A gay advocate who helped win marriage rights in the state of Utah is now running for Congress.Former Utah state Sen. Derek Kitchen (D) announced in late November that he would join the race to represent Utahs newly drawn First Congressional District, a Democratic-leaning district that includes Salt Lake City. Related Gay politician files paperwork to unseat one of the most powerful Democrats in the country Utah raised me, he said in a campaign announcement. It shaped my values and taught me what community really means. Its where I fought for marriage equality, where I served on the Salt Lake City Council and in the State Senate, and where Ive spent my life working to make our state more affordable, more just, and more inclusive.This campaign starts with all of us. Grassroots supporters who believe in a Utah that leads with dignity, fairness, and hope. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today View this post on Instagram A post shared by Derek L. Kitchen (@derekkitchen)In 2013, Kitchen and his then-partner Moudi Sbeity along with two other same-sex couples sued the state of Utah in federal court for the right to marry. That year, a district court judge ruled in their favor, saying that the states ban on marriage rights conflicts with the United States Constitutions guarantees of equal protection and due process under the law. The States current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason.The state appealed, but a few months later, a federal appeals court affirmed the decision, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal, which meant that the state had to start issuing marriage licenses to couples of any gender by October 2014, a year before the Supreme Court recognized the fundamental right to choose who to marry in Obergefell v. Hodges.After that case, Kitchen was elected to the Salt Lake City Council and then to the Utah State Senate. In 2023, he was appointed to a position at the U.S. Export-Import Bank by then-President Joe Biden. He divorced Sbeity in 2019. Utahs congressional map was redrawn in 2021, as happens in all states after a Census. But several voting rights organizations sued the GOP-controlled state legislature for implementing its own congressional map in 2021, rather than using one created by an independent commission.Earlier this year, a state judge ordered the state to draw new boundaries that comply with the states 2018 anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative, and the new map created one district that leans Democratic (the First Congressional District) for the first time in the state in decades. Republicans vowed to appeal the ruling, but this map will be used for the 2026 elections.Kitchen is just one of several Democrats who have announced they are running to represent the district in Congress. State Sen. Kathleen Riebe (D) and former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams (D-UT) also announced last month that they would run in the districts Democratic primary. McAdams previously represented Utahs Fourth Congressional District, a district that leans Republican but that he won in 2018 by a very narrow margin. He lost reelection in 2020 to former NFL player and current U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT).When Kitchen was on the Salt Lake City Council, he helped rename a street in honor of gay civil rights pioneer Harvey Milk. Earlier this year, a Republican state lawmaker introduced a state bill to rename the street after rightwing podcaster Charlie Kirk instead.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.