Connecticut State Rep. Jason Bartlett publicly came out today during a meeting with The News-Times. The announcement makes Bartlett the state’s first and only openly LGBT African American state legislator.

Gordon Fox, the Rhode Island state House of Representatives’ Majority Leader, came out in 2004 — making him the nation’s first black gay state legislator.

Bartlett, a Democrat, claims that he has been open about his sexuality with his family, but decided that now was the right time to make it public.

“For me the decision came down to why not now,” he told the paper. “To me this is about having a conversation with my larger family – the people of Greater Danbury who voted for me.”

Bartlett said rumors about his sexual orientation had circulated during past political campaigns.