Jon Hinson
| Jon Hinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 4th district | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – April 13, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Thad Cochran |
| Succeeded by | Wayne Dowdy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 16, 1942 Tylertown, Walthall County Mississippi, USA |
| Died | July 21, 1995 (aged 53) Silver Spring, Maryland |
| Resting place | Cremation |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Cynthia Hinson (divorced) |
| Children | No children |
| Alma mater | University of Mississippi |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps Reserves |
Jon Clifton Hinson (March 16, 1942 – July 21, 1995) was a politician from the U.S. state of Mississippi.
Early life
Born in Tylertown in Walthall County in southwestern Mississippi, Hinson graduated from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. He was an aide to Representatives Charles H. Griffin, a Democrat, and Thad Cochran, a Republican.
Career
In 1978, Representative Cochran did not seek a fourth term in the House but was elected instead to the United States Senate. Hinson was elected to succeed his boss, winning with 51.6 percent of the vote. Democrat John Hampton Stennis, the son of U.S. Senator John C. Stennis, polled 26.4 percent of the vote, and the remaining ballots were cast for independent candidates.
Controversy
During his re-election campaign in 1980, Hinson admitted that in 1976, while an aide to Cochran, he had been arrested for committing an obscene act,[1] exposing himself to an undercover policeman at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Hinson denied that he was homosexual and blamed his problems on alcoholism. He said that he had reformed and refused to yield to demands that he resign. He won re-election with 38.97 percent of the vote. Independent Leslie B. McLemore polled 29.8 percent, and Democrat Britt Singletary received 29.4 percent.
Hinson was again arrested on February 5, 1981, and charged with attempted sodomy[2] for performing oral sex on an African-American male employee of the Library of Congress in a restroom of the House of Representatives. He was later charged with sodomy. At the time, the charge was a felony that could have resulted in up to ten years in prison as well as fines of up to $10,000. Since both parties were consenting adults, the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor by the United States Attorney's office. Facing a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $1,000 fine, Hinson pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted sodomy the following day and was released without bail pending a trial scheduled for May 4, 1981. Soon thereafter, he checked himself into a Washington, D.C.-area hospital for treatment.[3]
Resignation and later life
He resigned on April 13, 1981, early in his second term. He said that his resignation had been "the most painful and difficult decision of my life." He was succeeded in Congress by Wayne Dowdy, a Democrat, who won the special election held in the summer of 1981.
Soon afterwards, he acknowledged that he was homosexual and became an activist for gay rights.
He later helped to organize the lobbying group "Virginians for Justice" and fought against the ban on gays in the military. He also was a founding member of the Fairfax Lesbian and Gay Citizens Association in Fairfax County.
He never returned to Mississippi but lived quietly in the Washington area, first in Alexandria, Virginia, and then Silver Spring, Maryland.
Hinson also disclosed that he survived a 1977 fire that killed nine people at the Cinema Follies, a Washington theater that catered to a gay clientele. He was rescued from under a pile of bodies—one of only four men who survived.
Death
Hinson died of respiratory failure resulting from AIDS in Silver Spring at the age of 53.
Hinson's body was cremated, and the ashes were buried in his native Tylertown, Mississippi, after a private service. By then divorced from his wife, Cynthia, Hinson was survived by a brother, Robert Hinson of Gulfport, Mississippi.
References
- ↑ Associated Press
- ↑ "The New York Times". Select.nytimes.com. 1981-02-05. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
- ↑ AP (1981-02-06). "Associated Press via The". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
- "Hinson, Facing a Morals Charge, Shuns Clamor to Quit Congress," New York Times, March 9, 1981, A18; AP, "Jon Hinson Dies at 53," July 25, 1995; Art Harris, "Hinson's Memory Haunts His Mississippi District," Washington Post, June 17, 1981.
External links
- Jon Hinson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Jon Hinson at Find A Grave
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thad Cochran |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 4th congressional district January 3, 1979 – April 13, 1981 |
Succeeded by Wayne Dowdy |