"The tide has changed. 2012 will go down in history as when being anti-gay puts you in the minority," Sims said during the ceremony. Prior to his campaign, he was a lawyer and board president of Equality Pennsylvania.
Sims is one of two out LGBT lawmakers in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In December, Rep. Mike Fleck, a Republican from Huntingdon County, announced that he was gay.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Sims said that with two gay members, the legislature would have a more difficult time ignoring gay civil rights issues such as discrimination in the workplace and in housing - the focus of legislation he has already introduced - as well as hate crimes and bullying."