Many other recent outing targets have been Republican politicians and
operatives.
Among the cases:
_A GOP congressman from Virginia, Edward Schrock, dropped out of his
re-election race last year shortly after allegations were published on
Michael Rogers' Web log that he solicited sex with another man on a
gay phone dating service. Schrock, a married ex-Navy captain, was an
outspoken foe of gays in the military and supported a constitutional
ban on same-sex marriages. He did not comment specifically on the
allegations.
_In 2003, U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, called a news
conference to denounce a report in an alternative newspaper that he is
gay. Foley declined to answer questions about the subject, saying his
sexual orientation was irrelevant to his political duties. He
contended the story was circulated to derail his U.S. Senate campaign,
which he abandoned four months later.
_The GOP mayor of Spokane, Wash., James West, faces a recall election
prompted by newspaper articles accusing him of offering City Hall
jobs, sports tickets and cash to young men he met in an online gay
chat room. West, who as a state legislator often opposed gay-rights
bills, acknowledged poor judgment but denies doing anything illegal.
From The Associated Press, 10/4/05:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051004/ap_on_re_us/the_outing_debate
By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer
NEW YORK -
Though decried by many gay-rights leaders, "outing" -- the practice of
exposing secretly gay public figures -- is expanding into new terrain
as Internet bloggers target congressional staffers, political
strategists, even black clergy whose sermons and speeches contain
anti-gay rhetoric.
Few issues are as divisive within the gay community.
Numerous gay organizations, such as the Human Rights Campaign and the
Log Cabin Republicans, staunchly oppose outing, yet many other
activists support it when the targets are public figures -- or their
aides -- who work against gay rights or condemn homosexuality.
"It's not the gay thing that's the problem -- it's the hypocrisy,"
said Michael Rogers, creator of a Web log that has been at the fore of
several recent outing campaigns.
"I'm going to be calling out the politicians who vote against us and
work against the interests of the very community they come from."
__________________________________________________________
Add Republican homophobic gays David Dreier and Ken Mehlman.
Harry
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