Frank, Barney, 1940-

Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a former American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979, in the Massachusetts Senate from 1979 to 1981, and in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Massachusetts' 4th congressional district from 1981 to 2013.

Born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey, Frank graduated from Bayonne High School and Harvard College. He taught undergraduates at Harvard while studying for a PhD in Government, but left in 1968 before completing the degree, to become Boston mayor Kevin White's Chief Assistant, a position he held for three years. He then served for a year as Administrative Assistant to Congressman Michael J. Harrington. In 1972, Frank was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he served for eight years. He made a name for himself in the mid-1970s as a political defender of the Combat Zone, Boston's notorious red light district. While a state representative, Frank earned a law degree from Harvard Law School. In 1979, Frank was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts. While in state and local government, he taught, part-time, at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and at Boston University. In 1977, Frank graduated from Harvard Law School and was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts.

In 1980, Frank ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 4th congressional district, hoping to succeed Reverend Robert Drinan, who had left Congress, following a call by Pope John Paul II for priests to withdraw from political positions, winning with 52 percent of the vote. He was re-elected every term thereafter by wide margins. In 1987, he publicly came out as gay, becoming the first member of Congress to do so voluntarily. While in Congress, Frank worked to adjust America’s spending priorities to reduce the deficit by providing less funding for the military, thereby protecting funding for important quality-of-life needs at home. In particular, he focused on providing aid to local communities and to building and preserving affordable rental housing for low-income people. He was also a leader in the fight against discrimination of various sorts. He championed the interests of the poor, the underprivileged, and the vulnerable.

In July 2012, Frank married his long-time partner, James Ready, becoming the first member of Congress to marry someone of the same sex while in office. He did not seek re-election in 2012, and was succeeded by fellow Democrat Joe Kennedy III. Frank's autobiography, A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage, was published in 2015.