Studds, Gerry E. (Gerry Eastman), 1937-2006

STUDDS, Gerry Eastman, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Mineola, Nassau County, N.Y., May 12, 1937; attended the public schools in Cohasset and Derby Academy in Hingham, Mass.; B.A., Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 1959; M.A.T., Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 1961; teacher, St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H.; foreign service officer, United States Department of State, 1961-1962; member, President John Kennedy's White House staff, 1962-1963; legislative assistant to Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr., 1964; State Coordinator of United States Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential primary campaign, 1968; delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1968; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-third and to the eleven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1973-January 3, 1997); censured by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 20, 1983, for personal misconduct with a House Page; chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (One Hundred Third Congress); was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Fifth Congress in 1996; died on October 14, 2006, in Boston, Mass.

<p>Gerry Eastman Studds (/ˈɡɛri/; May 12, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts who served from 1973 until 1997. He was the first openly gay member of Congress. In 1983 he was censured by the House of Representatives after he admitted to a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old page.</p>

<p>Studds was re-elected to the House six more times after the 1983 censure. He fought for many issues, including environmental and maritime issues, same-sex marriage, AIDS funding, and civil rights, particularly for gays and lesbians. Studds was an outspoken opponent of the Strategic Defense Initiative missile defense system, which he considered wasteful and ineffective, and he criticized the United States government's secretive support for the Contra fighters in Nicaragua.</p>

<p>Gerry Studds, born in Mineola, New York, was a descendant of Elbridge Gerry, the governor of Massachusetts who is commemorated in the word 'gerrymander'. The son of Elbridge Gerry Eastman Studds (an architect who helped design the FDR Drive in New York City) and his wife, the former Beatrice Murphy, he had a brother, Colin Studds, and a sister, Gaynor Studds (Stewart). Studds attended elementary and middle school at Derby Academy.</p>

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li> 11/08/1994 MA District 10 Won 68.74% (+37.51%)</li>
<li> 09/20/1994 MA District 10 - D Primary Won 76.45% (+53.04%)</li>
<li> 11/03/1992 MA District 10 Won 60.75% (+36.40%)</li>
<li> 09/15/1992 MA District 10 - D Primary Won 60.52% (+24.53%)</li>
<li> 11/06/1990 MA District 10 Won 53.40% (+6.82%)</li>
<li> 11/08/1988 MA District 10 Won 66.67% (+33.35%)</li>
<li? 11/04/1986 MA District 10 Won 65.11% (+38.63%)</li>
<li> 09/16/1986 MA District 10 - D Primary Won 80.65% (+61.33%)</li>
<li> 11/06/1984 MA District 10 Won 55.70% (+11.42%)</li>
<li> 09/18/1984 MA District 10 - D Primary Won 61.43% (+27.02%)</li>
<li> 11/02/1982 MA District 10 Won 68.72% (+37.43%)</li>
<li> 11/04/1980 MA District 12 Won 73.21% (+46.43%)</li>
<li> 11/07/1978 MA District 12 Won 99.91% (+99.82%)</li>
<li> 11/02/1976 MA District 12 Won 99.96% (+99.92%)</li>
<li> 09/14/1976 MA District 12 - D Primary Won 84.53% (+69.06%)</li>
<li> 11/05/1974 MA District 12 Won 74.79% (+49.57%)</li>
<li> 11/07/1972 MA District 12 Won 50.24% (+0.48%)</li>
<li> 11/03/1970 MA District 12 Lost 49.62% (-0.76%)</li>
<li> 09/15/1970 MA District 12 - D Primary Won 52.10% (+32.12%)</li>
</ul>
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