Gerry Studds

Gerry Eastman Studds ( /ˈɡɛri/; May 12, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts who served from 1973 until 1997. He was the first openly gay member of Congress in the U.S. In 1983 he was censured by the House of Representatives after he admitted to having had an affair with a 17-year-old page in 1983. Gerry Studds was born in Mineola, New York. He was a descendant of Elbridge Gerry, the governor of Massachusetts who is commemorated in the word 'gerrymander'. He was the son of (Gerry) Eastman Studds (an architect who helped design the FDR Drive in New York City) and his wife, the former Beatrice Murphy. He had a brother, Colin Studds, and a sister, Gaynor Studds (Stewart). He attended Yale...