Meagan C. Simonaire (born August 8, 1990) is a former American politician from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and was the youngest member of the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...

. She represented House District 31B (which includes

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

and portions of

Glen Burnie Glen Burnie is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 72,891 at the 2020 census. History In 1812, Elias Glenn, a district attorn ...

, Millersville and Severna Park) in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

from 2014 to 2018. She is the daughter of

Maryland State Senator The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-m ...

Bryan Simonaire Bryan Warner Simonaire (born September 6, 1963) is an American politician who serves as a Maryland state senator representing District 31, which encompasses much of northern Anne Arundel County's Baltimore suburbs. A member of the Republican Pa ...

Early life

Simonaire is the third of seven brothers and sisters, and spent most of her childhood in the Middle East where her

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

worked as an engineer for

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...

. After she moved to the U.S., she attended

Bob Jones University Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. It is known for its Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical cultural and religious posit ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

to study cosmetology.

Political career

Maryland House of Delegates

Simonaire was elected to the House of Delegates in 2014 to one of the two seats in House District 31B. After a competitive primary, Simonaire beat out several other candidates to win a seat alongside then House Minority Leader

Nic Kipke Nicholaus Ryan Kipke (born January 26, 1979) is an American politician. Since 2007, he has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing Maryland House of Delegates District 31, District 31. He previously served as the Minori ...

, replacing incumbent Don Dwyer who was defeated after a string of legal issues.

Views on conversion therapy

Simonaire publicly

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

in April 2018 while supporting a bill banning

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

for LGBT teens. In a speech on the House floor, she claimed her parents suggested conversion therapy after she came out to them in January 2015. Her father, Senator Bryan Simonaire, disputed her story and continued to oppose the bill. The bill was ultimately passed by both the House of Delegates and Senate. Elected as a Republican, Simonaire joined the Democratic Party on October 15, 2018.

Personal life

Simonaire chose not to run for reelection in 2018 and retired from elected office due to her changing views. She is working as a cosmetic tattoo artist, specializing in eyebrow tattooing. She provides free services to burn patients, cancer patients, domestic violence survivors, and human trafficking survivors.

Electoral history

*2014 Republican Primary Election for Maryland House of Delegates – District 31B ::Voters to choose two: : *2014 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 31B District ::Voters to choose two: :

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simonaire, Meagan C. 1990 births 21st-century American women politicians Bisexual women politicians Bob Jones University alumni LGBTQ state legislators in Maryland Living people Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Pasadena, Maryland Women state legislators in Maryland 21st-century American LGBTQ people LGBTQ conservatism in the United States American bisexual women American bisexual politicians 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly