Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., one of the first openly gay congressmen, says he will marry his longtime partner, Jim Ready.

Marriage between homosexuals is legal in Franks' home state of Massachusetts. No date for the wedding has been set.

Earlier this month, Frank said on PBS's "The Charlie Rose Show" that was looking forward to his retirement from Congress and spending time with Ready.

"Look, I have a partner now, Jim Ready; I have an emotional attachment. I`m in love for the first time in my life," Frank said on the show.

Frank, 71, announced last November that he would not seek reelection this year. He said he was retiring because his Massachusetts district has changed so much he would have to spend too much time campaigning for re-election.

The congressman first won his house seat in 1980 and represents the state's 4th district, which stretches from the upscale Boston suburbs of Newton and Brookline to the working-class cities of New Bedford and Taunton in southeastern Massachusetts.