Jon Hinson

Jon Clifton Hinson (March 16, 1942 – July 21, 1995) was a politician from the state of Mississippi.

Hinson was born in Tylertown, Mississippi and he graduated from the University of Mississippi. Hinson was an aide to Representatives Charles Griffin and Thad Cochran. Hinson was elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican in 1978.

During his re-election campaign in 1980, Hinson admitted that he had been arrested for committing an obscene act at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Hinson also admitted surviving a fire in a Washington D.C. theater which had catered to gay customers. Hinson denied he was homosexual and refused to yield to demands that he resign. He won re-election with 39% of the vote due to an independent candidate splitting the Democrat vote.

Hinson was arrested on February 4, 1981 and he was charged with oral sodomy for performing oral sex on another male in the restroom of the House of Representatives. Hinson resigned from Congress on April 13, 1981. Soon afterwards, he admitted that he was homosexual and he became an activist. Hinson died from AIDS in Silver Spring, Maryland.