Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, LGBT Ally, Dies Of Aneurysm At Age 58

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH), a staunch friend of LGBT causes, has died at age 58 of a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm.

The 58-year-old Tubbs Jones was the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress and a strong supporter of LGBT civil rights and a critic of the Iraq war. She was a co-sponsor of H.R. 2015, the fully inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and H.R. 1592, legislation that would expand federal hate crimes protections to include crimes motivated by anti-LGBT bias.

She supported repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the ban on gays serving openly in the military, and was an opponent of amending the Constitution to bar same-sex marriage. Congresswoman Tubbs Jones consistently earned a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard.

“Stephanie repeatedly demonstrated her friendship on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives where she was a boisterous, eloquent and effective voice for equality, voting rights and Democratic values,” said Jon Hoadley, Executive Director, Stonewall Democrats. “Our organization was proud to call her a champion, and so many of our members were blessed to call her a friend,” said Hoadley.

Tubbs-Jones was to have been a superdelegate at the Democratic convention. Initially a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton, she enthusiastically backed Barack Obama once Clinton withdrew. With Arkansas Democratic chair Bill Gwatney, she is the second Democratic superdelegate to die in as many weeks.