Massachusetts's Maura Healey on Becoming the First Lesbian Governor
Massachusetts has a history of leading when it comes to electing “first of” LGBTQ+ politicians and policy. Governor-elect Maura Healey is no exception as a queer trailblazer herself.
Congressman Gerry Studds became the first out member of Congress when he was forced to reveal his gayness in 1983 after it was revealed he'd had "a relationship" with a 17-year-old male page.
He was censored by Congress while the teen appeared in support of Studds afterward. In May 1987, Congressman Barney Frank became the second out member of Congress — and the first to voluntarily come out.
Both were continually reelected by their constituents in Massachusetts, with Frank rising to the chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee, where he helped pass landmark financial legislation, including the Dodd-Frank Act that overhauled financial regulation in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2008.Besides reelecting Studds and Frank, Massachusetts in 2004 became the first state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage, as a result of a court decision the previous year.In 2014, Maura Healey was elected the state’s attorney general.
