CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
By finally acknowledging after years of evasion that he is gay, Mark Foley has altered the debate among conservatives and gays over his overtures to male pages in Congress. Some conservatives say House Republican leaders knew previously of Foley's sexual orientation and were too lax in investigating his actions for fear of seeming bigoted. Some gays blame Foley's personal problems on being so long in the closet while representing a party hostile to many gay rights causes. ''This is the problem with the closet: It's a terrible place to be, and it's got to be worse if you're a Republican,'' said Democratic representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who in 1987 became the first member of Congress to voluntarily make his homosexuality public. As far back as 1996, two years after his election to Congress from a south Florida district, Foley was outed by TheAdvocate. Another publication ran a similar story in 2003, prompting a Foley news conference at which he denounced the report but again declined to discuss his sexual orientation. On Tuesday, four days after resigning from Congress because of explicit e-mails to male pages, Foley acknowledged through his lawyer that he is gay. He coupled that disclosure with assertions that he had been molested by a clergyman while a teenager. Some conservative leaders, who have been pressing the Republicans to oppose gay rights measures, seized on Foley's disclosure to criticize the House GOP leadership. ''They discounted or downplayed earlier reports concerning Foley's behavior--probably because they did not want to appear homophobic," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. ''The Foley scandal shows what happens when political correctness is put ahead of protecting children.'' Similarly, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, in an interview on Fox News, suggested that current House GOP leaders reacted cautiously to initial reports of Foley's e-mails for fear of being perceived as participating in gay bashing. Such comments angered leaders of national gay rights groups, who said Foley's behavior was reprehensible--but should not become grist for harsher attitudes toward gays. Conservative leaders ''continue to try and dodge responsibility for their cover-up, instead opting to do what they do best by blaming gays,'' said Joe Solmonese, president of the gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. ''It is completely unacceptable, regardless of party or sexual orientation, for an adult to engage in this kind of behavior with a minor.'' The National Youth Advocacy Coalition, which represents gay and lesbian youths, said Foley should be investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted. ''Some may believe that this is a gay issue. It is not,'' the coalition said. ''This is an issue about protecting children from those who seek to do them harm.'' There are now three openly gay members of Congress: Frank, Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Republican Jim Kolbe of Arizona, who is not seeking reelection. Frank predicted Wednesday that the Foley scandal, plus Kolbe's departure, will create a difficult atmosphere for any gays, closeted or not, seeking to remain active nationally as Republican politicians. ''Now they're viewed as causing trouble,'' Frank said in a telephone interview. ''I think you can see a purge coming.'' Conservative gay columnist Andrew Sullivan wrote that he was among many in Washington who had heard that Foley was gay yet unwilling to come out. ''What the closet does to people--the hypocrisies it fosters, the pathologies it breeds--is brutal,'' Sullivan wrote on his Web site. ''From what I've read, Foley is another example of this destructive and self-destructive pattern for which the only cure is courage and honesty.'' Sullivan also asserted that many closeted gay men in Washington work for the Republicans despite what he described as GOP policies ''deeply hostile to gay dignity.'' The president of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which assists openly gay political candidates, said many of those remaining in the closet ''think there's something wrong with being gay.... From what we've seen of Mark's actions, he felt it was OK to be gay on the side, but not to be openly gay,'' said Chuck Wolfe, who has known Foley for many years. ''It was all on the sly.'' Among the gay activists who had been trying to out Foley was Michael Rogers, who runs a Web site aimed at exposing closeted Republicans whose political work includes opposing gay rights. "The conservative side is encouraging them to hide their lives from public view," Rogers said. "Had Foley lived his life openly and been proud of who he is, this never would have happened.'' (David Crary, AP)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
30 Steamy Photos of Folsom Street Fair 2023 Debauchery
October 15 2023 11:06 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
60 Burly Pics from Bearrison Street Fair 2022
October 08 2023 8:30 PM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Houthis sentence 9 men to death on dubious 'sodomy' charges in Yemen
March 27 2024 2:39 PM
Pride
Yahoo FeedBreaking boundaries in gender-free fashion with Stuzo Clothing
March 27 2024 2:15 PM
BREAKING: Nex Benedict's autopsy report released
March 27 2024 1:00 PM
Meta is failing its LGBTQ+ users, says new GLAAD report
March 27 2024 12:24 PM
79% of American workers say anti-LGBTQ+ laws impact where they move: report
March 27 2024 11:41 AM
Plus
Yahoo FeedInjectable HIV treatment, prevention: Everything you need to know
March 26 2024 10:45 PM
Ronna McDaniel, tied up by her Trump lies, drowns in an aquarium of her own making
March 26 2024 9:00 PM
The ultimate guide to cannabis in Provincetown
March 26 2024 6:40 PM
New York Times fails to include trans voices in coverage, say GLAAD, Media Matters
March 26 2024 6:31 PM
Pete Buttigieg commits federal resources to Baltimore bridge collapse recovery
March 26 2024 5:47 PM