Updated 2:28 p.m. ET

Rep. Barney Frank, the most prominent gay member of Congress, is getting married.

The Democrat, who is retiring from the House at the end of this term, will marry his partner, Jim Ready, in a Massachusetts ceremony. No date has been scheduled and no other details were provided.

Frank's spokesman, Harry Gural, confirmed the news to USA TODAY. It was first reported by New England Cable News.

Frank, 71, and Ready, 42, have been together since spring of 2007. The congressman told The New York Times in an interview after he announced his retirement that he wanted to spend more time with Ready, a photographer who also owns a business doing custom awnings, carpentry, painting, welding and other handyman services.

In 2007, Ready made headlines when he was arrested for growing marijuana in the backyard of his Maine home. Frank acknowledged in 2009 that he was present at the time of Ready's arrest. The Boston Globe reported Ready pleaded guilty to civil possession of marijuana, and the charge was later dropped.

Frank, a liberal firebrand known for his quick wit, was first elected to the House in 1980. As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank co-authored the most sweeping changes to banking industry regulations since the Great Depression.

That law, known as Dodd-Frank, has been widely criticized by Republicans in Congress and the GOP candidates running for president. (The other co-author, Chris Dodd of Connecticut, retired from the U.S. Senate after the 2010 election.)

Frank caught the political world by surprise in November when he announced he would retire after 16 terms in Congress. The decision was brought on by redistricting, as more than 325,000 new constituents were moved into Frank's Massachusetts district through reapportionment.

The are four openly gay members of Congress, all Democrats: Frank and Reps. Jared Polis of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

Same-sex marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

(Contributing: Susan Davis)