Barney Frank, a retired U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, died at age 86. He was survived by his husband, Jim Ready. Frank had been in hospice care near his home in Ogunquit, Maine, for several months while receiving treatment for congestive heart failure. He was widely associated with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He was the first member of Congress to come out voluntarily and the first gay U.S. representative to marry while in office in 2012. He co-sponsored legislation to provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees and helped craft the 1990 Immigration Act. He helped architect the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. He lobbied against Don't Ask Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, supported repeal efforts, backed security clearance access for LGBTQ+ employees, and championed ENDA.
"Retired Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), once the most prominent out member of Congress and a champion for LGBTQ+ rights over his 32-year career in the House, has died. He was 86. Frank is survived by his husband, Jim Ready. Frank had been in hospice care near his home in Ogunquit, Maine, for the past few months, receiving treatment for congestive heart failure. His family said he passed away Tuesday night."
"Most widely associated with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, legislation addressing the 2008 financial crisis, Frank was the first member of Congress to come out voluntarily and the first gay U.S. representative to marry while in office in 2012. In 2007, Frank co-sponsored the Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act to provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees."
"Frank was instrumental in crafting the 1990 Immigration Act, which stripped exclusion for sexual deviance "affliction" from the law. He was a key architect of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, which expanded federal law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability."
"As a congressional insider, Frank lobbied successive presidents against Don't Ask Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act (and later for their repeal), pushed for repeal of a ban on security clearances for LGBTQ+ government employees, and was a sponsor and longtime champion for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), proposed legislation to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which he did not live to see pass."
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