Pioneering Congressperson Barney Frank predicts that America’s first LGBTQ+ president is two decades away in a new interview.
Speaking to Reuters by phone, Frank reiterated his often-cited observation that the United States has steadily moved closer to equality in recent years. “Full legal equality wins and prejudice loses,” he told the publication.
Though openly gay candidates have run for the office of president in the past, none have gotten particularly close. Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg made it the furthest in 2020, winning the Iowa primary before dropping out in March. Pamela Rocker, a transgender woman in Ohio, also launched a modest bid for president last year. And Republican Fred Karger, a closeted official who worked on Ronald Reagan’s campaign during the height of the AIDS epidemic, made history in 2012 became the first openly gay major party contender — although he did not win a single delegate.
Surveys on the subject of whether American voters are ready to elect an LGBTQ+ person to the White House have been mixed. A Politico/Morning Consult poll, for instance, found that 45 percent of voters believe the country is not ready for a LGBTQ+ president, while 40 percent said it is.
Frank added that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights is still far from over, pointing out that transgender Americans, in particular, lack legal protections. He predicted that, if elected, 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden would repeal Trump’s ban on trans people serving openly in the military. “The Republicans won’t defend it,” he said, suggesting that they only support it now because it was imposed by the current administration.
Frank’s career in politics dates back decades to his role working with state legislators in Massachusetts in the 1960s. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, but in the late 80s, he faced a scandal when it emerged that he had established a relationship with a male sex worker. Frank cooperated with an investigation, calling for full transparency, and came out publicly in 1987. He was re-elected in 1990.
Among the legislators who investigated Frank was now-disgraced Congressman Larry Craig. Today Craig is most widely remembered for his 2007 arrest for solicitation in an airport bathroom.
Although Frank was not the first openly gay member of Congress — that was Gerry Studds — he was still a trailblazer. He has long been a supporter of expanding civil rights not just for LGBTQ+ people but for many marginalized communities. For many years, he advocated for reparations to Japanese-Americans kidnapped by the U.S. government during World War II, and in 2001, he co-sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have amended the U.S. Constitution to provide gender equity.
Frank also co-sponsored a bill in 2007 to provide equal benefits to domestic partners before marriage equality was extended to same-sex couples and led efforts to end restrictions on immigration for LGBTQ+ people.
The 80-year-old former lawmaker announced his retirement in 2012, married partner Jim Ready that same year, and now works as a political consultant. Frank also advises a company called LGBTQ Loyalty, which funnels money from investors to companies with LGBTQ+-affirming policies.
Looking back over his legacy, Frank told Reuters that when he passes away, he wants his resting place to be marked with a phrase frequently spoken in Congress: “The gentleman’s time has expired.”
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