movieguy Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Gay Congressman Implicated In First Page Scandal Dies by The Associated Press October 14, 2006 - 11:00 am ET (Boston. Massachusetts) Former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay person elected to Congress, died early Saturday at Boston Medical Center, several days after he was admitted after collapsing while walking his dog, his husband said. Studds' fell unconscious on Oct. 3 because of what doctors later determined was a blood clot in his lung, his husband, Dean Hara, said. Studds regained consciousness, remained in the hospital, and seemed to be improving. He was scheduled to be transferred to a rehabilitation center, but his condition deteriorated on Friday and he died at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, Hara said. Hara, who married Studds shortly after gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004, said Studds was a pioneer who gave courage to gay people everywhere by winning re-election after publicly acknowledging his homosexuality. "He gave people of his generation, or my generation, of future generations, the courage to do whatever they wanted to do," he said. Studds was first elected in 1972 and represented Cape Cod and the Islands, New Bedford, and the South Shore for 12 Congressional terms. He retired from Congress in 1997. In 1983, Studds acknowledged his homosexuality after a former Congressional page revealed he'd had a relationship with Studds a decade earlier. ©365Gay.com 2006 links Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.