Former Rep. Gerry Studds dies in Boston
Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:59 PM ET
By Scott Malone
BOSTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, a Massachusetts Democrat who was censured in 1983 for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old congressional intern, died on Saturday at Boston Medical Center, an official said.
Christian Kiriakos, the hospital's central administrator, said Studds, 69, died Saturday morning, but did not provide details on the cause of his death.
Studds was the first member of the U.S. Congress to acknowledge he was gay.
When he was censured by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1983 for his relationship with the male page, Studds stood defiantly on the floor with his back turned to his fellow lawmakers as the charges against him were read.
Interns, formally known as congressional pages, are high school students who work on Capitol Hill as junior assistants to federal lawmakers.
Following the scandal, Studds, whose district included the Cape Cod beach resort, was re-elected numerous times. He served 12 terms before retiring in 1997.
"Gerry was a stalwart champion of New England's fishing families as well as a committed environmentalist who worked hard to demonstrate that the cause of working people and the cause of the environment go hand-in-hand with the right leadership," Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry said.
"Gerry was also an inspiration to huge numbers of gay and lesbian Americans across our country to be open, honest and proud of who they are."
Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, with the first such marriages taking place in 2004. Studds married his partner Dean Hara that year, according to local media reports.
"Gerry Studds was really a pioneer in being the first openly gay member of Congress," said Marc Solomon, campaign director for MassEquality, a state gay marriage advocacy group. "As the first openly gay member of Congress he increased the visibility for gays and lesbians."
The Studds page scandal has been compared to one involving former Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican who resigned last month amid news accounts of lurid Internet communications sent to former pages.
(Additional reporting by Donna Smith in Washington) |
