A Case for Outing on All Levels

A politicians' financial interests, membership in organizations and aspects of their lifestyle that are relevant to causes, issues and laws they choose to support should be disclosed to the voters they represent. To do otherwise is simply dishonest.

Mike, we need some outing help. Closeted lesbian governor Linda Lingle today vetoed a civil unions bill in Hawaii. Everyone "knows" she's a lesbian, most people think her senior political advisor Linda Smith is her lover, but no one talks about it probably because we were hoping she'd do the right thing and either sign the bill (HB444) or at least do nothing and let it become law, and also I don't know anyone with proof that she is what it seems obvious she is. She has serious national Republican ambitions.

Dominick you seem to be a mature, healthy gay man. BRAVO to you and those who have been a part of your life.

Charles your comments were thoughtful and right on! BUT WE ALL MUST BE MINDFUL, not necessarily you, that he is not a private citizen with no significant influence on other people's lives, GAYS/MSM, and others, but hurtful, internalized homophobia diminish and sometimes KILLS the lives of others! Bruce Thompson, licensed mental health practitioner.

These kind of tactics only serve to boost the morale of some gays with nothing else to appreciate their own lives on. It goes absolutely nowhere with the general public, who will still maintain their beliefs. Therefore, it is politically pointless. There's bigger fish to fry, folks... c'mon.

I struggle with this, since i know what it feels like to be publicly outed. It sucks! But where is the line, should you expose the person because they are hindering your way of life by voting against your rights or do you say nothing because you know what its like to be prematurely ripped from your denial?

Phyllis i think the point is not whether he is gay or bisexual its that he is denying being either one and voting against gay rights all the while he is roaming gay bar looking to hook up with men. Its hypocritical...

What I don't understand is why people say passing as straight instead of bisexual. This senator had four kids- this tells me he at least got it up for a women at four different times! Maybe more, maybe he is attracted to women as well as men. It's annoying to see people in the LGBT community forget about the b, as if we don't exist. To quote Kinsey people aren't just divided into sheeps and goats. It's their choice to come out as whatever and whenever they want to.

I think that we are dealing with a similar problem that was also felt in other communities facing similar difficulties. Namely, that some of us can pass for straight... and labels are not as "black and white" as we may like them to be. I don't know that because a man likes to get freaky with other men that makes him automatically gay. Maybe all that other man means to him is a warm place to put his penis. Maybe we need to define what it is to be gay more concisely. Maybe we should define it as being those who are out and proud with who they are and who choose to have a RELATIONSHIP with a member of the same sex. Maybe this would make pursuing marriage worthwhile. And then when we find those politicians, celebrities, or the like who are on the DL we can confront that behavior for whatever it happens to be. But to give them the honorary title of gay that we have fought so hard for seems to be an injustice and to me somehow makes our label and the outing process seem like a punishment.

I'm shocked and saddened by some of the comments. Of course, politicians should be outed. So should anyone known to be married to a women. (Being gay, then lying to a woman, causing her to fall in love, and then marrying her sd be crime. Sd be test beforehand.) We all knew we were gay when we had puberty. None of us have ever felt sexual attraction to a woman. Our bodies told us who we are. The 'choice' is whether to go along with the default assumption that everyone is straight. More: to be in the closet is to give proof that you regard being gay as inferior or disgusting or wrong in some way. To collude in some fellow gay guys lie is to support that falsehood. It's beyond the individual. The point is that being gay is fine and how we are meant to be. You can't reconcile that with pretending to be straight, which includes being coy to allow others to assume you are. The great news is that the youngsters are coming out at earlier and earlier ages en masse.