Will the Supreme Court overturn marriage equality? Barney Frank doesn't think so.

[Behind the Aegis]

Without doubt, former Rep. Barney Frank was one of the savviest politicians ever to serve in Congress. When Frank came out in 1987, then-Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill expressed his sadness; O’Neill had been grooming Frank to become Speaker and knew that in that era, a gay man could never be elected to the position.

Time recently did an interview with the 81-year-old Frank for LGBTQ History Month, and Frank’s recollections and analysis are as trenchant as ever. Here are five key takeaways from the interview.

When Frank was preparing to come out, other LGBTQ rights supporters asked him not to. “A number of my straight colleagues—maybe six or seven, [some of] the most liberal, most supportive of LGBT rights—came to me and said, ‘Please don’t do that,'” Frank recalled. “‘Yes, we want you to have a happy life. But you’re a very effective ally now on a whole range of causes.’”

In essence, they thought being a closeted Congressman would help gay rights more than someone who was out, a window into the warped political calculus of the time.

more...

One more LGBT History moment before the month passes on and another year of occasional glances at our history begins.