The liberal icon and former Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Barney Frank has died at his home, according to a close friend who confirmed his death to NPR member station WBUR in Boston.
Frank was 86 and had been receiving hospice care for congestive heart failure.
He was the first gay member of congress to come out publicly, which he did in 1987.
Frank told NPR's Fresh Air in 2015 that he had supported efforts to fight all forms of discrimination, especially against the LGBTQ community, for years:
"Throughout the 70s, I became more and more an active and prominent leader on gay rights and I was increasingly depressed by the disparity between my advocating the rights for everybody else and then denying myself…any chance to participate in it."
This story was taken from an audio report by NPR's Korva Coleman.
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