Barney Frank, Champion Of LGBTQ+ Rights And Wall Street Reforms, Dies At 86

Former Rep. Barney Frank, a liberal icon and one of the first openly gay members of Congress, has died at the age of 86 after entering hospice care for congestive heart failure.

Frank’s sister and a close family friend told NBC Boston the congressman died at his home in Maine, which he shares with husband Jim Ready. Frank leaves a legacy that includes championing LGBTQ+ rights and serving as a key architect of landmark legislation regulating Wall Street.

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Frank was born in New Jersey on March 31, 1940. He taught at Harvard University before becoming chief of staff for Boston Mayor Kevin White (D) and later assistant to Rep. Michael Harrington (D-Mass.). 

In 1972, he was elected as a state representative in a solidly Republican district in Massachusetts. He entered Congress in 1980, serving more than 30 years before retiring.

Frank made history in 1987 as the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay, and in 2012 as the first to enter a same-*** marriage while in office. The lawmaker used his position to fight for legislation that protects LGBTQ+ rights in many arenas, despite many Republican attempts to smear him – including then-House Majority Leader **** Armey (Texas) famously referring to him as “Barney ***” in 1995, and Rep. John Hostettler (Ind.) accusing him of having a “radical homosexual agenda.”

“I do have things I would like to see adopted on behalf of LGBT people: they include the right to marry the individual of our choice; the right to serve in the military to defend our country; and the right to a job based solely on our own qualifications,” Frank said in response to Hostettler.

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“I acknowledge that this is an agenda,” he continued. “But I do not think that any self-respecting radical in history would have considered advocating people’s rights to get married, join the army and earn a living as a terribly inspiring revolutionary platform.”

Frank was also known for his time chairing the House Financial Services Committee through the 2008 financial crisis, facing criticism over his support of mortgages provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ahead of the housing collapse that resulted in foreclosures.

The following year, Frank teamed up with Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) to introduce a package of Wall Street regulations and consumer protections that became known as the Dodd-Frank Act. The bill was signed into law in 2010, marking one of Democrats’ biggest financial policy wins in recent history.

Throughout his career, Frank gained a reputation for his quick wit and provocative ― sometimes combative ― statements, making him a fan favorite for journalists and TV hosts. The lawmaker told The New York Times in 1996 that he’s “used to being in the minority” because he’s “a left-handed gay Jew,” and told The Washington Post in 2004 that moderate Republicans are “reverse Houdinis” because “they tie themselves up in knots and then tell you they can’t do anything because they’re tied up in knots.”

Frank had recently entered hospice care for congestive heart failure, telling Politico that he’s “made it longer than I thought.” He planned to release a book this year criticizing the Democratic Party’s modern progressive wing as holding back democracy by “taking the most controversial parts of the [progressive] agenda and turning them into litmus tests.”

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But the Democrat expressed faith his party will prevail, even if he died before it happens.

“One of my regrets,” he told Politico, “is that I won’t see the continued implosion of Donald Trump.”

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