List of LGBT members of the United States Congress

This is a list of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans who have served in the United States Congress.

As of November 2020, there are ten openly LGBTQ members of the 117th Congress, all of whom are Democrats.[1][2] This list only includes people who are openly LGBTQ or were identified posthumously by their families as members of the LGBTQ community. Current members of Congress are shaded in gray.

Senate

LGBTQ senators who served openly
Photo Senator (lifespan) Party State Term start Term end Notes
Tammy Baldwin (born 1962) Democratic Wisconsin January 3, 2013 Incumbent Openly lesbian
First openly LGBT senator[3]
Kyrsten Sinema (born 1976) Democratic Arizona January 3, 2019 Incumbent Openly bisexual
First openly bisexual senator[4]

Former senators who have come out as LGBTQ
Photo Senator (lifespan) Party State Term start Term end Notes
Harris Wofford (1926–2019) Democratic Pennsylvania May 8, 1991 January 3, 1995 Announced his marriage to a man in 2016[5]

House of Representatives

LGBTQ representatives who served openly
Photo Representative
(lifespan)		 Party State Term start Term end Notes
Robert Bauman
(born 1937)		 Republican Maryland August 21, 1973 January 3, 1981 Outed as gay while in office (1980)[6]
Gerry Studds
(1937–2006)		 Democratic Massachusetts January 3, 1973 January 3, 1997 First member of Congress to come out as gay while in office, after being implicated in the 1983 congressional page sex scandal[7]
First openly LGBT person to win election to Congress, after winning reelection in 1984
Jon Hinson
(1942–1995)		 Republican Mississippi January 3, 1979 April 13, 1981 Outed as gay while in office (1980)[8]
Barney Frank
(born 1940)		 Democratic Massachusetts January 3, 1981 January 3, 2013 Came out as gay while in office (1987)
First member of Congress in a same-sex marriage (2012)[9][10]
Steve Gunderson
(born 1951)		 Republican Wisconsin January 3, 1981 January 3, 1997 Outed as gay on the floor of the House (1994)
First openly gay Republican to be reelected after outing[11][12]
Jim Kolbe
(born 1942)		 Republican Arizona January 3, 1985 January 3, 2007 Came out as gay while in office, after voting for the Defense of Marriage Act (1996)
First openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention[13][14][15]
Mark Foley
(born 1954)		 Republican Florida January 3, 1995 September 29, 2006 Came out as gay while in office, after being implicated in the 2006 congressional page scandal[16]
Tammy Baldwin
(born 1962)		 Democratic Wisconsin January 3, 1999 January 3, 2013 First openly LGBT non-incumbent elected to Congress
First open lesbian in Congress[3]
Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, becoming the first openly LGBT person elected to the U.S. Senate
Mike Michaud
(born 1955)		 Democratic Maine January 3, 2003 January 3, 2015 Came out as gay while in office (2013)[17][18]
Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Maine
Jared Polis
(born 1975)		 Democratic Colorado January 3, 2009 January 3, 2019 Openly gay
First same-sex parent in Congress (2011)[19]
Retired to run successfully for Governor of Colorado, becoming the first openly gay person elected governor of a U.S. state[20]
David Cicilline
(born 1961)		 Democratic Rhode Island January 3, 2011 Incumbent Openly gay[21]
Sean Maloney
(born 1966)		 Democratic New York January 3, 2013 Incumbent Openly gay[22]
Mark Pocan
(born 1964)		 Democratic Wisconsin January 3, 2013 Incumbent Openly gay
First LGBT member of Congress to replace another LGBT member of Congress (Tammy Baldwin)
First non-incumbent elected to Congress in a same-sex marriage[23]
Kyrsten Sinema
(born 1976)		 Democratic Arizona January 3, 2013 January 3, 2019 Openly bisexual
First openly bisexual member of Congress
Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from Arizona, becoming the first openly bisexual person elected to either the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives[24]
Mark Takano
(born 1960)		 Democratic California January 3, 2013 Incumbent Openly gay
First openly gay person of color elected to Congress[25]
First openly LGBT Asian American elected to Congress
Angie Craig
(born 1972)		 Democratic Minnesota January 3, 2019 Incumbent Openly lesbian
First non-incumbent LGBT parent elected to Congress[26]
Sharice Davids
(born 1980)		 Democratic Kansas January 3, 2019 Incumbent Openly lesbian[27]
First openly gay woman of color elected to Congress
First openly LGBT Native American elected to Congress
Katie Hill
(born 1987)		 Democratic California January 3, 2019 November 1, 2019 Openly bisexual

Resigned in 2019 amid allegations of improper relationships[28]

Chris Pappas
(born 1980)		 Democratic New Hampshire January 3, 2019 Incumbent Openly gay[29]
Mondaire Jones
(born 1987)		 Democratic New York January 3, 2021 Incumbent First openly gay African-American elected to Congress (along with Ritchie Torres)[30]
Ritchie Torres
(born 1988)		 Democratic New York January 3, 2021 Incumbent First openly gay African-American elected to Congress (along with Mondaire Jones)[30]
First openly gay Latino member of Congress

Former representatives who have come out as LGBTQ
Photo Representative (lifespan) Party State Term start Term end Notes
Michael Huffington (born 1947) Republican California January 3, 1993 January 3, 1995 Came out as bisexual after serving in Congress (1998)[31]
Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from California
Aaron Schock (born 1981) Republican Illinois January 3, 2009 March 31, 2015 Came out as gay in 2020[32]
Resigned due to a scandal over government and campaign funds

Former representatives who were posthumously identified as LGBTQ
Photo Representative (lifespan) Party State Term start Term end Notes
Stewart McKinney (1931–1987) Republican Connecticut January 3, 1971 May 7, 1987 Outed as bisexual in obituary after dying of AIDS while in office in 1987[33][34][35][36][37]
Barbara Jordan (1936–1996) Democratic Texas January 3, 1973 January 3, 1979 Outed in obituary[38]

See also

References
  1. Dylan Stableford; Christopher Wilson (January 3, 2019). "Most diverse Congress in U.S. history arrives for work in Washington". Yahoo News. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. LeBlanc, Paul. "Rep. Katie Hill announces resignation amid allegations of improper relationships with staffers". CNN. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  3. "Tammy Baldwin: Openly gay lawmaker could make history in Wisconsin U.S. Senate race". Chicago Tribune. October 19, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  4. "Kyrsten Sinema Makes History As First Openly Bisexual Person Sworn In To Senate". The Huffington Post. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  5. Wofford, Harris (April 23, 2016). "Finding love again, this time with a man". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2016. Too often, our society seeks to label people by pinning them on the wall – straight, gay or in between. I don't categorize myself based on the gender of those I love. I had a half-century of marriage with a wonderful woman, and now am lucky for a second time to have found happiness.
  6. Bauman, Robert (August 1986). The Gentleman from Maryland: The Conscience of a Gay Conservative. Arbor House. ISBN 978-0877956860.
  7. "Housecleaning". Time. July 25, 1983.
  8. "Jon Hinson, 53, Congressman And Then Gay-Rights Advocate". The New York Times. July 26, 1995. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  9. O'Keefe, Ed (December 3, 2012). "When Barney Frank announced he was 'coming out of the room' (er... the closet)". The Washington Post.
  10. "DC's Most Influential Gay Couple Calls It Quits". The Tuscaloosa News. July 3, 1998. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  11. Bergling, Tim (May 11, 2004). "Closeted in the capital: they're powerful, Republican, and gay. Will the marriage battle finally get them to come out to their bosses?". The Advocate. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  12. Bierbauer, Charles (November 28, 1997). "Gunderson Leaves 'Increasingly Polarized' House". CNN. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  13. Dunlap, David W. (August 3, 1996). "A Republican Congressman Discloses He Is a Homosexual". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  14. Campbell, Julia (August 1, 2000). "Openly Gay Congressman Addresses Convention". ABC News.
  15. Eaklor, Vicki Lynn (2008). Queer America: a GLBT history of the 20th century. ABC-CLIO. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-313-33749-9.
  16. "Foley lawyer makes statement". CNN. October 2, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
  17. "Michaud: 'I haven't changed. I'm Mike.'". The Bangor Daily News. November 5, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  18. "Yes, I'm gay, Michaud says. Now let's get our state back on track". Portland Press Herald. November 4, 2013.
  19. Parkinson, John (September 30, 2011). "House Democrat Jared Polis Becomes First Openly Gay Parent in Congress". ABC News. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  20. "Colorado's Jared Polis makes history as gay governor". AP NEWS. January 9, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  21. Musiket, Yanapon (August 28, 2013). "Son of providence". Bangkok Post. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  22. "Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney Marries Longtime Partner". NBC News. June 23, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  23. Times, Jack Craver | The Capital. "Mark Pocan's husband finally recognized as congressional 'spouse'". madison.com. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  24. "Kyrsten Sinema makes history as first bisexual member of U.S. Senate". NBC News. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  25. "13 Questions with Congressman Mark Takano". APAICS. November 10, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  26. "Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig, a former health care executive, is the first lesbian mother to be elected to Congress". WJCT. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  27. Sopelsa, Brooke; Fitzsimons, Tim (November 7, 2018). "Sharice Davids, a lesbian Native American, makes political history in Kansas". NBC News. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  28. North, Anna (October 28, 2019). "Revenge porn, biphobia, and alleged relationships with staffers: The complicated story around Rep. Katie Hill, explained". Vox. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  29. Verhovek, John (November 3, 2018). "New Hampshire could elect its first openly gay congressman". ABC News. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  30. Avery, Dan (November 6, 2020). "Mondaire Jones joins Ritchie Torres as first gay Black men elected to Congress". NBC News. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  31. King, Ryan James (May 22, 2006). "Michael Huffington: The long-awaited Advocate interview". The Advocate. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  32. Coleman, Justin (March 5, 2020). "Former GOP Rep. Aaron Schock comes out as gay". The Hill. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  33. "AIDS Makes Another Chilling Advance, Claiming the Life of a Congressman". People. May 25, 1987. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  34. Houston, Paul (May 8, 1987). "Connecticut's McKinney, GOP Liberal, Dies of AIDS". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  35. Kimmey, Samantha (December 20, 2012). "Rep. Barney Frank Comments on Scalia, Prostitution, Marijuana and More". The Raw Story. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  36. "Congressman Killed by AIDS Led Secret Life, Gay Man Claims". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. August 23, 1989. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  37. May, Clifford D. (May 9, 1987). "Friends Say McKinney Had Homosexual Sex". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  38. "Barbara Jordan · Big Lives: Profiles of LGBT African Americans · OutHistory.org: It's About Time". OutHistory.org. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
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