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Candidate Apologizes for Outing Opponent


Norma Chávez X390 (FAIR) | ADVOCATE.COM

State Rep. Norma Chávez

A Texas lawmaker apologized in a statement Monday after she speculated on her political challenger's sexual orientation.

State representative Norma Chávez said that such statements concerning fellow Democrat Naomi Gonzalez have no place in a political campaign after a group of elected officials called her out, according to the El Paso Times. 

Chávez, who has held her seat for 14 years, said Gonzalez is a lesbian and should be open about it to voters, just as she herself is open about being a biker. At a candidate forum, Chávez was asked about her stances on gay rights. She said Gonzalez was likely pro-gay because she was gay.

"I regret that in response to one of my opponent's repeated, negative, personal attacks, I made reference to her sexual orientation," Chávez said in a statement. "My opponent's sexual orientation has no bearing on this campaign. This campaign should be about who is going to be the most effective legislator for El Paso in the Texas House."

The primary election is April 13.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Bill B
    Date posted: 4/12/2010 8:20:35 AM
    Hometown: St. Petersburg

    Comment:

    I completely agree with Daniel F... and would go a step farther. If you are gay and cannot be honest about who you are, then you are a bigger part of the problem than any politician pandering to his/her bigoted constituency.

  • Name: Daniel F
    Date posted: 4/8/2010 7:42:33 PM
    Hometown: Miami Shores, FL

    Comment:

    Who gives a flying f**k about her apology. The real problem is that we as a community see being "outed" as a liability. Yes, people do use many tactics in politics, but the fact that we view our own sexuality as a detriment does nothing but hurt us, too. Frankly, if a candidate can't be honest about who they are as an individual, I wouldn't vote for them anyway.

  • Name: Jerry
    Date posted: 4/8/2010 4:38:13 PM
    Hometown: Washington DC

    Comment:

    She was born in 1960. No indication there's a husband anywhere and no kids listed for her bio on wikipedia. Maybe Norma's been fooling around on the wild side.

  • Name: melvin
    Date posted: 4/8/2010 2:43:08 PM
    Hometown: South Dakota

    Comment:

    She did whatever damage she wanted. Her flimsy apology is like closing the damn doors after the horses got loose!

  • Name: Lynn E
    Date posted: 4/8/2010 1:17:06 AM
    Hometown: Ogden, UT

    Comment:

    That's an apology? I hope her party refuses to back her financially. By the way, did she ever answer the question about her own views on LGBT issues, or did she just use the time to throw mud?

  • Name: Caleb
    Date posted: 4/7/2010 5:17:43 PM
    Hometown: Atlanta

    Comment:

    blah she knew what she was doing when she made the statements. Smear tactic, if I ever heard one. She herself may not care, but she knows there are plenty who. Well played, just like a slimy politician.

  • Name: Richard
    Date posted: 4/7/2010 4:42:18 PM
    Hometown: Atlanta

    Comment:

    This is a hollow apology, since it states that she is sorry she 'outed' the other candidate, which reinforces what she said in the first place. In addition, the damage (if any) was done by the first irresponsible comment then compounded lby the 'apology.'

  • Name: Joseph
    Date posted: 4/7/2010 4:34:30 PM
    Hometown: Montgomery, AL

    Comment:

    Um, perhaps the definition of "outing" has changed in the past few months (weeks? days?) but, from the article that I read, the woman was NOT outed. One candidate made a wild speculation about her opponent's sexual orientation. Hell, I can speculate all I want about Brad Pitt's sexuality or Tom Cruise's but unless I have some physical evidence that I actually had sex with either man, there's no "outing" involved. (Of course, in Cruise's case, even the speculation would need to be very carefully guarded given TC's track record of litigation.) I could even speculate that every male GOP politician is gay (and that all the women are either frigid or couldn't get laid if they were locked up in a men's prison) but I don't imagine that anyone would think that I'd "outed" the GOPers.

  • Name: Carlos
    Date posted: 4/7/2010 4:27:45 PM
    Hometown: Montreal/Canada

    Comment:

    Please take a good look at this BITCH!!!!! She seems so unhappy. She must be very jelous of the other candiadte. She should be ashamed of outing someone.



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