‘Second to None’: Tributes Pour in for Former Congressman, Progressive Icon, and LGBT Trailblazer Barney Frank, Who Died at 86
Barney Frank, a former Congressman and LGBT rights advocate, passed away at the age of 86. He made history as the first incumbent member of Congress to come out as gay and to marry someone of the same sex. Tributes have poured in from various political figures, highlighting his significant contributions to both the LGBT rights movement and financial reform.
- ▪Barney Frank served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 32 years.
- ▪He was the first incumbent member of Congress to come out as gay and to marry someone of the same sex.
- ▪Frank was the lead sponsor of the Dodd-Frank Act, a major financial reform legislation.
- ▪Former President Barack Obama and other political figures have paid tribute to Frank's legacy.
- ▪He remained engaged in political discussions until his final days.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
In the 1950s, a teenage Barney Frank once thought that he could never enter politics because he was gay. “To get elected to office you’ve got to be popular,” Frank told TIME in 2021. “To be gay [was, at the time] to be very unpopular.”But the New Jersey-born “left-handed gay Jew”—as he called himself—entered politics anyway. And he not only managed to secure a 32-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives but to make history as the first incumbent member of Congress to choose to come out and the first incumbent to marry someone of the same sex.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at TIME — Top.
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