’I’m Gay - But My Politics Aren’t’: Drunk-Driving Calif. State Senator
This is always the way, right? After all the drama, the innuendoes, the anonymous accounts in the blogs, the whisperings among constituents, the admission by a gay peer that he knew along, Roy Ashburn has come out of the closet.
Forced out, actually, is more accurate. Asburn, a term-limited GOP state senator who represents Bakersfield in the California State Senate, was arrested in one of the more sensational (OK, and hilarious) political SNAFUs of recent times. In an era when politicians from the president to two governors of New York, of South Carolina, and many, many more, Asburn's imbroglio was distinguished by his hypocrisy.
Asburn had accumulated one of the most homophobic voting records in the senate. Asburn, who is divorced, is the father of four children. After he was caught driving drunk - while leaving a Sacramento gay bar with another man in tow - the rumors began flying.
The out-gay mayor of West Sacramento said he had known about Ashburn's sexual orientation, while at least one publication was apparently sitting on the story.
And now, at the age of 55, Ashburn has come out at last.
As the AP reports, he made the admission on KERN, a radio station in Bakersfield. "He felt compelled to address rumors that he had visited a gay nightclub near the Capitol before his arrest last week for driving under the influence," AP reported.
If you're expecting Ashburn to become a much-needed voice in the California GOP for gay rights, look elsewhere. Apparently, Asburn's road to Damascus stopped before his conversion.
The blog site Gay Politics reported that Ashburn said he felt it his duty, "and I still feel this way, is to represent my constituents."
Inga Barks, the radio host in the conservative Inland Empire city wanted assurances that meant he would continue to vote anti-gay down the line. She got it.
"I believe firmly that my responsibility is to my constituents," he told her "I will take a careful look at each measure and apply that standard. How would they vote on this? How would they want me to vote on this," adding, Gay Politics wrote, that most people understood what that means.
Ashburn's coming out moment was reminiscent of New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey: "I am gay," he said. "Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long. It is something that is personal, and I don't believe I felt with my heart that being gay would affect how I do my job."
Apparently, it won't.