Influential gay Democrat Barney Frank dies at age 86

Barney Frank, the powerful former Massachusetts congressman who left his imposing stamp on the nation's financial system, has died at age 86, according to family.

Frank was the first member of Congress to be openly gay, and he used his platform to push the Democratic Party to the left on LGBTQ+ issues before the term "LGBTQ+" even existed.

'Most Democrats agree with me,' said Frank. 'But they’ve been intimidated out of saying so.'

After the great global financial meltdown in 2008, Frank was the architect of new regulations on the banking industry to limit its financial risk and prevent future implosions. The Dodd-Frank financial reform bill bears his name as well as the name of former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

That bill also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was pushed by Elizabeth Warren before she ran for the U.S. Senate. The agency purports to protect consumers but has been criticized by Republicans for supporting liberal policies.

Frank was an icon in LGBTQ+ circles for coming out as gay in 1987 at a time when the homosexual community was being besieged by the AIDS epidemic. He said he regretted not coming out earlier.

In 2012, he also became the first sitting member of Congress to be in a same-sex marriage.

In his later years, he used his prominent influence to push the Democratic Party against extremist positions into more centrist policies. His final book, "The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy," opposes the current Democratic "vote-repelling platform" that includes open borders, defunding the police, and the "rule of the pronoun police," surprisingly.

"I know most Democrats agree with me," Frank said in a recent interview via Zoom with the Atlantic. "But they’ve been intimidated out of saying so."

The book is scheduled to be released in September.

Frank was an outspoken and cunning thorn in the side of his Republican political opponents.

Many Democratic figures are paying their respects to Frank after his passing.

"Barney Frank was an exceptional legislator, whose name is synonymous with the strongest consumer financial protections in history and whose advocacy helped forge a fairer future for all of our children," said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Working families in Massachusetts and beyond lost an iconic champion today."

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"In the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Barney Frank was the gravelly-voiced, smart-as-a-whip congressman who fought hard to get the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the finish line," wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

"His one-liners were wicked and wickedly funny. Barney delivered for working people, and the world is a poorer place without him," she added.

Frank's sister confirmed to CNN that he died.

"He was a wonderful brother. I was lucky to be his sister. I will miss him," she said.

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