Rep. Barney Frank: One of a Kind
Today, we have learned that when Congress reconvenes in 2013, it will be without our great LGBT champion, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). Rep. Frank is the longest serving openly gay representative, and has announced he will not seek re-election. He was first elected in 1980.
His retirement is particularly felt by the LGBT military community, as he has been a tireless advocate. When "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) passed in 1993, he believed that it was the best language President Clinton could get at the time to move the ball forward. But he soon saw that the Department of Defense was repeatedly violating the spirit and letter of the so-called compromise, and in short order, he was of the mind that DADT would have to go. He insisted that President Clinton include the DADT exception for security clearances, and pushed to have the DADT repeal bill scheduled for the 111th Congress, where it ultimately passed in 2010.
In my time at SLDN, I have gotten to know Rep. Frank and have seen firsthand how much the repeal of DADT meant to him. He captivated the audience at the SLDN 19th Annual Dinner with stories of conversations on the floor of the House with other members of Congress, and he was with us when we celebrated the first day of open service on September 20 of this year.
But perhaps my greatest memory of Rep. Frank came on December 21, 2010, when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi held an enrollment ceremony in the Capitol, to sign and send the DADT repeal bill to the President's desk. This ceremony was the moment for members of Congress to celebrate their work on the repeal bill, and Rep. Frank brought me as his guest into the briefing room before the ceremony began. Surrounded by Speaker Pelosi, Representatives Murphy, Hoyer, Baldwin, Polis and Davis, Senators Udall, Boxer, Leahy, and Gillibrand, I stood uncharacteristically silent, in awe of being in a room with the lawmakers who made repeal happen. In this room full of leaders, it was clear that Rep. Frank was revered in a unique way.
Then, when it came time for him to speak, Rep. Frank brought the audience to its feet as he answered critics who say that he is pushing the "radical homosexual agenda." He said the homosexual agenda is "to be protected against violent crimes driven by bigotry, it's to be able to get married, it's to be able to get a job, and it's to be able to fight for our country. For those who are worried about the radical homosexual agenda, let me put them on notice. Two down, two to go."
To view Rep. Frank's remarks, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0h5Vtke3OA
Rep. Frank is one of a kind. And at SLDN, we will miss his leadership, his voice, and his dogged determination to do what's right, even when it's not what's popular.
11-28-11 By Emily Tisch Sussman, SLDN Government Affairs Co-Director |
