Calif state senator (R) says he's gay after DUI arres

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Republican state Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield says he is gay.

The conservative lawmaker came out Monday on KERN radio in Bakersfield, saying 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.

The 55-year-old father of four says he broke the law, putting people at risk, so he owes the public an explanation.

Ashburn has consistently voted against gay rights measures since he was elected to the state Assembly in 1996.

He has said those votes reflected the way constituents in his district wanted him to vote."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...yOX4wD9EALBO02

Hmm...where, exactly, is the hypocrisy in voting the way the people who elected him wanted him to vote??

He's gay, but he was doing EXACTLY what he was elected ( by the people who voted Republican ) to do.

It would be MUCH different if he voted FOR every " gay rights " measure put in front of him because of his being gay, even though he is a Republican.

It's obvious...he's gay and should have not lied about it...then again our "values" society sect promotes the supression of people being who they really are. There's nothing wrong with being gay but to run for office on an agenda of supressing civil rights while being one who'd be discriminated against is pathetic.

Also as a father of 5 he took a vow in a church when he got married to be faithful yet...so no, he's a hypocrite...absolute hypopublican, a liar and a drunk. Poor spin yo....

Being a liar, hypocrite, and drunk are standard fare for both parties!

Politicians have never been well known for having high moral standards.

Egads...yet again we hear this "they're all crooked" so as to deny who the majority criminals were that hijacked this country and ran it into the ground....and still trying. The GOP is no longer conservative...or moral. We've had this argument, for every DEM or IND anyone puts up I can 10 fold it.

"Whatever else Washington, D.C. stands for, it certainly stands as the center for mixing sex, religion and politics. Whether it’s brothels, hustlers, men’s rooms, escorts, mistresses or interns, it seems there is an unending supply of politicians willing to give the mix a vigorous stir. And, unlike their Liberal brethren, it’s the Conservatives who have the Bible in one hand and condoms (hopefully) in the other!

All of this was documented recently on the Rachel Maddow Show, home of the rising MSNBC broadcast personality who displays intelligence and awareness with her probing and incisive interviews. She recently devoted several segments of her daily cable show interviewingJeff Sharlett author of “The Family.” This book exposes and chronicles the activities of Doug Coe’s C Street House and his fundamentalist Christian group tagged “The Family.”

“The DaVinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” move over. “The Family” has arrived."

http://www.ukprogressive.co.uk/maddow-exposes-fundamentalist-c-street-house-hypocrites/article5522.html

I agree, he is to represent his constituents. I am bisexual and I am not in favor of gay marriage or bisexual marriage or polygamy. Because one choses to live a certain way doesnt mean they agree about where it should or shouldnt lead.

My big question though is,,,,HOW is being gay an explanation for DUI?

Yes, I have read about the Family,, interesting stuff. I think we have to be careful though when qualifying peoples careers by what their moral or personal lives might involve. By all means, people should lead upstanding lives, but an absense of what othess deem as upstanding shouldnt obstruct people from making positive impacts where possible. Sadly, ID rather have the philandering but brilliant heart surgeon perform on me than the new medical student who had taken a vow of celibacy and performed charity every other day.

Sometimes peoples jobs should be judged just on the JOB they are doing and not on their personal life.

So yeah, politics is full of crummy spouses and crummy parents, but there is a cross section within those groups of politicians who are actually good at their JOB.