In a banner election for marriage equality advocates, Brian Sims' milestone victory may get overlooked. But that doesn't make it any less impressive.
Sims, a Philadelphia lawyer and former captain of the football team at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, became the first openly gay person to be elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday.
A Democrat from the state's 182nd district, Sims won a hard-fought primary in April against incumbent Babette Josephs. He was uncontested in Tuesday's general election.
In a recent interview, Sims discussed a number of topics relating to marriage equality, including his background as a gay varsity athlete and the repeal of the controversial legislation "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"The truth is, it was great...I didn't play for a Big 10 school, I played for what my coaches would say was a hard-nosed, tough Pennsylvania football team with guys from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A very working class football team. And you know what? They were great. They had spent years playing alongside me, had the oportunity to sort of test my mettle and see where I stood on a whole bunch of issues, so when the time came to for them to have to stand up for me, they were ready to do so."
Sims, a defensive tackle, helped Bloomsburg reach the NCAA Division II national championship game in 2000.
