Rep. Tom Lantos,
the only survivor of the Holocaust to serve in Congress
and the founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus,
died Monday in Maryland of cancer of the esophagus. He
was 80 years old.
Lantos, a
California Democrat, was a congressional ally for LGBT
voters, as he voted against a measure that would have
amended the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage
and even stumped for marriage equality for gay and
lesbian couples. He also campaigned to allow adoption
for LGBT couples and supported hate-crimes legislation
and antidiscrimination employment protections.
Human Rights
Campaign president Joe Solmonese released a statement
following the congressman's death at the National Naval
Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. "Congressman Lantos
will be remembered as a tremendous advocate for all
people, including the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender community," he said. "As the only survivor of
the Holocaust to serve in Congress, he had a deep
understanding of the consequences of hatred and
discrimination."
U.S. House
speaker Nancy Pelosi and Lantos both worked closely, as they
represented different districts in San Francisco. "The
passing of Tom Lantos is a profound loss for the
Congress and for the nation and a terrible loss for me
personally," Pelosi said in a statement.
Lantos was the
chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He was born in
Budapest in 1928 and was 16 when the Nazis occupied Hungary.
He was sent to a labor camp and escaped twice,
eventually going to a safe house run by Swedish
diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Lantos eventually came to the
United States in 1947 on a scholarship to study
economics. He taught at San Francisco State University
before winning a congressional seat in 1980. (The
Advocate)