Anti-gay lawmaker outed by man he flirted online

[Torie]

My point of view is that whatever one does on dating sites might well be exposed, and one should just accept that. If you have something to hide, don't go there and hawk your wares. A good question to ask about any personal conduct, is if it were splashed all over the papers, would one feel embarrassed or ashamed by it? It makes it a lot easier to sleep at night if one hews to that standard. Thank heavens that we are getting close to the point, that assuming there is no cheating or lying involved, it really does not matter much if one is outed or not. I do think folks miss the point, that what one does in one's personal life, even if perfectly moral, may not necessarily make good policy. Thus I don't consider gays, closeted or not, who vote against a proposed gay right, to necessarily be hypocrites. Indeed, depending on the circumstances, I find such a charge to be very unfair.

[Torie]

This is not any different that outing Anthony Weiner for being straight. If you are a politician, you should, probably, try to avoid sending pictures of your dick to others. Or be prepared to have that blow up in your face.

The problem with Weiner I think was more that he was married, and apparently cheating on his wife.

[Torie]

You have to feel bad for the guy that he was so far in the closet he felt he had to vote against his own rights. In this day and age, no one should feel like that.

Nah, you have a right to privacy, not hypocrisy.  I'm glad he was outed.

Again, I don't think what one does in one's private life necessarily is co-extensive, or should be, with one's public policy views.

[Torie]

You have to feel bad for the guy that he was so far in the closet he felt he had to vote against his own rights. In this day and age, no one should feel like that.

Nah, you have a right to privacy, not hypocrisy.  I'm glad he was outed.

Again, I don't think what one does in one's private life necessarily is co-extensive, or should be, with one's public policy views.

If someone is in the closet and consistently opposing gay rights legislation, they should be outed.  If they don't want to be outed, they shouldn't be fighting against gay rights.  Whether the hypocrisy comes from a place of self-hatred, pure political opportunism, or both is ultimately incidental.

No, one can be gay, not self hating, and think SSM is bad public policy - or even bad for gays. Really. Being closeted or not may be due to non political considerations. Actually, un-closeted gays opposing SSM was not all that uncommon 15 years ago. Fortunately this issue is fading away. I don't think this politician's outing will have much impact on his political career. And that's progress baby! 

[Torie]

Did those gays oppose same-sex marriage because of their personal beliefs, or because they were pressured by a heteronormative society into accepting the fact that same-sex marriage can never be a reality, or even a possibility?

The former.