Rep. Barney Frank, partner get engaged

WASHINGTON -- Retiring Rep. Barney Frank, a gay pioneer in Congress, said Thursday that he would marry his longtime partner, Jim Ready.

Frank spokesman Harry Gural said the liberal Massachusetts Democrat's wedding would be in his home state, but that no date had been set.

Ready, 42, lives in Ogunquit, Maine. He has a small business doing custom awnings, carpentry, painting, welding and other general handyman services, Gural said. Ready is also a photographer.

The two men have been together since spring 2007.

Frank was attending a retreat Thursday with other House Democrats on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

During an appearance on PBS' "The Charlie Rose Show" earlier this month, Frank said he was looking forward to leaving Congress and spending time with Ready.

"Look, I have a partner now, Jim Ready; I have an emotional attachment. I'm in love for the first time in my life," Frank said on the show.

Gay rights supporters saluted Frank's engagement but noted that because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, Ready would not enjoy the same rights as other spouses.

DOMA blocks the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions and says states that don't have such marriages don't have to recognize marriages performed in states that do.

Frank, 71, won his House seat in 1980 and was one of the first lawmakers to come out of the closet.-- AP