In July 1983, Studds became the first national politician in the US to come out as gay, continuing then to serve as a Democratic representative for Massachusetts until retiring in 1996.

Studd was first elected to Congress in 1972, representing a district that took in fishing communities and other coastal areas south of Boston, including Cape Cod. His first victory was an upset, but in the next few elections he built up ever larger majorities. He served constituency interests well, taking advantage of strategic committee assignments.

In Washington, he held to progressive views on a variety of both domestic and international affairs. He was a co-sponsor of a 1975 gay/lesbian civil rights bill, and many other Congressional initiatives on sexual orientation in the years to follow.

Studds was forced to cme out in 1983 by revelations about a brief 1973 affair with a Congressional page, which eventually led to a "censure" by his colleagues. He was not the first member of Congress to have been faced with disclosure of homosexual conduct, but he was the first to confront them by affirming his gayness.

Later that summer, he was cheered by constituents in an annual parade of New Bedford's Portuguese Roman Catholics, and later that autumn re-elected. His long service in the House gave him access to important committee assignments, rhough his standing among colleagues was always semwhat tainted by the circumstances leading his coming out.

In the early 1990s, Studds played a leading role in trying to end the US military's ban on lesbian and gays, forcing the publication of confidential reports favourable to lifting the ban. Though cautious about appearing too frequently to be a tribune for these causes, he was widely respected among activists, especially in Washington, and seen as an indispensable source of advice and assistance on Capitol Hill.

In 1992, he became Chair of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee of the House, and thereby a member of the Democratic leadership , though in 1994, the Republican capture of a legislative majority stripped his party of committee chair positions. In 1996, he announced that he would not seek re-election.