Brian Sims

Brian Kendall Sims (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician, activist and attorney.

Sims lived in seventeen states before settling in Pennsylvania in the early-1990s.

He graduated from Downingtown High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, in 1997.

In 2000, Sims was the co-captain of the Bloomsburg University football team, and was recognized as a scholar athlete.

During the 2000 season, the longest season in the Division II school's history, Sims came out as gay to his teammates.

In doing so, the regional All-American and team captain became the only openly gay college football captain in NCAA history.

He later completed his undergraduate studies at Bloomsburg University, in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in 2001.

In 2004, Sims earned a Juris Doctor in international and comparative law at the Michigan State University College of Law.

In 2009, Sims joined the faculty of the Center for Progressive Leadership and the National Campaign Board of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

He was selected as one of the Top 40 LGBT Attorneys Under 40 in the United States by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2010.

Before assuming public office, Sims served as staff counsel for policy and planning at the Philadelphia Bar Association.

During his time at the Bar Association, Sims worked with attorneys, legislators and community organizations on issues ranging from gender and pay inequity to environmental regulation.

Sims worked as the president of Equality Pennsylvania and the chairman of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia (GALLOP), until he stepped down from both positions in 2011.

In 2011, Sims announced his intention to run for representative of the 182nd Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Sims defeated Babette Josephs, a 28-year incumbent, in the 2012 Democratic primary.

He did not face a Republican challenger in the November general election and was elected.

Sims was the first openly gay person elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

A Democrat, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 182nd district from 2013 until 2022.

Sims is also a lawyer and advocate for LGBT civil rights.

Sims is the first openly gay elected state legislator in Pennsylvania history.

In 2013, Sims completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.

Although he was not sworn in until January 1, 2013, because Pennsylvania state representatives' term of service and legislative duties officially begin on the first day of December following their election, Sims shares the designation of being its first openly gay member with Rep. Mike Fleck (R–Huntingdon), who came out in a newspaper article published later that day.

In June 2013, after the Defense of Marriage Act had been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, Sims tried to make a speech in the Pennsylvania House supporting the decision, but was blocked by Daryl Metcalfe, among others, who called Sims' comments "open rebellion against God's law."

Sims made national news on October 3, 2013, when he and fellow Democratic Rep. Steve McCarter introduced legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania.

Sims has also introduced a bill with fellow Democratic State Representative Erin Molchany to help reduce and eliminate the gender gap in rate of pay as well as legislation to ban the practice of conversion therapy with Rep. Gerald Mullery.

Sims has also made efforts to work with federal legislators on issues of LGBT civil rights.

On March 28, 2013, Sims penned an open letter to U.S. Senator and fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey Jr.. urging him to come out publicly in support of same-sex marriage.

This, combined with many other calls, ultimately resulted in the senator voicing his support for the measure.

Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) also chose to vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the U.S. Senate after Sims and a number of other activists wrote to him on the matter.

On November 11, 2013, Sims teamed with Republican State Representative Bryan Cutler to introduce a bill to replace Pennsylvania's system of electing judges with a merit-based system, which did not receive debate in the PA House.

Sims served on the House Commerce, Game and Fish, Human Services, State Government, and Tourism and Recreation Committees.

Sims served as Democratic Chair of the Human Services Subcommittee on Mental Health.

Sims has served as the prime sponsor of 68 bills or resolutions, of these, one bill has progressed to be debated on the house floor, and nine resolutions have been passed.

After The New York Times tweeted a cartoon portraying U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin as a gay couple, Sims characterized the joke as homophobic.

He won re-election on November 6, 2018.

He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in 2022, finishing in second place behind Austin Davis with 25% of the vote.

Since leaving public office in 2022, Sims has served as the Managing Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Out Leadership.

In 2023, he joined the Board of Trustees of the Tyler Clementi Foundation.

Sims was born in Washington, D.C., the son of two Army lieutenant colonels of Irish descent.

Sims was raised in the Catholic Church but stopped attending church at the age of 16.