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

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

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 chamb ...

. She represented House District 31B (which includes

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, 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 district. Its ...

and portions of

Glen Burnie Glen Burnie is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population of Glen Burnie was 67,639 at ...

, Millersville and Severna Park) in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

from 2014 to 2018. She is the daughter of Maryland State Senator

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. Background Bryan Simonaire w ...

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. An adoptive fathe ...

worked as an engineer for

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

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

Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

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 a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates as of 2007 and from 2013 to 2021 served as Minority Leader. He is a Delegate representing Maryland District 31 including all of Pasadena, Bro ...

, 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 LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

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, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

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 Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonaire, Meagan C. 1990 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians Bisexual politicians Bisexual women Bob Jones University alumni LGBT state legislators in Maryland Living people Maryland Democrats Maryland Republicans Members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Pasadena, Maryland Women state legislators in Maryland