Former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay person elected to Congress, died early Saturday at Boston Medical Center, hospital officials confirmed. He was 69. Last year, Studds married his longtime partner, Dean Hara, in Boston.

Studds, a liberal Democrat who spent more than 20 years in Congress, was censured by the House in the 1980s for having sex with a 17-year-old male page. He was re-elected for several more terms.


Jen also blogs at Transcending Gender, A Life Less Convenient, and The Nervous Breakdown. Her book is available here.