Gay congressman optimistic

When U.S. Rep. Barney Frank graduated from high school, he didn't believe he could have a political career because he was Jewish.

But Frank, D-Mass., who has been a congressman since 1981, said he has seen anti-Semitism disintegrate over the years.

Frank, the nation's only openly gay congressman, told a gathering of Utah Stonewall Democrats on Friday that he's equally optimistic about the future for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights.

In fact, Frank said, if you'd asked him at any time over the last 34 years what the status of gays and lesbians would be today, "I would have been too pessimistic."

Frank spoke to about 200 people who attended the Democratic gay and lesbian advocacy caucus' first such fund-raiser at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Frank said, in general, Democrats do better on gay and lesbian issues than do Republicans. But he noted that's not always the case, pointing to Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who supported a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Utah is among states where voters have approved a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of "a man and a woman."

But, Frank said, after he came out publicly in 1987, polling revealed that 44 percent thought his sexual orientation would hurt his re-election chances — however, only 21 percent said they'd be less likely to vote for him.

"Twice as many people thought it would hurt me politically than were themselves upset," Frank said. "What they were saying is, 'I can handle it, but the other guy can't.' "

That, Frank said, translates into: "Americans are not as homophobic as they thought they are supposed to be."

Frank said the arguments he's heard against gay and lesbian rights are the same as those he's heard on other issues, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Voting Rights Act.

He said arguments such as protecting kids from recruiting in schools, the Defense of Marriage Act, or even "we don't want to give away special rights" are "dishonest arguments."

Frank pointed to his own state, where same-sex marriage was legalized by court order two years ago. He acknowledged that at the time, Massachusetts voters likely would have voted against allowing same-sex marriage, but now, "it's a non-issue."

"Every time we seek to pass legislation to end discrimination against any group of people, we're told it's going to cause chaos," Frank said.

But, he said, same-sex marriage isn't causing chaos in Massachusetts. In fact, "it bored the hell out of everybody."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com