# Anti-gay republican gets DUI after leaving gay nightclub **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307 "2010-03-04T18:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/121 "2010-03-08T06:42:10Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > Did anyone else open this thread and think “Oh man, I can’t wait for Dan Savage’s next column”? I am thinking it’s too easy a hit for Dan. I mean, come on, if he followed all the hypocritical sex news, he’d have new material every week, but geez. Hardly surprising or useful. 😛 I haven’t quite figured out just what day his column comes out. Mondays, Or Tuesdays? I just hit The Stranger a couple times a week and eventually there’s a new column there. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/122 "2010-03-08T18:22:38Z")
[Ashburn admits he’s gay but voted to reflect his constituency](http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/03/sen-roy-ashburn.html) ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/123 "2010-03-08T18:27:44Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > [Ashburn admits he’s gay but voted to reflect his constituency](http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/03/sen-roy-ashburn.html) :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/124 "2010-03-08T18:28:37Z")
Huh. You know, in a way, I have to respect him for coming out and saying it, rather than blaming the demon liquor and going to counseling like Ted Haggard. But how horribly, horribly sad his life must be. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/125 "2010-03-08T18:44:05Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Huh. You know, in a way, I have to respect him for coming out and saying it, rather than blaming the demon liquor and going to counseling like Ted Haggard. > > But how horribly, horribly sad his life must be. Honest and truly? I don’t respect him. If this happened _without_ him being caught, then yes, he gets my respect, but he only comes out of the closet when he’s caught at a gay bar. (I wondered why none of the gay people there seemed to wonder why a rabid anti-gay was in “their” bar - I thought it would ahve been the same kind of reaction if the fox showed up in the henhouse. He must have been there several times before and everyone in there knew he was gay.) Personally, I feel for his wife and kids. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/126 "2010-03-08T18:45:29Z")
That is impressive that he admitted it. Maybe he’ll stop using legal power to hate on gays, right about the same time he never gets elected to anything ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/127 "2010-03-08T18:52:12Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > (I wondered why none of the gay people there seemed to wonder why a rabid anti-gay was in “their” bar - I thought it would ahve been the same kind of reaction if the fox showed up in the henhouse. He must have been there several times before and everyone in there knew he was gay.) [Christopher Cabaldon, gay mayor of West Sacramento knew Ashburn frequented gay bars but kept it quiet](http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/03/collusion-people-knew-roy-ashburn-was.html). I guess they feel it’s not their place to out someone, even if the person to be outed is a gay politician voting against gay causes. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/128 "2010-03-08T19:19:48Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > [Ashburn admits he’s gay but voted to reflect his constituency](http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/03/sen-roy-ashburn.html) And right after he said that on KERN, the same radio station where he had a weekly program, removed all references to him and canceled his show. So, he probably is quite serious about “voting to reflect his constituency.” > [@dhkendall](#): > > Honest and truly? I don’t respect him. If this happened _without_ him being caught, then yes, he gets my respect, but he only comes out of the closet when he’s caught at a gay bar. (I wondered why none of the gay people there seemed to wonder why a rabid anti-gay was in “their” bar - I thought it would ahve been the same kind of reaction if the fox showed up in the henhouse. He must have been there several times before and everyone in there knew he was gay.) > > Personally, I feel for his wife and kids. I’m pretty sure there is a reason he is divorced. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/129 "2010-03-08T20:08:10Z")
> [@groo](#): > > (Emphasis added) > So, you’re saying that there are anti-gay people who think that everyone is tempted by homosexual urges? (I know, you just said that. It’s a foreign concept to me). So they have to deal with daily (or just occasional) bouts of feeling attracted to members of their own sex? And they think this is normal, and since they identify these urges as sinful, they’re not gay? I’m not trying to sound stupid here, though the words my fingers are typing certainly sound a little ignorant. > > Is this something they talk about openly? That it’s a temptation that they face over and over again? Sometimes several times per evening? You have it, precisely. Sadly, I don’t have a cite to hand - I recall reading something about a anti-gay-marriage conservative talking about how if society allowed gay sex to be considered normal, men would never procreate because gay sex would be so much more attractive to them. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/130 "2010-03-08T20:30:53Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > I’m pretty sure there is a reason he is divorced. Ah, missed that. For how long? I wonder if his wife was another of those that “knew but didn’t say anything”. (I wonder if there’ll be any fallout with Mayor Cabaldon?) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/131 "2010-03-08T20:31:42Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > if society allowed gay sex to be considered normal, men would never procreate because gay sex would be so much more attractive to them. Oh, would that it were so. If I could at all be turned on by gay sex, I would so be there. Men are so much lower maintenance, and sluttier. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/132 "2010-03-08T20:38:53Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Ah, missed that. For how long? I wonder if his wife was another of those that “knew but didn’t say anything”. (I wonder if there’ll be any fallout with Mayor Cabaldon?) I doubt Cabaldon will take too much heat. On the one hand, Cabaldon failed to disclose facts people might consider relevant. On the other hand, Republicans don’t wield a lot of power in the state legislature except on the state budget, so it’s not like Ashburn was the key to handing the gay community any state legislative setbacks. Further, it’s taboo in the gay community to out someone. Also, as Cabaldon said, it doesn’t matter if Ashburn is gay; he voted to uphold his constituents desires despite his personal life, which is a valid political posture. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/133 "2010-03-08T20:56:11Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Honest and truly? I don’t respect him. If this happened _without_ him being caught, then yes, he gets my respect, but he only comes out of the closet when he’s caught at a gay bar. (I wondered why none of the gay people there seemed to wonder why a rabid anti-gay was in “their” bar - I thought it would ahve been the same kind of reaction if the fox showed up in the henhouse. He must have been there several times before and everyone in there knew he was gay.) > > Personally, I feel for his wife and kids. My guess is that a lot of people probably didn’t know what he looked like. Let’s be honest, how many people can pick their state (not U.S.) senators out of a line-up. And if he’s in a bar with dim lighting and wearing regular street clothes, he’d be even less recognizable. True he was anti-gay, but that alone wouldn’t make stand out in the GOP ranks. A lot of people may have heard his name or seen it in the paper, but but they’d just chalk up his voting record as typical of the Republican Party and not pay that much attention to him. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/134 "2010-03-08T21:12:43Z")
What a clusterfuck. I can’t help but wonder if I could have managed some respect for him if he’d decided to come out in public on his own terms while still voting with the views of his constituency. I can’t help but think that would have catalyzed some much-needed and productive dialogue. I suppose my opinion of him would be swayed by when he admitted to himself that he was gay. If it was prior to his political career, or early in it, I’m more inclined to think of him as an opportunistic coward. If it was a rather recent realization, then I’d be inclined to give him a bit more slack. But I still would have rather seen him come out on his own terms, not just because he got caught being a dangerous drunk in a car that happened to be leaving a gay bar. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/135 "2010-03-08T21:16:37Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > [Ashburn admits he’s gay but voted to reflect his constituency](http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/03/sen-roy-ashburn.html) > [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: Well you can certainly knock me over with a feather right about now. Preferably boa feathers. From the linked article: _“I think it’s sad more than hypocritical,” Lopez said. “We’re not in Roy’s head. We don’t know what is he thinking. We hope he comes to terms with whatever is making him make a choice to be a gay man.”_ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/136 "2010-03-08T21:52:14Z")
I suppose, for me, I really didn’t expect him to own up to it- particularly since the rumblings I heard out of his office quite literally were the lamest of lame (the gay agenda thing, for one). Particularly because he is a snake of the highest order, so the absolute last thing I expected was a shred of honesty. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/137 "2010-03-08T23:45:16Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > You have it, precisely. Sadly, I don’t have a cite to hand - I recall reading something about a anti-gay-marriage conservative talking about how if society allowed gay sex to be considered normal, men would never procreate because gay sex would be so much more attractive to them. I am trying to find this, because it is hilarious and a prime example of this sort of warped point of view. I can’t even imagine who the guy (politican? Evangelical? I can’t remember) was targeting – What kind of woman wants a man who considers his attraction and marriage to her a ‘choice’ he must struggle with to stay good with God? > [@Taomist](#): > > I am thinking it’s too easy a hit for Dan. I mean, come on, if he followed all the hypocritical sex news, he’d have new material every week, but geez. Hardly surprising or useful. 😛 Not sure about politicians, but as far as religious hypocrisy goes Dan said a little while ago that, for the most part, he sticks to covering youth pastors caught with their something in the something jar. Because there are just too many adult religious figures who use their authority to rape, molest, etc. it’s barely worth remarking upon. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/138 "2010-03-09T05:45:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > You have it, precisely. Sadly, I don’t have a cite to hand - I recall reading something about a anti-gay-marriage conservative talking about how if society allowed gay sex to be considered normal, men would never procreate because gay sex would be so much more attractive to them. Oh, I found that ludicrous thing last year on [Beliefnet.com](http://Beliefnet.com). It was on a blog there called Kingdom of Priests and was called something like Why Gay Marriage Will Hurt Women. Hilariously warped and twisted reasoning by someone who spent way too much time thinking about it. There was quite the dustup with Dan Savage. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/139 "2010-03-09T15:40:00Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > What kind of woman wants a man who considers his attraction and marriage to her a ‘choice’ he must struggle with to stay good with God? Which reminds me–do they think that women feel the same way? Or do they just kind of forget about lesbians and/or assume that normal women have no sex drive? Or are lesbians what happen when women don’t know their place? ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307/140 "2010-03-09T16:48:20Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > [Ashburn admits he’s gay but voted to reflect his constituency](http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/03/sen-roy-ashburn.html) Interesting (and rather predictable, I suppose) turn of events. I do not understand why he married to begin with! What is the reasoning behind that – “I am not attracted to women, but I am going to marry one just to fit in with heterosexual society.” Perplexing! Why would you put your spouse through such an ordeal? (Now, if he had been bisexual, I can understand the whole marriage thing a bit better… but he says he is gay, not bi!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-gay-republican-gets-dui-after-leaving-gay-nightclub/531307.md?page=8)