Tony Labranche | |
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Member of the New HampshireHouseofRepresentatives from the Hillsborough 22nd district | |
In office December 3, 2020 –August 8, 2022 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S. | November 11, 2001
Political party |
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Other political affiliations | Bloc Québécois [1] (Present) |
Residence(s) | Amherst, New Hampshire, U.S. |
Website | Campaign website |
Tony Labranche (born November 11, 2001) is a New Hampshire politician. He was the youngest member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives [2] and the youngest openly LGBTQ+ legislator in United States history. [3]
Tony Labranche was born in Nashua, New Hampshire on November 11, 2001, to parents Patrick Labranche and Sandra Martin. Both of whom are originally from Thetford Mines, Québec where the majority of his family still lives today. [4] Labranche was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer at age ten. [5] In 2014, Labranche moved to Amherst, New Hampshire. [6]
Labranche graduated from Souhegan High School in early 2020. [7] [8] Labranche currently attends Nashua Community College and is majoring in political science. [9] [4]
In April 2020 Labranche was selected to serve as an alternate delegate for Bernie Sanders at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. [10] [11]
While finishing his senior year of high school Labranche ran unsuccessfully for the Souhegan Cooperative School Board. [6] [5] Labranche then pursued a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Labranche won that bid, [12] and took office on December 3, 2020. [7] Labranche served on the State-Federal Relations & Veterans Affairs Committee. [13]
In 2021 Labranche ran for Rules Committee of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. [14] In the same year Labranche ran again for a seat on the Souhegan Cooperative School Board unsuccessfully. [15]
In 2022 Labranche announced that he would leave the Democratic Party and caucus as an Independent. He cited issues with New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley, Joe Biden's COVID-19 response, and the two-party system as reasons for his departure. [16] [17] [18]
On August 8, 2022, Labranche resigned from the New Hampshire House of Representatives. [19]
Labranche unsuccessfully ran for Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2022. [20]
On May 20, 2023, Labranche was elected to the Commission de la citoyenneté du Bloc Québécois at the Bloc Québécois party congress. [21]
On January 6, 2024, Labranche was selected as a New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district primary delegate for the Marianne Williamson 2024 presidential campaign. [22] Williamson did not meet the threshold to receive any delegates in New Hampshire.
Labranche was considered a progressive representative. [23]
Labranche has repeatedly voiced his support for a free and independent Quebec. [24] [25] In May 2022, Labranche gave a speech commemorating Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day by giving a history of Quebec and calling for independence. [26] Labranche is a member of the pro-independence Bloc Quebecois. [21]
In 2022, Labranche introduced multiple pieces of legislation to legalize cannabis. [27] In that same year, Labranche also introduced legislation to lower penalties and further decriminalize cannabis. [28]
In 2021, Labranche cosponsored a bill to lower the penalty for personal possession of drugs. [29] In 2022, Labranche introduced legislation to decriminalize the personal possession of psilocybin mushrooms. [30] [31] [32]
Labranche is a strong proponent of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). In 2022, Labranche introduced and cosponsored many pieces of legislation to implement Ranked Choice Voting. [33] [34] [35] In the same year, Labranche proposed a constitutional amendment that would make 100 seats of the New Hampshire House of Representatives elected by party list proportional representation. [36] In that same year, Labranche introduced a constitutional amendment that would lower the voting age to 17 to vote in primary elections for those who will be 18 by the general election. [37]
Labranche is a strong proponent of workers' rights. In 2022 Labranche introduced a constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to join a union in the New Hampshire Constitution. [38] in that same year, Labranche introduced a constitutional amendment that would provide "that all workers have a right to a minimum wage that provides them with well-being and a dignified existence.". [39] Labranche has repeatedly voted in favor of increasing the minimum wage. [40] [41] Labranche has consistently spoke against and voted against Right-to-Work legislation. [40]
Amherst is a town in Hillsborough County in the state of New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,753 at the 2020 census. Amherst is home to Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary, Hodgman State Forest, the Joe English Reservation and Baboosic Lake.
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 26,632 as of the 2020 census.
Souhegan Cooperative High School is a Coalition of Essential Schools high school located in Amherst, New Hampshire, in the United States. Students from Amherst and Mont Vernon attend Souhegan for 9th through 12th grades. There are about 750 students. The school was founded based on the work of Theodore R. Sizer, a former dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a notable American education reform leader and the father of the Essential Schools movement. Notably, Souhegan's progressive reputation has been chronicled in the book Standards of Mind and Heart: Creating the Good High School by Tony Wagner, Peggy Silvia and Dr. Robert A. Mackin. Based on this history, the school was founded with the mission "Souhegan High School aspires to be a community of learners born of respect, trust and courage." The school name is derived from its proximity to the Souhegan River, which adjoins the school property. The word Souhegan comes from the Algonquin language, meaning "waiting and watching place".
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of New Hampshire enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT residents, with most advances in LGBT rights occurring in the state within the past two decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in New Hampshire, and the state began offering same-sex couples the option of forming a civil union on January 1, 2008. Civil unions offered most of the same protections as marriages with respect to state law, but not the federal benefits of marriage. Same-sex marriage in New Hampshire has been legally allowed since January 1, 2010, and one year later New Hampshire's civil unions expired, with all such unions converted to marriages. New Hampshire law has also protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1998 and gender identity since 2018. Additionally, a conversion therapy ban on minors became effective in the state in January 2019. Effective from January 1, 2024, the archaic common-law "gay panic defence" will formally be abolished - by legislation implemented within August 2023.
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