State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17th Dist.), who spearheaded proposed marriage-equality legislation for the past several legislative sessions, announced his candidacy this week for the state’s 13th Congressional District seat. U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, who is rumored to be running for governor next year, currently holds the seat, but has said she will not run for reelection. Leach, who grew up in Northeast Philadelphia, said his difficult background motivated him to run for the seat, which covers both Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia. He lived for a time with his mother and grandmother. When his grandmother got sick, he said his mother had to quit work and go on welfare and he ultimately went into foster care. Leach attended eight different elementary schools and said he was with a new foster family nearly every month. “The only reason why I had success was because of what my community had invested in me,” he said. “I had great public school teachers and public libraries, which opened up a whole new world to me. I want to make sure other kids who are in similar circumstances have the same opportunities I had.” Leach said equality will be a major part of his platform. “Everyone should be included in the civil life of this country,” he said. “They should be able to marry who they love, be with who they love and who they want to have a family with. We need to see equality and civil rights enforced aggressively.” Leach’s seat in the state Senate will expire in 2016, and he said he plans to keep his seat during his campaign for Congress. Leach, who introduced the state’s first marriage-equality bill in 2009 and in each subsequent session, said he would be a persistent voice for marriage equality but also hopes to focus on other LGBT-related issues. “We have seen a dramatic change in the polling, where marriage equality is gaining acceptance from the American public and among the political class. I want to go to Washington, D.C., to continue to be a voice for not only marriage rights but for transgender rights,” he said. “And it is still very legal to fire someone because they are gay. That is crazy in the 21st century. I want to guarantee people their right to hold a job and hold an apartment. Marriage equality, transgender rights and LGBT antidiscrimination would be huge victories.” Leach said his time working for LGBT equality has shown him that the tide is changing. “Even the most hard homophobe will change: Laws can change opinions. We want to change those laws, and bring attitudes up to modern times and ensure that everyone can live peacefully with dignity.”