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)
