His vote for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 prompted a gay-interest magazine to prepare to out him. He later regretted his vote and celebrated coming out.
Jim Kolbe, who for a decade was the only openly gay Republican in Congress, died on Saturday. He was 80.
The death was announced by Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona. The statement did not say where he died or cite a cause.
Mr. Kolbe, who served in the House of Representatives from 1985 until he retired in 2007, represented a politically moderate area of Arizona centered on Tucson, and for the first half of his tenure he was known mainly as a low-key fiscal conservative. He served as a lead negotiator in the House while working on the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.
Following his vote in July 1996 for passage of the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage and permitted states not to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, Mr. Kolbe (pronounced KOHL-bee) caught wind of the fact that The Advocate, a magazine for gay readers, planned to publish a story saying that he was a closeted homosexual.
A few weeks later, shortly before the article appeared, Mr. Kolbe beat them to it. “That I am a gay person has never affected the way I legislate,” he said in a statement. “The fact that I am gay has never, nor will it ever, change my commitment to represent all the people of Arizona’s Fifth District.”
He defended his vote on the Defense of Marriage Act in an interview with The Tucson Citizen, saying that as a conservative, he believed individual states should be allowed to determine their laws surrounding same-sex marriage.
Mr. Kolbe faced re-election just months later. Posters appeared in his district at the time reading “KOLBE RAPED A BOY” and “KOLBE: I HAVE AIDS,” The Advocate reported in a 2004 profile. Yet he won, with 68 percent of the vote. Mr. Gunderson retired in 1997, leaving Mr. Kolbe the only openly gay person in his congressional caucus.
At the 2000 Republican National Convention, Mr. Kolbe received a prime-time speaking slot, which The Advocate said was a first for an openly gay Republican.
He spoke about free trade, a central principle in his political career, and avoided the subject of sexuality. Nevertheless, to register their disapproval, delegates from Texas took off their straw cowboy hats, closed their eyes and bowed their heads in prayer. One man held a sign reading, “There is a way out.”
Over time, Mr. Kolbe took on a more active role in gay issues. In what The Advocate labeled a series of “quiet fights,” he promoted legislation to combat hate crimes and supported measures to halt discrimination in employment.
Christopher Barron, the former political director of the Log Cabin Republicans, told The Advocate that Mr. Kolbe was the “epitome” of what Republicanism meant to the organization.