Barney Frank file photo 2005. Photo by Dennis McGrath.
Barney Frank, a pioneering openly gay lawmaker and influential liberal voice in Congress, died May 19, at his home in Ogunquit, Maine. He was 86.
Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1940, Frank grew up in a working-class Jewish household before building his political career in Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 2013.
In 1987, Frank became one of the first members of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay. As a result, his decision marked a turning point for LGBTQ visibility in national politics.
For three decades in office, Frank shaped Democratic policy on economic and social issues. From 2007 to 2011, he chaired the House Financial Services Committee as Congress responded to the 2008 financial crisis. Later, Frank pointed to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as one of his defining achievements.
In addition, Frank championed abortion rights, environmental protections, anti-discrimination laws and LGBTQ equality. He also pushed to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the policy that prevented openly gay and bisexual people from serving in the U.S. military.
“He was a fighter and fearless,” Mary Bonauto, senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLAD Law, a Boston-based LGBTQ advocacy organization, told NBC News.
“When you look at his record more generally, you see his advocacy for people of color, women — it wasn’t just gay people,” Bonauto added. “He had his sharp eye on a lot of people and a lot of issues, and I think it’s partly from his own journey.”
After retiring from Congress, Frank settled in coastal Maine. There, he stayed active as a political commentator and writer. In a late April interview with Politico, Frank spoke candidly about entering hospice care while battling congestive heart failure.
Reflecting on his decision to come out in 1987, Frank said, “The American people are a lot less homophobic than they thought they were supposed to be. More racist, unfortunately, but less homophobic.”
In 2012. Frank became the first sitting member of Congress to marry a same-sex partner.
Even in his final months, Frank remained outspoken. He urged Democrats to distance themselves from far-left positions. Meanwhile, his final book, The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy, is scheduled for publication in September.
He is survived by his husband, Jim Ready.