Republican's Gay Son Outed by Mother's Campaign

Don Coram, Marsha Looper

The son of a Republican Colorado lawmaker was outed by his mother's campaign manager, reports The Denver Post.

Campaign manager Lana Fore-Warkocz recently distributed an email that praised her boss, state represenative Marsha Looper, for voting against a proposed civil unions bill despite having a gay son.

"God is truly to be praised for Marsha Looper because she also has a homosexual son," the e-mail reads, shouting "Praise God!" that Looper had amended the bill to protect religious liberties.

The candidate herself issued a statement to The Denver Post saying she was "disappointed" in her staffer and that "my family members' personal lives are not a legitimate avenue for my campaign."

The Post reports, "It's no secret at the state Capitol that Looper is one of at least four House Republicans with a gay child, but an unwritten courtesy has been to let the lawmaker be the one to publicly reveal that information."

Among the other gay family members is Dee Coram, the gay son of Republican Colorado legislator Don Coram, who told The Denver Post in May that he was "let down" by his father after pleading with him not to kill the civil unions bill. The father refused and the bill died in a special session by one vote in a committee he chaired.

Looper praised the bill's most recent demise while complaining that it had ever been brought up in a special session of the Colorado legislature only to die in committee.

“I am disappointed that we had to have a special session in the first place,” Looper said, according to the Colorado Statesman. “I think it’s a complete lack of leadership that the bill made it through three committees and then on the last day — and I oppose civil unions — but if the leadership was intent on killing the bill in the first place, it should have gone to State Affairs weeks ago instead of dragging it out like this. I agree with the decision to kill the bill, but I am disappointed in the process.”