# Arizona Republican Sheriff Caught With Gay Pants Down **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 19, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339 "2012-02-19T18:43:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/61 "2012-02-22T16:23:59Z")
> [@bup](#): > > If he were gay and weren’t being accused of an abuse of power and he was a \*Democrat \*in _California_, his career might not be finished. > > In Arizona as a Republican? I think it is. Jim Kolbe was an openly gay Republican member of the U.S. Congress who represented southern Arizona for 11 terms. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/62 "2012-02-22T16:29:06Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Jim Kolbe was an openly gay Republican member of the U.S. Congress who represented southern Arizona for 11 terms. I think he only won one term after being outed, then retired. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/63 "2012-02-22T16:33:51Z")
Nope, he came out as gay in 1996, he retired 11 years later in 2007. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/64 "2012-02-22T16:48:31Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Nope, he came out as gay in 1996, he retired 11 years later in 2007. Three terms then? Not bad I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/65 "2012-02-22T16:51:22Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Three terms then? Not bad I guess. That’d be five two-year terms. According to Wikipedia, he came out after gay rights activists started trying to out him following his vote for the Defense of Marriage Act. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/66 "2012-02-22T16:55:28Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > What? Really? You do a simple keyword search that fails to include marriage rights and you come up with this gem? I wasn’t looking for marriage rights. > [@](#): > > You know the Defense of Marriage Act? It ain’t got nothing to do with preventing _mixed-race_ marriages. No, I don’t. I’m not American. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/67 "2012-02-22T17:21:28Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Jim Kolbe was an openly gay Republican member of the U.S. Congress who represented southern Arizona for 11 terms. I stand corrected. Out and Republican and Arizonan and US Rep from 1996-2007, as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/68 "2012-02-22T18:29:04Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > You know the Defense of Marriage Act? It ain’t got nothing to do with preventing _mixed-race_ marriages. And is there anything anti-gay in this Act? Or is it pro-heterosexual? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/69 "2012-02-22T18:55:20Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Jim Kolbe was an openly gay Republican member of the U.S. Congress who represented southern Arizona for 11 terms. Steve Gunderson, HoR, Wisconsin. In office 1981-1997. Dickishly outed by Dornan in 1994, so looks like he was reelected 1-2 times. A bit more pro-gay than Kolbe, was the only (R) to vote against DOMA. (DOMA is that old? I thought it was recent :smack:). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/70 "2012-02-22T22:59:13Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And is there anything anti-gay in this Act? Or is it pro-heterosexual? I don’t know, would you characterize South Africa’s policy of Apartheid as anti-Black or pro-White? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/71 "2012-02-22T23:03:25Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And is there anything anti-gay in this Act? Or is it pro-heterosexual? It’s anti-gay. I fail to see how defining marriage as one man and one woman and saying states cannot be required to recognize any other type of marriage is “pro-heterosexual.” It’s written to deny recognition to same-sex marriages and does nothing for heterosexual relationships. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/72 "2012-02-22T23:31:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s anti-gay. I fail to see how defining marriage as one man and one woman and saying states cannot be required to recognize any other type of marriage is “pro-heterosexual.” It’s written to deny recognition to same-sex marriages and does nothing for heterosexual relationships. That’d do then. So we have a whole **two** anti-gay stances of the Republicans. Is there a third? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/73 "2012-02-22T23:37:56Z")
I’m not racist, I just have anti-black stances. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/74 "2012-02-23T00:09:30Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So we have a whole **two** anti-gay stances of the Republicans. Is there a third? “So, aside from Jim Crow and all those anti-miscegenation laws, how was the 1920s Deep South anti-Black?” You’re moving the goalposts and you aren’t even being clever about it. The DOMA crap is part of the current Republican policy on an official level. You’ve just conceded it is anti-homosexual. How can you still want for evidence that Republican policy is officially anti-homosexual? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/75 "2012-02-23T00:23:15Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > “So, aside from Jim Crow and all those anti-miscegenation laws, how was the 1920s Deep South anti-Black?” > > You’re moving the goalposts and you aren’t even being clever about it. No, I’m not. You’re reading between lines that aren’t there. I’m asking if there is indeed a third (or fourth…) policy. That’s all. Remember that I’m British, not American, so I don’t know the parties as intimately as Americans do. I have no truck with anti-gay discrimination. It’s wrong. But equally, I have no truck with incorrect claims of sexism, racism etc. So when I thought to check, I was surprised at the lack of anti-gay policy, and given the partisanship here I thought it necessary to ask. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/76 "2012-02-23T00:39:45Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So we have a whole **two** anti-gay stances of the Republicans. Is there a third? Republicans spearheaded the anti-gay-marriage amendments to the Constitutions of a bunch of states (was it 27?) which are going to be repealed or shamefacedly reversed at some point. Is that on the list yet? Go to the websites of any of the leading Republican presidential candidates and I am positive you will see them express strong support for the idea that marriage is between a man and a woman and that society has no business “redefining” marriage. This is not a secret or a subtle policy, it’s a major campaign plank. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/77 "2012-02-23T00:53:46Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > No, I’m not. You’re reading between lines that aren’t there. I’m asking if there is indeed a third (or fourth…) policy. That’s all. Remember that I’m British, not American, so I don’t know the parties as intimately as Americans do. Right, then. How about this: Republicans position themselves as the “Family Values Party”, which means “No Gays, No (Effective) Sex Ed, and Remember Mary Whitehouse? Well, We’re The American Version Of Her.” Their version of “Christian Morals” is due to the people who think [Jerry Falwell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Falwell) had some damn good ideas. So it isn’t just about marriage. It’s about a whole culture that is deeply inimical to anything it sees as outside the ‘norms’ it has defined for everyone to adhere to, even if (as we see here) its own members don’t stay inside them very well. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/78 "2012-02-23T01:10:52Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Remember that I’m British, not American, so I don’t know the parties as intimately as Americans do. Ah, okay. The way it’s worked in the US is, Republicans fight against all gay rights. Anything and everything. It’s been a long, long battle just to get homosexuality, sodomy etc. decriminalized, state by state. The only time Republicans will vote for anything gay, is if it’s part of a hard-fought compromise. For instance, if gays want marriage rights, they might eventually get Republicans to agree to few domestic partner rights, maybe. I’m not entirely sure homosexuality isn’t still illegal in some jurisdictions. The point we’re at now, is rather than there are only two anti-gay policies, it’s more correct to say there are only two anti-gay policies _left_. The fight goes on. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339/79 "2012-02-23T21:14:12Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I’m not entirely sure homosexuality isn’t still illegal in some jurisdictions. This really depends on what precisely you have in mind, but, in general, no: It’s impossible for a jurisdiction in America to _effectively_ outlaw being gay and having gay sex. The laws against those things that are still on the books are unenforceable. The relevant Supreme Court case is _[Lawrence v Texas](http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-102.ZS.html)_ (which made it impossible to outlaw consensual gay sex between adults in private) and, more generally, the fact American laws tend to criminalize _behavior_, not _attitude_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-republican-sheriff-caught-with-gay-pants-down/613339.md?page=3)