List of LGBT members of the United States Congress

This is a list of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans in the U.S. Congress. There are currently 7 openly LGBT members of the 114th congress, all being Democrats.^[1][2] This list only includes individuals who came out.

Senate

Photo	Senator	State	Party	Term	Notes
	Harris Wofford	Pennsylvania	Democratic	1991–1995	Came out in 2016 after announcing plans to marry a man[3]
	Tammy Baldwin[4]	Wisconsin	Democratic	2013–present	First openly gay or lesbian person to be elected to the Senate[5]

House of Representatives

Photo	Representative	State	Party	Term	Notes
	Stewart McKinney	Connecticut	Republican	1971–1987	Died (Complications due to AIDS)[6][7][8][9][10] Out to several friends, but not to the media or his constituents.
	Robert Bauman	Maryland	Republican	1973–1981	Came out after his time in Congress[11]
	Gerry Studds	Massachusetts	Democratic	1973–1997	Came out in 1983 after congressional page scandal; first member of Congress to come out as gay; First openly gay committee chairman (Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 1990–1995)[12]
	Jon Hinson	Mississippi	Republican	1979–1981	Came out after his time in Congress
	Barney Frank	Massachusetts	Democratic	1981–2013	Came out in 1987; first LGBT member of Congress to be married while in office[13][14]
	Steve Gunderson	Wisconsin	Republican	1981-1997	Outed on the floor of the House in 1994, and became the first openly gay Republican representative.[15]
	Jim Kolbe	Arizona	Republican	1985-2007	Came out in 1996 after voting for the Defense of Marriage Act, and was the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention[16][17] He was the second openly gay Republican to serve in Congress, the first being Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin.[18]
	Michael Huffington	California	Republican	1993-1995	Came out as bisexual in 1998, the first bisexual to have been elected to Congress.[19]
	Mark Foley	Florida	Republican	1995-2006	Came out after congressional page incidents.[20]
	Tammy Baldwin	Wisconsin	Democratic	1999-2013	First 'out' lesbian to be elected to Congress[5]
	Mike Michaud	Maine	Democratic	2003-2015	Came out in 2013.[21][22]
	Jared Polis	Colorado	Democratic	2009–present	First gay parent in Congress[23]
	David Cicilline	Rhode Island	Democratic	2011–present	First openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital.[24][25]
	Sean Patrick Maloney	New York	Democratic	2013–present	New York's first openly gay member of Congress[26]
	Mark Takano	California	Democratic	2013–present	First 'out' non-white LGBT person to be elected to Congress[27][28]
	Mark Pocan	Wisconsin	Democratic	2013–present	Became active in the LGBT community after being assaulted for his sexuality.[29]
	Kyrsten Sinema	Arizona	Democratic	2013–present	First out bisexual to be elected to Congress[30][31]

See also

• List of the first LGBT holders of political offices in the United States

References

1. https://usatelections.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/gay-republicans-demaio-tisei/
2. http://mashable.com/2015/01/06/congress-mostly-white-male/#I8OH8guFmPqc
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/opinion/sunday/findinglove-again-this-time-with-a-man.html
4. for the predecessors and successors of each LGBT Senator with their date of birth and death, click on the senator, for the number of congresses, click on the congress.
5. "Tammy Baldwin: Openly gay lawmaker could make history in Wisconsin U.S. Senate race - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
6. "AIDS Makes Another Chilling Advance, Claiming the Life of a Congressman". People magazine (New York, NY: TIME, Inc.). May 25, 1987. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
7. Houston, Paul (May 8, 1987). "Connecticut's McKinney, GOP Liberal, Dies of AIDS". Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). Retrieved August 31, 2014.
8. Kimmey, Samantha (December 20, 2012). "Rep. Barney Frank Comments on Scalia, Prostitution, Marijuana and More". The Raw Story. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
9. Associated Press (August 23, 1989). "Congressman Killed by AIDS Led Secret Life, Gay Man Claims". Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME). Retrieved August 31, 2014.
10. May, Clifford D. (May 9, 1987). "Friends Say McKinney Had Homosexual Sex". New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
11. Bauman, Robert (August 1986). The Gentleman from Maryland: The Conscience of a Gay Conservative. Arbor House Pub Co. ISBN 978-0877956860.
12. "Housecleaning". Time. July 25, 1983.
13. O'Keefe, Ed (December 3, 2012). "When Barney Frank announced he was ‘coming out of the room’ (er… the closet)". The Washington Post.
14. "DC's Most Influential Gay Couple Calls It Quits". The Tuscaloosa News (Associated Press). July 3, 1998. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
15. Bergling, Tim (May 11, 2004). "Closeted in the capital: they're powerful, Republican, and gay. Will the marriage battle finally get them to come out to their bosses?". The Advocate. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
16. Dunlap, David W. (August 3, 1996). "A Republican Congressman Discloses He Is a Homosexual". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
17. Campbell, Julia (August 1, 2000). "Openly Gay Congressman Addresses Convention". ABC News.
18. Eaklor, Vicki Lynn (2008). Queer America: a GLBT history of the 20th century. ABC-CLIO. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-313-33749-9.
19. King, Ryan James. "Michael Huffington: The long-awaited Advocate interview". Advocate. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
20. "Foley lawyer makes statement". CNN. October 2, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
21. "Michaud: ‘I haven’t changed. I’m Mike.’". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
22. "Yes, I'm gay, Michaud says. Now let's get our state back on track". Portland Press Herald. November 4, 2013.
23. Parkinson, John. "House Democrat Jared Polis Becomes First Openly Gay Parent in Congress". ABC News. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
24. Dahir, Mubarak (December 24, 2002). "Leading Providence: David Cicilline becomes the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital". The Advocate. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
25. Berg, Linda. "Jewish Congressional Candidate Profile: Mayor David Cicilline". National Jewish Democratic Council. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
26. Julie Bolcer (November 7, 2012). "Gay Congressional Winner Makes History in New York". The Advocate. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
27. David Crary, AP National Writer. "Record number of gays seeking seats in Congress". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
28. Candido, Sergio N. (October 29, 2012). "Top 5 Gay National Races". SFGN. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
29. Pocan, Mark. "A Seat at the Table" Our Lives March/April 2012; p. 23
30. O'Dowd, Peter (January 1, 2013). "Sinema, First Openly Bisexual Member Of Congress, Represents 'Changing Arizona'". NPR. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
31. Roig-Franzia, Manuel (January 2, 2013). "Kyrsten Sinema: A success story like nobody else's". The Washington Post (Phoenix, Arizona). Retrieved January 8, 2013.