Roy Ashburn, "I'm Gay"

[Lochloosa]

Source: Huffington Post

State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Calif.), the fierce opponent of gay rights who was arrested last week for drunk driving after leaving a gay nightclub, confirmed in a radio interview Monday that he is gay.

"I'm gay," Ashburn told local radio host Inga Barks before returning to the Senate for the first time since his arrest. "Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long."

Ashburn, who is divorced, claimed his crusade against proposed gay-rights laws in the California statehouse stemmed from his desire to vote the way his constituents wanted.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/roy-ashburn-im-gay_n_490297.html

[babylonsister]

1. Oh boy. Glad he was compelled to admit it; too bad we can't get

his votes back. Such personal conviction! :eyes:

[yodoobo]

2. in a Democracy, sometimes you have to ignore the constituents

and do what is right and just.

strange but true.

[xultar]

30. I'm sure he has some gay constituents. So he's spouting bulldshit.

[24601]

37. Whether he's spouting bullshit is independent having "some" gay

constituents. Our republic normally works when our elected officials vote consistent with their constituents positions - that meaning more than just "some" of them. There are exceptions of course - when Senators try impeachments, they should vote on the evidence rather than the mood of the public. I also would not vote for something I judged unconstitutional.

[xultar]

41. Why the thesis? Seriously, all I'm saying is that he has more than just the RW

idiots as constituents to consider when voting or taking a stand on issues.

This is DU not a PhD class in constituent and public service theory.

[No Elephants]

50. You should judge equal rights for all human beings a constitutional issue.

[True_Blue]

44. The Log Cabin Republicans for instance

He is just making a lame excuse for his hypocrisy - typical Republican.

[intheflow]

52. And I'm sure the constiuents he claims to have been representing wouldn't have voted for him

if they knew he was gay. If that was his only base, he can kiss his reelection goodbye.

[xultar]

53. +1 ....and good riddance to his dumb ass.

[Ohio Joe]

3. Fuck you Roy

OK, I'm glad he is coming out, I believe it is best for him but... Fuck you Roy! You have opposed equal rights for all and that makes you a douchebag. Be an American and start supporting equal rights for everyone!

[CLANG]

20. He didn't come out - he was yanked out

FUCK YOU ROY!!

[Botany]

4. he might not be but .....

..... the men he was having sex w/ are.

:rofl:


As noted before in this thread the more somebody whines about special "gay rights" the
more I tend to think that person is gay. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much,"

[Downwinder]

5. I have always thought that homophobes were either unsure of their

sexuality or closet gays.

[TheWraith]

8. Some are, some aren't...

The dead giveaway is usually the ones who seem obsessed with homosexuality, like it's the only thing they can think of.

[CLANG]

21. like it's the only thing they can think of...

Yes, that could be a problem! :rofl:

[NICO9000]

22. Me too

Why else would they be so obsessed with anyone else's sexuality? I have always thought that the vehemently anti-gay men (not so sure about the women) are seriously confused about their preferences or just plain on the down-low.

[fishwax]

35. nah, there are plenty of straight bigots, too

but clearly, as Ashburn shows, the pattern does hold for some homophobes ...

[TheWraith]

6. Good on him at least for admitting it.

Instead of going the Larry Craig/Ted Haggard route of just making up any flimsy bullshit defense. Of course he's going to lose his job, and frankly he SHOULD just for the DUI in a state car let alone the lying.

[Fearless]

7. Time to start making up for your stupidities then... Right?

[Plucketeer]

9. Sorry Roy-boy

This ain't gonna change the way I've felt about you in years past.

Anyone who's not familiar with Roy's IQ should look up some of his past proclamations and stances. This rube makes Jethro Clampett look like a genius.

[Lost Jaguar]

10. Perhaps self-loathing...

...sometimes a man like this inherits a contempt for homosexuality from his homophobe parents, and it is enhanced when he detects his own latency.

I pray for his relief from suffering, which can now commence.

[Ozymanithrax]

11. He meant, in order to stay in power he voted the way his constituents wanted.

It is a power thing, not a democratic thing.

I guess he enoyed fucking gays so much that he decide to fuck them in other way by working to deny them their rights.

[newtothegame]

12. ? I don't understand your post. ?

Yes, you do stay in power by voting the way your constituents feel. You say this as if it's a bad thing?

Btw, I'm gay, and I HATE anti-equality legislation, but I also understand that you don't vote AGAINST your constituents. You were elected for a reason.

[saracat]

15. He said what he had to say to get elected. It isn't even as if he had admitted he was gay but was

voting as his constituents wanted. On many occasions he condemned homosexuality.He was the conservatives family values darling for speaking out against gay rights.The reason he was elected for was a LIE. He didn't care about his constituents. He cared about getting elected. He then based on his lie voted against the rights of people like himself.He has no conscience.

[Ozymanithrax]

17. He claimed to be a straight, gay hating, family values type of guy.

He could have moved to a different area. He could have been too honest to claim that he agreed with everything his constituents wanted.

Actually, he could have told his constituents that individual rights trump homophobia. Sometime and in somethings constituents aren't right.

He is a monumental hypocrite. Now, he will pay for it.

[CLANG]

23. If your constituents wanted you to support slavery

would you vote that way? Or is there perhaps a higher authority? That higher authority is called a conscience.

[newtothegame]

25. There is no conscience. Everything is relative. We have no right to tell this guy...

what's right or wrong in the universe. That's what the other side does.

[CLANG]

27. This is still America, isn't it?

I have the right to tell this guy anything I want. And no, everything is not relative within a society based on the rule of law.

[LanternWaste]

29. Where is it stated as an absolute

Where is it stated/written as an absolute that we do not have the right to say what we believe to be right or wrong? As stated, it seems absurd...

[Garbo 2004]

36. That's your opinion. According to you, you have no right to

tell us we have no right.

[Garbo 2004]

33. Ashburn went further, hooked up with Lou Sheldon & ministers to preach against "the gay"

and uphold the "sanctity of marriage." (Ashburn is a divorced Catholic.)

He publicly joined, supported and worked with haters. Hypocritically talking about "traditional moral values" and "think of the children." For example: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2010/03/roy-ashburn-press-release-re-traditional-marriage-3312005.php?page=1

How self-loathing and/or purely politically cynical does one have to be to get into bed (metaphorically speaking) with the likes of Lou Sheldon?

[saracat]

13. And the difference between him and Anti-Choice Dem women is? ????

They too are voting the way their consituents want then to, or so they say.Actually, there isn't much difference between him and the anti-choice GOP women either. They all vote against the interests of people like themselves to get elected.And yet they themselves are willing to indulge in the practices they condemn in others.Its called hypocrisy.

[onehandle]

14. Good for him. Could have been a lot worse ---->

[Warpy]

16. Finally his ex wife and four kids know there was nothing wrong with them

Daddy was the one living the lie.

The worst thing any gay man can do is stay closeted and ruin lives by trying to force himself into a straight marriage. Working to put other gay men back into that closet is just the strychnine icing on a D-con cake.

Christ, this guy is pure scum.

[Garbo 2004]

34. I'm sure she knew long before. They divorced after 26 years of marriage. nt

[libodem]

18. Self-loathing

hypocrite. So mean spirited and evil. God, that's a shitty attitude toward oneself and a whole group of human beings who deserve the same civil and human rights we all deserve. Fecking little lying conniving bitch. I thumb my nose at you.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. Next... renounce your anti-choice/anti-women ways

[Jennicut]

24. At least he admitted it. Not too many of these closeted, bigoted types do.

I think it is fear of having to face what you really are...so you push down on others who are gay.

[Warpy]

26. They don't get splashed all over the front page

about exiting a gay bar with a questionable companion and getting nailed for a DUI.

This guy didn't walk out of the closet, he was dragged out.

[bluestateguy]

28. Well at least he admitted it.

Now let's see if he uses his position of power and influence to start changing some laws to advance equality.

[Garbo 2004]

39. No, he said he would continue to vote exactly as he had in the past:

"Radio talk show host Inga Barks wanted assurances that Ashburn would continue to vote in a conservative manner on LGBT rights issues. Ashburn responded, “I believe firmly that my responsibility is to my constituents. 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 that most people understood what that means."

http://www.gaypolitics.com/2010/03/08/conservative-california-state-senator-comes-out/

[OrderedChaos]

31. "At least he admitted it"

Please, the only reason he is admitting to anything is because he was caught. If he wasn't caught with the DUI leaving the gay bar, he never would have admitted that he was gay.
Sorry, I do not feel one bit of compassion for the man. He lied to himself, his family and his constituents.
I do understand that Fear and Shame issues cause people do things that are out of character, but you need to have character first.

I wonder how long before we get the never ending trail of tricks, that this guy has turned over the years ,coming out of the wood work for their 15 minutes.

[Mad_Dem_X]

61. +1. Welcome to DU.

"Please, the only reason he is admitting to anything is because he was caught." EXACTLY!

[ThisThreadIsSatire]

32. So did he he think that fucking the entire gay & lesbian

community made him bisexual?

Douchebags are douchebags, regardless of their orientation...

[TankLV]

38. We sure called that one RIGHT AWAY when it first broke, didn't we!!!

He's done so much damage to America and GBLT citizens...

What a waste and shame...

Sorry if I don't shed a tear for him...

[valerief]

40. What a surprise! NOT. Another damn GOP hypocrite. nt

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Unvanguard]

43. Gay or straight, fuck him for voting against equality. n/t

[Imagevision]

45. Only from the GOP - Karl Rove mentions he doesn't think his dad was GAY?!?

[LibertyLover]

54. Ooh the picture my mind just brought up

when I read that statement. There was another thread on DU today regarding Karl Rove and his father. The OP had included a link to an article from a GLBT friendly publication about Karl's father. According to the article Rove senior had an extensively pierced penis - 37 piercings if I remember the article correctly, and in gold. It went on to say that there was a photo after the skip. Well, stupid me not understanding what a skip was, moved over the the advertisement, thinking that the article continued after it. Well, it did, sort of - there was a full-color photo of what purported to be said organ. I have to say that I'm not sure I will ever read the words Karl Rove and not think of that photo of his father's dick. Ugh - I need a brain shower.

[Sultana]

46. Hypocrite!

[donheld]

47. Hey, he could have gone for the 3 week cure like Ted Haggard.

This is a small step in the right direction.

[Love Bug]

62. That's probably next on his list of "things to do"

Let the rehabilitation of his public image begin!

:sarcasm:

[David Zephyr]

48. Roy, this gay guy says crawl back into the swamp where you belong.

What a piece of shit.

[Tailormyst]

49. I'm glad he finally said it

I hope for his sake and the sake of those who love him that he gets some help to truly accept who he is. Perhaps he will find the strength to try and work to undo some of the damage he has done.

It is my greatest wish that someday NONE of us have to feel like we have to hide our identity.

[alp227]

51. If he wants to stay in the Assembly, he's got a big book of PR to do.

Besides his (now-hypocritical) opposition to LGBT equality, I think that he might've played a role in jamming the state budget process. Hopefully the voters will kick this loser out of office and replace him with someone who makes sense.

[Garbo 2004]

59. He's a state senator, previously in assembly. He's termed out. nt

[mitchum]

55. I believe the following Dead Boys song is appropriate...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJmGrp4

[0rganism]

56. I wonder what his "constituents" would like to do with drunk drivers

especially GAY drunk drivers.

[and-justice-for-all]

57. what a fucking idiot...nt

[warm regards]

58. So...

[Quantess]

60. He has something to be ashamed of, alright.

Being gay is not it.