Brian Kendall Sims (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician, activist and attorney. 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. 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. Early life and education 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. Sims lived in seventeen states before settling in Pennsylvania in the early-1990s. He graduated from Downingtown High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, in 1997. He later completed his undergraduate studies at Bloomsburg University, in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in 2001. 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. In 2004, Sims earned a Juris Doctor in international and comparative law at the Michigan State University College of Law. 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. Career 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 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. Pennsylvania House of Representatives