Brianna Titone’s Courageous Leadership Shines Light on Widespread Discrimination

(This article was published in the August  issue of the Denver VOICE)

 Story and Photo by Giles Clasen 

REPRESENTATIVE BRIANNA TITONE is in her first term in the Colorado General Assembly. Titone grew up in the Hudson Valley in New York. She lived all over the world working as a geologist before landing in Colorado for work. Titone is the first transgender individual elected to state office in Colorado. She represents State House District 27, a district that falls predominantly in Jefferson County. Historically, the county has been conservative but has become more moderate in recent years.

Titone won her 2018 election by just 439 votes, all while finishing up a master’s degree in information and communications technology from the University of Denver. Nearly 50,000 total votes were cast.

Titone was instrumental in getting H.B. 20-1307 passed in the latest legislative session. Called the “gay and transgender panic defense bill,” it prevents defendants from blaming their victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity as a justification for their violent acts.

Here are excerpts from my conversation with Titone, edited for length and clarity:

WHEN I WAS 16, I WAS A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER, and I really got the sense of what it means to do service for your community. That mentality really stuck with me. When I was in college, I watched the attack on the World Trade Center. That was traumatic to me. That renewed my spirit to help stop bad things from happening to people and to help my community.

I became interested in working for the FBI, but I was too young and inexperienced at that point. I decided to get my degrees, in science, and put some time into building professional experience.

 Eventually, I returned to the idea of working for the FBI. Unfortunately, I waited too long. I ended up getting too old to finish the process. The FBI ages you out at age 37. Once my 37th birthday rolled around, that was a turning point for me. If I was going to do something positive for the world — whatever that was — then I was going to have to find a different way to do it.

After I got out of [the FBI selection process], I realized that I should look into myself. I should think about me for a little bit. I realized I was depriving myself of a lot of happiness because I wasn’t being my authentic self. Out of that, I ended up coming out as trans.

I didn’t really know a lot about trans people over my life because I grew up in a pre-internet childhood. The things I did see on TV were on talk shows like “The Phil Donahue Show” and Jerry Springer. And then, there were all of the jokes that permeated Hollywood for a long time.

As much as I felt, as much as I wished I had grown up as a woman and not a man — that idea wasn’t available to me as a child. I didn’t know there was anything I could do about it. I didn’t have any role models or anyone to really look up to.

Society kept saying [being trans] is not something that is going to be positive for you. There were so many negative perceptions on trans people that it wasn’t something I thought I could do. I thought that it would be a harder life and that it would make me into a joke.

I continued my life mostly considering myself as a crossdresser because that was all that I was willing to consider for myself. I didn’t want to put myself in that category of being trans. I was afraid people would think of me — think that it is a terrible thing to be trans.

I suppressed being myself for a long time. I hid it from everybody because of societal norms and the stigmas and stereotypes that trans people have to deal with, even still.

It wasn’t until 2015 when I came out. Finally, I felt like there were enough resources around and people I could talk to. There were organizations that were supportive, that I never even knew existed before I got to Colorado. That is what really helped me figure things out for myself — to help me accept me for who I am.

I was struggling with relationships before I came out. It was hard to find people that would accept me for who I was, even as a cross-dresser. I felt like nobody wanted me. I got people to tolerate me but never to go all-in on accepting who I wanted to express myself as.

I could only be my true self behind closed doors. I didn’t go out and get to know a lot of people. I could only be myself at home.

It was very eye-opening that there were people that wanted to be with me as myself. To find my wife, who really truly accepts me, is a blessing. I spent a lot of my life thinking no one would ever want me. When I came out, I found my true love.

We got married in December of last year. That’s why turning 37 was such a turning point for me. If I was going to do something positive for the world, whatever that was, then I was going to have to find a different way to do it.

The first thing I really realized was that I am now part of a community that is not accepted widely. I knew that it was something I could do something about. I knew I could stand up for people in this new community that I belong to.

I started being an advocate first. I started working with One Colorado on some of the bills they were advocating for. Usually, you don’t set out to run for office, you have to be convinced.

My race was such a sleeper. Everybody thought there was no way that I could win. Nobody really invested in it, paid attention to it. Even the Republicans didn’t fight me very much. They thought there was no way I was going to win. 

We did our own thing. We knocked on the doors. We had conversations with people. We made calls. We had events. We did everything you’re supposed to do to win an election, and my opponent didn’t do anything.

It was kind of like “The Tortoise and the Hare.” We just kept trucking on, no matter what was thrown in our way. We beat the other side because they were napping. 

On election night I was losing. I was down a couple hundred votes. My opponent actually had a party for the win. But I wasn’t giving up because I knew there were a lot of votes that hadn’t come in. We chased after a lot of people at the last minute to hand in their ballots.

We had a feeling [after election night] that we were going to end up more votes than the other side. It wasn’t until Thursday two days after the election] before I had enough votes to not only get me up but also out of the need for a recount. It wasn’t official until Friday.

I think a lot of people who voted for me before are on board  again this year. And a lot of people are joining in who didn’t realize I am worthy of the job because of the hard work I put in. I set the bar really high. I worked extremely hard. I want to make sure nobody considers taking this position if they aren’t willing to do hard work, because that is what people will expect.

I have been working to help lower housing costs for Jefferson County and all of Colorado. One of the bills I am proud of and think is a really meaningful piece of legislation is the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Bill, a bill that I sponsored. It creates a new tax credit that incentivizes builders to create affordable housing. It encourages builders to make apartments that are actually affordable.

Builders don’t build housing that is affordable because it is not as profitable. This tax credit helps to fill in some of the costs associated with building affordable housing. This is not subsidized housing. Instead, the plan has an incentive and cost savings that they can build into the rent.

Another bill I did last year covered rental application fees. It limited the amount a landlord could charge for a rental application. This is particularly useful for seniors or anyone looking for housing. Landlords were charging as much as $200 for an application fee. This bill limits the ability to turn a profit on applications. Housing is in very high demand, so if you had a unit available, you used to be able to take 10 or more applications, in some cases, turning a profit without renting the unit. Now, they have to take the application and rent the apartment more quickly or lose money, creating a fairer process to renters.

I was also a cosponsor for the bill that allowed state workers to have collective bargaining rights. This bill was important to me because I grew up in a household that was a union household. Because of that, we had good health benefits, and my dad had a good retirement. He ended up having a good life and a good, stable family life because of the union.

I believe there is a lot of benefit for workers to have collective bargaining and the strength of a union to support the needs of the people. The workers of Colorado are the backbone of our economy and what it has grown to be, so we want to make sure we are protecting workers and their families to ensure they’re not being taken advantage of.

Representation really matters. It is especially critical now to have trans representation, with all of the attacks on the trans community. Having a diverse group of people with different experiences is always a benefit for any leadership body.

The way the government legislates LGBTQ+ issues shapes everything for our community. The perspectives I bring can help shape how the Colorado government interacts with the LGBTQ+ community, and that shapes the way people see and perceive and interact with the community.

 The [gay panic or transgender panic defense bill] ended up dying in committee after we got back from the COVID recess. I was kind of shocked because the bill didn’t cost any money. There was really no reason we shouldn’t have passed it. I contacted a few of the members on the committee, and they said we are trying to cut costs down because of COVID.

I said, “Have you been listening to what people have been saying outside our building?” This was right after the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests were getting started. For me, as a trans person, I have really begun to understand that among the trans community, Black trans women are the most vulnerable. When they were saying Black Lives Matter, it made me think about what that bill does and how it’s important that we protect Black trans women.

I wrote a letter to the Senate President and the House Majority Leader to see if there was the ability to bring that bill back. I wanted to bring this bill back because I believe it is a strong statement we could make to the people outside our building, that in addition to the police reform bill, this is a bill that can protect Black lives and, in particular, Black trans lives.

We started in the Senate and got it through very quickly, and we only had one “no” vote in the entire assembly. What it really symbolizes is that we value LGBTQ+ people and, with this bill, in particular, trans and Black trans people. We now join 10 other states that have banned this practice. It is symbolic of how we stand with the LGBTQ+ community, that Colorado stands with the LGBTQ+ people. We won’t accept violence against this community.

We’re not giving anyone a “get out of jail free” card to inflict violence on the gay and trans community anymore. ■