Jim Kolbe, a Republican congressman who served in a heavily Democratic district in Arizona for more than two decades and was an outspoken supporter of gay rights, died from a stroke on December 3, 2022, at the age of 80
Kolbe died on Saturday, according to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. Flags will be lowered until sunset on Sunday, December 4 2022, according to Ducey.
Matt Gress, who was recently elected to the Arizona Legislature, called Kolbe a political pioneer.
“Today, because of Jim Kolbe, being a member of the LGBT community and serving in elected office has become irrelevant,” he said in a statement.
Kolbe was a member of the Arizona Legislature before being elected to Congress in 1984, where he frequently clashed with other Republicans over his support for free trade and an immigrant guest worker program.
He came out as gay reluctantly in 1996, after learning that a national publication planned to out him for voting against federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Kolbe served on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations under Democratic President Barack Obama after leaving Congress.