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LGBTQ Pioneer in Congress Dies at 86

The congressman represented Massachusetts for over three decades.

Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank died on Wednesday at age 86 after spending a month in hospice, his sister confirmed to NBC Boston. The congressman was hugely popular during his tenure, representing Massachusetts’s 4th Congressional District for over three decades, starting in 1980. Frank is best known for becoming the first congressman to voluntarily come out as gay, doing so in 1987 during his fourth term in the House. In an interview with The Boston Globe, he confirmed he was gay and responded, “So what?” when asked about his sexuality. He achieved another milestone when he married his long-time partner, Jim Ready, in the summer of 2012, making him the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage. He called it “life-changing, lifesaving for me” in an interview with NBC earlier this month. Frank was a staunch advocate for LGBTQ issues throughout his decades-long tenure until his retirement in 2013. Frank is best known for lending his name to the sweeping 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law by then-President Obama after the 2008 recession to curb predatory practices and stabilize the markets. “I think we have been vindicated against our critics from both the left and the right,” Frank said of the law, adding he was “very proud” of its legacy.