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Banner file photo
Gerry Studds |
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A loss felt fathoms deep
Former Congressman Gerry Studds dies at 69
Banner Staff
He was a tireless champion of the ocean and of New England fishermen. He was also the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Congress. And when he died early Saturday morning, this region, a pall over its collective heart, felt the loss of a passionate and devoted advocate.
Former Congressman Gerry E. Studds, a one-time Provincetown resident, died Oct. 14 at Boston University Medical Center. He had been hospitalized after sustaining head injuries from an accident while walking his beloved English springer spaniel, Bonnie. He was 69.
For 12 Congressional terms, Studds represented Cape Cod and the Islands and the South Shore (12th District 1973-83, 10th District 1983-97). He was known for his accessibility to constituents and his effective advocacy of their concerns, notably in matters of the environment, health care, fishing and maritime issues.
Studds was respected on both sides of the aisle for his bipartisan approach to securing enactment of legislation protecting the nation’s environment and maritime resources. In 1996 Congress named the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary after him in recognition of his life-long contributions to the marine environment.
He was a ranking member of the House Democratic leadership and served as chair of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. He also served as chair of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navigation, as chair of the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Oceans and Wildlife, and as a member of the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance, and the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs.
He was the major sponsor of the original Magnuson Act of 1973, which helped preserve the U.S. fishing industry by extending U.S. fishing jurisdiction to 200 miles. He also authored the National Marine Sanctuaries Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 1992, and his leadership on the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act, known commonly as the "Studds Act," led to the recovery of the striped bass fishery.
Studds also worked successfully to pass the Marine Mammal Protection Act which made it illegal to "harass, hunt, capture or kill," any marine mammal or to commit any “negligent or intentional act which results in the disturbing or molesting of marine mammals.”
He fought to limit the drilling of oil in Georges Bank, a prime fishing area, and was a champion of the U.S. Coast Guard, fighting to safeguard its financing in times of budget cuts.
He also played a leading role in Congress advocating for compassionate care and treatment for people with AIDS and for increased funding of AIDS research in the earliest years of the worldwide pandemic.
Gerry Eastman Studds was born on May 12, 1937, in Mineola, N.Y. to Eastman and Beatrice Studds and grew up in Cohasset, Mass., a part of the district that he would later represent.
Studds attended Yale University, from which he received a bachelor's degree in history in 1959 and a master's in 1961. He served from 1961-1962 as a foreign service officer in the State Department, and from 1962-1963 as an assistant in the Kennedy White House. In 1964 he served as legislative assistant to Sen. Harrison A. Williams Jr. (D-NJ), after which he became a teacher at St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H.
In 1968, Studds served as New Hampshire state coordinator for Sen. Eugene McCarthy’s presidential primary campaign, organizing McCarthy’s upset victory over President Johnson in that primary and going on to serve as a delegate to the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
He made his first run for Congress in 1970 at the age of 33, but lost to the incumbent Republican, Hastings Keith, in a close election. In preparation for the next campaign, Studds learned to speak Portuguese, the language of a sizable community in the district, and also studied issues related to fishing, an important industry in the area.
In his second bid for Congress in 1972, Studds was successful, becoming the first Democrat in 50 years to win what was considered a safe Republican seat. Studds held his Congressional seat for 24 years, retiring in 1996.
Studds faced controversy in 1983 when a 27-year-old former page revealed that he had had a sexual relationship with the congressman some 10 years earlier. During the course of the House Ethics Committee's investigation, Studds became the first national politician and member of Congress to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, Studds was censured by the House of Representatives in July 1983.
Despite the House censure, Studds handily won reelection in 1984, making him the first openly gay member of Congress and the first gay member of Congress to be reelected in the nation’s history.
Studds continued to champion environmental and maritime issues and called for a stronger federal response to the AIDS crisis. He was among the first members of Congress to endorse lifting the ban on gay men and lesbians in the military. In 1994, Studds and Sen. Ted Kennedy introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, designed to end discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation.
In 1996, not long before he retired from Congress, he gave an impassioned speech on the House floor opposing the Defense of Marriage Act, which barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage and gave states the same authority.
Studds and his husband and partner, Dean T. Hara, were among the first same-sex couples to be legally married in Massachusetts.They were married on May 24, 2004, one week after same-sex marriages became legal.
In a statement released Monday, Hara said, “Gerry often said that it was the fight for gay and lesbian equality that was the last great civil rights chapter in modern American history. He did not live to see its final sentences written, but all of us will forever be indebted to him for leading the way with compassion and wisdom. He gave people of his generation, of my generation, and of future generations the courage to be who they are.” He added, “I always will be grateful to Gerry for the life we had together. We truly were blessed to have what every married couple hopes for: to spend our days with the person we love.”
After retiring from Congress in 1997, Studds remained involved in marine issues and served as a consultant on fisheries issues and ocean outreach.
Studds love of the sea was an essential part of his nature. He moved to the waterfront in Provincetown in the early 1970s, He was an accomplished sailor and fisherman, often angling for the striped bass he had helped to preserve. He named his small boat “Bacalau,” a Portuguese word for “cod.” In 2002 he and Hara sold their home on the Cape and moved permanently to Boston.
In addition to his husband, Studds is survived by his brother and sister-in-law Colin and Mary Lou Studds of Cohasset, his sister, Gaynor Stewart of Buffalo, N.Y., four nephews, Colin and Tyler Studds, Andrew Babcock, and Kingsley Williams, and Bonnie, his English springer spaniel.
Funeral arrangements are still being made.
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Oct 19th, 2006