By Sylvia Maria Gross
Kansas City, MO – The race for state senate in Missouri's 10th district last month was considered one of 10 key elections by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which provides funding and support to openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates. The organization celebrated wins in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana and Oklahoma. None of those states had ever had an openly gay member in its state legislature. State Senator-elect Jolie Justus will now be the first in the history of Missouri's Senate. Justus spoke to a group of law students at UMKC recently about coming out of the closet as a member of a large law firm - she's director of pro bono services at Shook, Hardy and Bacon. Here are some excerpts from her talk.