Brian R. McNaught was born on January 28, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Marquette University in 1970.

In the 1970s, McNaught served as president of the Detroit chapter of Dignity, a national organization of Catholic gays and lesbians. In 1974, when it was revealed that McNaught was a member of Dignity, the column he wrote for The Michigan Catholic, the newspaper of the Detroit archdiocese, was discontinued. He continued to work as a reporter for the newspaper, but was eventually fired.

McNaught turned his focus to sex education and research on homosexuality, and he was certified as a sex counselor by the American Association of Sex Educators in 1980. He became a syndicated columnist and writer for gay newspapers throughout the United States, and became a spokesperson on gay and lesbian rights, particularly in relation to the Catholic Church. He developed LGBT diversity workshops for corporations, and as of 2014 he continues to work as a spokesperson, writer, and consultant on LGBT issues, sex education, and AIDS awareness.

As of 2014, he lives with his partner, Ray Struble, and the two divide their time between Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Source: Guide to the Brian R. McNaught papers, circa 1970-2004, Collection #7590, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library. Accessed at http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM07590.html (October 8, 2014)

LaReau, Renee. "One-time Catholic columnist now pioneer for gays in workplace." National Catholic Reporter, October 21, 2005. Accessed at http://www.brian-mcnaught.com/pdfs/nationalcatholicreporter.pdf (October 8, 2014)