Rep. Barney Frank Weds Partner in History-Making Same-Sex Marriage

Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), married his long-time partner Jim Ready in a ceremony conducted at the Boston Marriott hotel by Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts, this weekend. Frank, who was the first member of Congress to come out as openly gay in 1987, and who hails from the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, has now become the first member of Congress to marry a same-sex partner. Three hundred friends, family members, and colleagues witnessed the historic nuptials, which took place Saturday at 6:25 p.m. overlooking the Charles River. The vows, which included traditional phrases like, “for better or for worse,” were also said to have featured some politically amusing additions, such as, “under the Democrats or the Republicans,” and, “on MSNBC or on FOX.” To see photos and read the full text of the wedding, click here. Even prior to his wedding, Rep. Frank had expressed a desire for his Congressional colleagues to have interactions with a married gay man. "I do think, to be honest, if I was running for reelection, I might have tried to put the marriage off until after the election, because it just becomes a complication," he told New York magazine a few months ago. "But I did want to get married while I was still in office. I think it’s important that my colleagues interact with a married gay man." During that interview, Rep. Frank also said he plans to write a book about the gay rights movement. "I am going to write about the history of the LGBT movement partly to make the point that, in America at least, this is the way you do progressive causes," he said. And in keeping with ideas expressed in the wake of the Anderson Cooper and Frank Ocean announcements last week, Rep. Frank expressed the importance of being out and proud. "Pride Weekend was very important early on because people didn’t know who we were. The hiddenness was a problem. Today, pride has no political role. It’s a fun thing for people," he said.

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Rep. Barney Frank Weds Partner in History-Making Same-Sex Marriage

Elizabeth S. Mitchell

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Elizabeth S. Mitchell