The Black Vault

Rep. Barney Frank to Marry Partner Jim Ready

The spokesperson for Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said today that Frank would marry his longtime partner, Jim Ready, 42, a first in national American politics.

In 2008, The Hill reported that Ready wore Frank's Congressional Spouse lapel pin. Ready and Frank have been together since the spring of 2007. They plan to hold the ceremony in Massachusetts.

Ready lives in Ogunquit, Maine and owns a small business doing handyman services.

Frank is one of seven self-identified LGBT representatives in the history of Congress.

Frank, 71, announced in November that he intends to retire from Congress at the end of his term in 2013.

Yesterday we took a look at the headway supporters of same-sex marriage had made in one state and the ground they lost in another. The battle over laws supporting same-sex couples and whether they should be able to marry continues to be a divisive issue on the local level. Ron Paul is the only one of the four top Republican presidential candidate who does not support a constitutional amendment to ban such marriages.