GOP State Senator Roy Ashburn's World Comes Crashing Down
Written by Chris Jarvis
Tuesday, 09 March 2010
Last week, GOP California State Senator Roy Ashburn was pulled over after leaving FACES, a gay bar in Sacramento. His driving was erratic and in the end he was charged with a DUI and with driving with a blood alcohol level higher than .08%. A male passenger in the car with Ashburn was released and not charged.
Ashburn has since issued an apology (as usual). Ashburn, divorced with children, has a very anti-gay voting record, including voting against recognizing same sex marriage from other states and opposing Harvey Milk day.
Then, it got better...Seems Ashburn was asked in 2009 by Lois Henry of The Bakersfield Californian if he was gay. His response?
"Why would that be anyone's business? Including The Californian's? I think there are certain subjects that are simply not relevant and this is one of them. It has no bearing on the job I do."
Henry pushed him, saying it was relevant because of his voting record, to which Ashburn replied that he's voted against "almost all social issues". What a guy.
Just last year he was outed on Facebook (natch) by the out gay mayor of West Sacramento. At the time, Christopher Cabaldon's post on the social networking site: "It wouldn't bother me so bad to see Roy Ashburn at Badlands with a boy if he didn't have such a bad voting record on gay rights."
And the latest, in contradiction to how things have played out in the past with closeted gay politicians, Roy Ashburn wasted no time in re-defining his identity.
"I am gay ... those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long," he said on a Monday morning radio talk show.
He defends his anti-gay voting record though, saying he's voted in line with his district and with how they wanted to be represented. While he may be technically right to represent his district with certain votes, what does it say about a man who's now explaining his record with the excuse of "integrity", when he's remained in the closet for so long and chosen to not only be a Republican but a Republican politician? There's no excuse for it. Add to that the standard "I'm a Christian please pray for me" BS that Ashburn is also peddling and you know exactly who this phony is.
