First elected gay congressman dies

Former Congressman Gerry Studds died a short while ago. Studds was elected to the House of Representatives in 1972 and served five terms of office before acknowledging that he was gay. His heavily working class district voted him back into office and served until he retired in 1996.

Studds, married his partner Dean Hara in 2004, and was out walking his dog when he collapsed. A blood clot was discovered in his lung. He seemed to recover but apparently there was a second clot which killed him. In addition to his husband he is survived by a brother and a sister.