Rep. Barney Frank, born March 31, 1940 in Bayonne, New Jersey, has represented Massachusetts's 4th congressional district of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The Democrat is the chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Frank founded the National Stonewall Democrats, the national gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Democratic organization in 1998.
Rep. Frank came out publicly in 1987.
In 1990, Frank was the center of a controversy surrounding Steve Gobie, a male prostitute that ran a prostitution ring from Frank's home. The House Ethics committee found no evidence that Frank knew about or was involved in the illegal activities. The House voted 408-18 to reprimand him. Rep. Frank bounced back politically by winning re-election by 1990 by 66 percent of the vote.
The Frank Rule
Barney Frank's position on outing gay Republicans is known as the "The Frank Rule." Frank believes a person should to be outed if they use their power to further anti-gay causes. He says, "The fact is, yes, the Republicans do think [homosexuality] should be a crime. And I think there’s a right to privacy. But the right to privacy should not be a right to hypocrisy...people who want to demonize other people shouldn’t then be able to go home and close the door, and do it themselves."
Rep. Frank came out publicly in 1987.
In 1990, Frank was the center of a controversy surrounding Steve Gobie, a male prostitute that ran a prostitution ring from Frank's home. The House Ethics committee found no evidence that Frank knew about or was involved in the illegal activities. The House voted 408-18 to reprimand him. Rep. Frank bounced back politically by winning re-election by 1990 by 66 percent of the vote.
The Frank Rule
Barney Frank's position on outing gay Republicans is known as the "The Frank Rule." Frank believes a person should to be outed if they use their power to further anti-gay causes. He says, "The fact is, yes, the Republicans do think [homosexuality] should be a crime. And I think there’s a right to privacy. But the right to privacy should not be a right to hypocrisy...people who want to demonize other people shouldn’t then be able to go home and close the door, and do it themselves."