Californian Senator with anti-gay voting record reveals he is gay

A Republican member of the Californian State Senate, known for voting against measures that would enhance gay rights, admitted on Monday that he himself is gay.

The confession by Roy Ashburn, Senator for the 18th District in the state in the Western U.S., came during an interview he gave to Inga Barks, a host on the local radio station AM1180 KERN. Senator Ashburn is quoted by the New York Daily News as saying while appearing on a station for which he was the host of a Saturday show until last month:

I am gay. Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long.

I've always believed that I could keep my personal life personal and my public life public. But through my own actions, I have made my personal life public. I felt with my heart that you know being gay did not affect, wouldn't affect, how I did my job

The "actions" to which he referred are almost certainly his arrest last Wednesday on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol and the fact that prior to his arrest he had been in a gay club to which he was reportedly a regular visitor. Following the confession that he is gay Senator Ashburn, a 55-year-old divorced father of four and grandfather of two, went on to explain his voting record which the New York Daily News says includes opposing recognition in California of gay marriages performed legally elsewhere in the U.S. and opposing the establishment of May 22 as the day each year on which gay rights activist Harvey Milk, murdered in 1978, is honored. Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger eventually signed a law last October establishing May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, having vetoed such a law the previous year. According to The Sacramento Bee the Senator's explanation for his voting record was that his "votes reflect the wishes of the people in my district". He added:

I have always felt that my faith and allegiance was to the people, there, in the district, my constituents. And so as each of these individual measures came before the Legislature I cast 'no' votes, usually 'no' votes, because the measures were . . . almost always acknowledging rights or assigning identification to homosexual persons

Only last week, possibly because of the Senator's arrest, the Bakersfield Californian ran an article which revealed the timing of previous rumors regarding his sexuality, asked how his sexuality might affect his actions as a politician, and looked at his actions and voting record on issues of particular importance to the LBGT (lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender) community. The article's conclusion was that, apart from a "Traditional Family Values" rally he organized in 2005, and criticism of his voting record "as extremely unfriendly to gays" Senator Ashburn "hadn't authored any anti-gay legislation himself, nor led the charge against equity for gays". Speaking about what the future now holds for him and the relationship between his Christian faith and his sexuality Senator Ashburn noted:

I would ask people to pray for me. My faith is very clear and very firm. I pray to God that I can find peace, and I want to go back to work in the Senate and work hard for the people who sent me to the legislature

Geoff Kors, executive director of the LGBT rights organization Equality California, issued the follow statement upon learning of the Senator's revelation:

We can empathize with Senator Ashburn's long and difficult journey to admit that he is gay. Equality California looks forward to working with the Senator to use his experience to educate the people in his district on why he deserves the same rights and privileges as a gay man as any other Californian.

Senator Ashburn said he has voted against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-rights measures because of the preferences of voters in his district, but to date, no legislator has lost his or her seat for supporting Equality California-sponsored legislation. This includes legislators in a number of conservative districts, including in Bakersfield, Fresno and the Salinas Valley.

Although we question the Senator's claim that an overwhelming majority of voters in his district support employment and housing discrimination against LGBT individuals -- bills he voted against, we are working hard to build support across the state among voters in all districts

For the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), which describes itself as "the largest non-denominational, grassroots church lobby in America" Benjamin Lopez thanked the Senator for "all his votes on social issues", said that he did not know "why Roy strayed" and offered the man he apparently appeared alongside at the aforementioned "Traditional Family Values" rally counseling from TVC founder and Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon. The Sacramento Bee reports that Mr Lopez stated too:

I think it's sad more than hypocritical. 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