Missouri now has “the only openly gay Republican currently serving in a state legislature in the United States.”
I don’t have much more to say about it, but figured this would be good Dope fodder.
Good for him! I still wish people didn’t feel the need to only come out after they’ve decided they’re going o quit, though.
Well, either I was wrong or I didn’t bait the hook properly.
Allow me to try again. The guy is:
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Republican
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Gay
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A farmer (not sure what that has to do with it, but maybe somebody will come up with something)
The legislation he is opposing would prohibit, among other things, extracirricular activities that mention sexual orientation. Oh, or materials that discuss sexual orientation. Essentially, erasing any talk of sexuality from schools.
So, no materials about birth control or safe sex. Or, as the article points out, gay-straight alliances would be illegal.
Of course, the supporters say that the effects of the bill are being blown way out of proporation; they’d just prefer that these issues be deal with at home by parents, or at church.
Sure wish supporters like these would get it through their heads that “preferring these issued be dealt with by parents or church” should not equal “legally forbidding any other way of dealing with it for everybody else too.”
Wait, you’re concerned that people didn’t jump on your thread within 36 minutes?
Hmm…not concerned, I wouldn’t say that.
I did feel a little guilty for such a lazy attempt at a thread start, though.
But c’mon…he’s a gay Republican! The article talks about anti-gay legislation. That shit’s gold. Framed properly, it should generate discussion.
I donno, maybe I’m just sensitive today.
A three-dollar bill short, three days too late.
It would have been much more effective if he hadn’t already decided to quit and move off to Hawaii.
Far better would have been to come out, vote against the bill and then run for re-election.
I am a screaming liberal Gay Democrat, but I find this stand-up-and-then-run-away unfair to the Republicans in his state. If he stayed and run for re-election, he would at least give Republicans the chance to prove they are not the homophobic bigots they claim they aren’t.
He cheated them and has taken that option off the table. This was not “brave”, it was chicken shit; at least have the guts to take a beating at the ballot box after you have stood up for your beliefs. Moving to Hawaii should have been his Plan B, not Plan A.
My favorite part of the article is how he votes against his personal beliefs to toe the party line, but is fed up with bigotry from “both sides of the aisle”.
Be a proud Republican as they act again and again to deny you rights that other people get. Enjoy your second class citizenship.
That’s an awesome point, one which I didn’t see made in the comments on the article. I think it’s extremely unlikely that he would win re-election now that he’s out, considering the district that he represents, though it does contain a ‘college town.’ That may have actually won him some votes.
He may also have lost votes because apparently he was voting for and holding some positions that he did not personally agree with. That would give those who initially voted for him, but would now vote against him, an out. They could say that they didn’t stop supporting him because he’s gay, they stopped because his positions changed.
But if this legislation passes he wouldn’t be able to talk about Plan B 
I wish he’d stay and fight, too. But I still have a lot of sympathy, and I think what he did do is quite brave, even if it isn’t the bravest possible action he could take.
This sounds suspiciously like the recent Tennessee “don’t say gay” bill. I wish Democratic state legislators were as well-coordinated across state lines as the Republicans seem to be.
So? Farmer doesn’t have jack shit to do with being gay, and this guy may eventually end up being the face of the Log Cabin Republicans. Good for him.
That’s why I put that in there…levity, you know. 
It doesn’t have jack shit to do with it, you’re right.
If we weren’t in MPSIMS I would have some unkind words for you saying you didn’t “bait the hook properly”.
Are you serious? What I meant by that was that I didn’t present enough information to start a discussion…as I alluded to in one of my previous posts. Posting a link and saying little about it is lame*…even if it’s a topic that I thought would generate a decent thread.
If you took that comment as anything offensive…I honestly don’t see what it could be. So :dubious:
What I meant by that is that it looks to me like you were trying to start a political fight so you could sit back and enjoy the fireworks. You wanted inflammatory responses to your OP, you didn’t get them, so you “baited the hook again”.
You’re fishing, buddy. I went canoeing up in Minnesota in a canoe a while ago. We dropped fishing lines out the back as we paddled. That type of fishing is called trolling. It is what the annoying internet behavior is named after. It means not doing anything except letting the fish in the lake do all the work.
You’re fishing.
Let me clarify something, though. Sicks Ate, I don’t think you are A troll, I think you are trolling. Just don’t do make a habit of it.
This is all true, but it still is pretty brave to come out when you know that people will hate you for it. He won’t be fighting for re-election but it’s not as if his very visible coming out is going to go unnoticed. And perhaps some people will remember this politician they liked who happened to be gay. Braver than staying in the closet, at least.
If you have a problem with the behavior of another poster, you hit the report button. You don’t accuse them of trolling (in this forum) or play jr mod (lightly).
You should know this by now since you have been here for a long time, so this is a warning for you, Monkey.
Don’t make accusations of trolling in this forum again, use the report post button or message a staff member.