Caroline Williams ran for office with a single focus: to ensure that people know their rights. This included her partner Althea, who is transgender, and the entire LGBTQ community. Early on in their partnership, Althea shared that she was ready to take steps to transition from male to female and live every day as the woman that she is. Caroline and Althea married, and Caroline began to witness the discrimination that Althea faced firsthand, which empowered Caroline to fight for LGBTQ protections. 

Sadly, in 2013, Althea passed away from kidney disease – but the fight for equality did not stop there. “LGBTQ people are our friends, family members and neighbors,” she wrote. “They live and work in all of our communities across America. And they urgently need protections.”

As she recalled the many times Althea was publicly harassed, Carolina expressed in an op-ed why she feels so empowered to keep fighting for LGBTQ protections. Florida lacks comprehensive protections, and Caroline works for that to change. “Florida should have statewide protections for all LGBTQ people. If my state can’t do the right thing, then we need the federal government to do right by our friends and loved ones.”