VIRGINIA BEACH — State Del. Kelly Fowler, a Democrat from Virginia Beach, discussed her bisexuality publicly during what she described as spontaneous remarks on stage during the recent Pride at the Beach event.
Her comments came on Sunday, June 26, during a gathering at the Oceanfront supporting representation and solidarity for people in LGBTQ+ communities and their allies. The event was sponsored by Hampton Roads Pride, and it drew thousands of people from the city and nearby communities.
Fowler made a social media post later in the day that included a video of her remarks. The delegate wrote she had decided to speak after seeing Republican politicians gathered by the stage to speak. Given the recent political climate and concern that she had not been invited to speak there, Fowler wrote that she made her way to the stage.
“Oh, and I spoke my truth,” she wrote.
On stage, Fowler read from the Virginia constitution, which defines marriage as being between a man and woman though the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 legalized gay marriage. A recent effort to begin the process of removing that language from the state constitution failed in the General Assembly.
“Please vote,” Fowler told the crowd near the Boardwalk and 24th Street. “Please ask the people behind me if they support gay marriage and if they vote the right way.”
Fowler added, “I also want to say I have three children. … I would be remiss and it would be – I feel like I’m lying to them now that they understand and they’re becoming themselves, that I’m bisexual.”
People in the crowd applauded. “I’ve always been bisexual,” Fowler continued. “I just never felt like I could say that out loud.”
During an interview, Fowler said her remarks were informed by the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which ended decades of access to safe, legal abortion as a constitutional right in the U.S. The decision, some have argued, may preface additional court decisions challenging other rights, such as gay marriage.
As Fowler noted on stage, language narrowly defining marriage as only between a man and woman is in Virginia’s constitution.
“I can’t believe that is still in our state constitution,” Fowler said in an interview.
Fowler, who is married with children, said her bisexuality has not been a secret within her family. She said it was addressed in a past social media post that the family took down at the time out of concern for how people were reacting.
“It’s always been a conversation we’ve had with our kids,” she said.
Fowler said she also has been concerned in the past about discussing her sexuality publicly. She recalled answering a questionnaire in 2017 and identifying as heterosexual. She felt like a liar, she said.
“So that’s something we’re fighting against,” Fowler said, adding that she hoped discussing her own identity publicly might help “our generation behind us to be who they are sooner than I did.”
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