Seventy-two-year-old Congressman Barney Frank is a newlywed.
Frank, the first openly gay sitting member of Congress, married his longtime partner Jim Ready, 42, in Newton, Massachusetts, on Saturday in a ceremony officiated by Governor Deval L. Patrick. The couple exchanged vows in a short ceremony in front of 300 guests.
Frank has no plans to run for his seat again and plans to retire after his term is up. Ready is the owner of a business that specializes in welding, painting, carpentry and other home improvement. The pair met in 2005 at a fundraising event. Ready was at the fundraiser with his then-partner, Robert Palmer, who knew Frank and was seriously ill and dying. Ready thinks Palmer had a motive behind bringing him to the event. “He wanted someone to be there for me,” Ready said. “He was looking for somebody to look out for me when he was gone.” Palmer died in 2007.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi believes this union is groundbreaking. “It’s about expanding freedom,” she said. “This opportunity was a long time coming.”
