Brian Sims

State Representative Brian Sims represents Center City Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ 182nd legislative district. Elected in 2012 after unseating a 28-year incumbent, Sims became the first openly gay member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

A staunch advocate for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) civil rights, Sims has been credited with successfully lobbying U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to publicly support marriage equality and the LGBT-inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), respectively. Sims continues to be a leading advocate for LGBT and women’s rights in the General Assembly while garnering wide attention for his commitment to bipartisanship and collaboration between the Commonwealth’s Democratic and Republican parties.

In November 2013, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy invited Sims to deliver a keynote address at her swearing-in ceremony and participate in a weeklong series of lectures and programs commemorating the 65th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Tokyo, Japan. While in Japan, Sims met with students, advocates, legislators, attorneys, and academics to discuss issues of equality and human rights.

He earned a bachelor of science degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a juris doctor degree in international and comparative law from the Michigan State University College of Law.