbians in politics and give us her spin on our LGBT civil rights.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Schmidt stated, “I grew up in a really awesome supportive family. When I came out to them in my early twenties there were very few ruffled feathers. I enjoyed an enormous amount of support from everyone from my parents to my siblings, to my great uncles and my grandma. I realized early on that this was a unique situation; I mean this was the 1990’s and Ellen Degeneres had just come out on her show and Melissa Etheridge was just on 20/20. I realized my life was pretty easy and things were pretty smooth for me compared to a lot of people that I knew and a lot of stories I was reading. I felt I really needed to do something from the very beginning; I felt like I kind of had to use that support. If I had all these people who had my back I felt an obligation to do something more significant with my time and energy and resources to advocate for people who didn’t have the same experience. It was really Kate Kendell who helped me engage more significantly politically and talked to me about how my political work could impact my overall goals and she helped me get involved with the Gill Action Fund. I’ve gotten very involved with the Illinois Unites for Marriage Coalition, our whole marriage equality push here where I live in Chicago; I’ve devoted a lot of my time and resources to that. But I would say that LPAC is really the first thing that I’ve done that has required as much time from me on the equality spectrum and certainly the most visible thing I’ve done to date.”

Sarah Schmidt is the Founder and Principal of Sarah Schmidt Consulting LLC and is also actively involved in her family’s third generation business, U.S. Venture, Inc., where she serves on the Board of Directors. LPAC supports candidates who champion a range of issues that impact lesbians and their families which include: ending discriminatory treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and their families; supporting sexual and reproductive freedom and women’s access to quality healthcare and furthering social, racial and economic justice for all Americans. Its supporters include Billie Jean King, Jane Lynch, Laura Ricketts, Alix Ritchie and was conceptualized by Urvashi Vaid.
For More Info: teamlpac.com

Hear 200+ LGBT Interviews @OUTTAKE VOICES™